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In the late 1940s, Fred Oakes organized the Oakes Auto Parts Baseball Team. He provided uniforms, equipment, coaching and transportation. Members of the team ranged in ages between 10 and 14. The team consisted of students from Redwood, MS. On Sundays the plauers would assemble at the Oakes’ home in Kings, next door to Oakes Auto Parts, to be transported in the back of his pickup. The team played most of the games at Redwood HS. Opposing teams were arranged the previous week by Mr. Oakes.
The 1961 Sherman Athletic Club Little League Baseball Team won the Grandview Little League Title in Springfield, IL with a 14-2 record. Four members of the team were selected for the league All-Star team including MSHOF Executive Director Bill Blackwell.

Bobby Barnette’s story is that of a Waterboy turned Hero. In the 1950s the Jett Bulldogs were facing a rival Flora team in front of a Homecoming crowd. Injuries in the first half left the team short of players and facing a 13-0 half-time deficit. Coach Frank Hannon recalls, “We only had 10 players able to go and we had to do something, but where were we going to get that 11th player?” Finally he looked around and saw his waterboy, Bobby Barnette, filling his water buckets. “Get dressed,” Hannon yelled out. Barnette was pressed into uniform and forced into action. The Bulldogs stormed back to score once in the third period and twice more in the final quarter to defeat Flora. Little Bobby Barnette, who, until the previous week, had never played football, was the star as his passes found their marks when the chips were down. `Barnette later served in the U.S. Airforce, then made his home in Vicksburg, Miss., where he ran an auto parts store and worked for many years as the machine shop supervisor at Waterways Experiment Station. He enjoyed playing baseball and softball and rearing his two sons, Kerry and Kevin. He died in February 2000 after a battle with cancer at the age of 58.

In High School, Fred Corley was captain of both Football and Basketball, All Big Eight, Mississippi All-Star Game, Nickname “Frosty”, Methodist, and Pre-Med Major.
MSU Football – 1963-1966: Fred played freshman football ’63, and was red shirt in ’64.He was a member of FCA, “M” Club, Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Delta, Vice President of Student Body, Member Student Senate, and President of Freshman Class, President Memorial Hall, President Scholar, Blue Key, ODK, and Who’s Who in American Colleges.
Scholarship to Ole Miss in medicine – 1967
Two years in the military – 1971
Residency in Orthopedic in San Antonio, Texas

Drew Dunn, a native of Brandon, MS is being inducted into the MS Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Glory Days class for his outstanding achievements in coaching football.
In the 7th grade, Dunn sustained an injury that forced him to watch the remainder of his football season on the sidelines. After one practice of feeling “totally useless” he asked the coaches if he could help the outside linebackers. It was in that moment he found his purpose in life.
Dunn is in his second season as cornerbacks coach for the East Central CC Warriors. He most recently was defensive graduate assistant for the University of South Alabama Jaguars in Mobile, Ala.
Dunn was a four-year football letterman at Northwest Rankin High School before attending the University of Mississippi. While at Ole Miss from 2011-15, he worked with the football equipment staff and was an assistant to the coaching staff, including the Rebels’ cornerbacks and linebackers coaches. The Rebels participated in the BBVA Compass Bowl, Music City Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Sugar Bowl during his tenure in Oxford.
In 2016, Dunn joined the football coaching staff at South Alabama as a defensive graduate assistant, where again he worked with defensive backs and linebackers among other duties. The Jaguars participated in the 2016 Arizona Bowl.

Dick Durgin is being recognized for a number of athletic accomplishments.
First, Dick with his 14-year-old daughter, Nancy Durgin, and her friend, Ginger Buzhardt, won the 1977 Catalina 22 National Sailboat Racing Championship, which is an annual regatta championship competition. This national competition is held in a different state each year and in 1977 it was held at the Jackson Yacht Club on the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Forty Catalina 22 sailboats competed in the championship representing thirteen states from California to Florida. Dick began sailing at the age of 7. Second, Dick learned to ice skate at age 5 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Dick skated 6 days a week on a pond that was about a mile from his home. He began playing organized hockey in 8th grade and also played in high school at Cushing Academy where he was the team captain and a four-year letterman. Dick continued to play hockey in college at Norwich University and was a three-year letterman. Forty-two years after his college hockey career, Dick at age 65 joined the Capital Area Amateur Hockey Association of Jackson, Mississippi and began playing competitive hockey three days a week at The Ice Park and the Mississippi Coliseum. Dick even scored a “Hat Trick” at age 68. He finally retired at age 72. Off the ice, Dick Durgin was an official for the East Coast Hockey League, which was part of the Jackson Bandits. Last, but not least, Dick Durgin played baseball in the Cape Cod League from 1948 to 1954. He learned the love of the game from his father, Arthur ‘Doc’ Durgin, Sr., a Triple-A baseball player. Dick’s team won 2 Cape Cod League Championships and was runner-up twice. He also played baseball in high school at Cushing Academy and in college at Norwich University.

Fred Ezelle has loved sports his entire life. As a youth, he played football and baseball. In high school at Murrah, he played varsity basketball; and at Millsaps College, he also played varsity basketball, as well as many other sports on his fraternity intramural teams. After graduating from college, he played on and coached several men’s soccer teams that competed around the state and in nearby states. One team even finished 2nd in the South! Later, Fred became known as “Coach Fred” when he and his brother Frank coached his sons’ teams in soccer and basketball at the YMCA, NEJSO, and AAU. He was instrumental in starting a successful intramural basketball program at Chastain which had about 150 participants. He also managed an AAU basketball team from Murrah that was the Mississippi Champion and went on to the national tournament in North Carolina. One of his “claims to fame” is that he coached Deuce McAlister in soccer! Now he enjoys watching his grandchildren playing many different sports!

David lettered for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in 1973 & 1974 season.
He played on the last SEC all Freshman teams in the SEC (Mississippi State Bulldogs 1972).
He served as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Mississippi State Bulldogs 1975 and 1976.
Coach Kermit Davis recruited David, coached David, and hired him as a Graduate Assistant Coach.
David graduated from Morton High School in 1972, where he was a 4 year starter for the Morton Panthers.
Congrats Dad on your Glory Days induction into the MS Sports Hall of Fame. We love our #11! – Jeffrey, Sara, & Hannah

John Lyle (right) and Mike Powers (left) are holding a trophy from Strauss Stallings Jewelry store for St. Joe beating St. Aloysius.

USSSA Little League World Series
Rock Hill, South Carolina

In the 40s, Coach Jenkins, the football coach at Clarksdale High School, asked Tony Malvezzi to stay in high school an extra year to help the football team and Tony decided to take him up on the offer. Charlie Conerly won the MVP at CHS in 1941 so the story goes that Tony stayed so he could win MVP in 1942, which he did. When CHS played certain schools who hated Italians, one of the bigger boys would swap jerseys with Tony so he wouldn’t get beat up. Malvezzi could not go to college because he was a bootlegger for his father’s business.  He would leave after school on Friday, take out the back seat of the family car, and come home with a carload of liquor. Thankfully he was never arrested but did shortly enlist in the Marines along with Charlie.  They were definitely the greatest generation.

Forrest Williams, hometown West Point, loves football and played on organized teams from age 10 through college as a 3-year walk-on at Mississippi State. He began his coaching career in Texas before taking his first head coaching position in Alabama. In 2008, he moved back to Mississippi as head football coach at St Stanislaus in Bay St Louis. With many talented players, the St Stanislaus Rockachaws won the 2009 MHSAA 4A State Championship led by All-American quarterback, Dylan Favre. After serving as head coach at MRA and Long Beach, Forrest recently left the state for a coaching opportunity in Texas.

Joel Williams of West Point, formerly of Hattiesburg, played baseball at Southern Miss 1966-1970. None of the players were on scholarship until 1969, when finally a pitcher got a partial scholarship. Joel made the Southerners team as a freshman and batted over .300 his final two seasons, including a .333 as a sophomore. Highlights include:
• Senior Irv Favre, later Brett Favre’s Dad, helped freshman Joel with his fielding by hitting balls to him.
• Senior year going up against Archie Manning.
•Being a Hero his final game and getting written about by Rick Cleveland