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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Former Ole Miss Football Star Dixie Howell Passes Away
12/21/1999 | Football
 Dixie Howell (31) sprints towards the winning score after catching a pass from Charlie Conerly in the 1948 Delta Bowl against TCU. |
Dec. 21, 1999
UNIVERSITY, Miss. - Earl O. "Dixie" Howell Jr. could run like the wind as a student athlete at The University of Mississippi.
Howell was one of Coach Johnny Vaught's boys, and his speed on the football field, as well as on the track, earned him the nickname of "Dixie Flyer." In one of the most memorable photographs in Ole Miss football history, Howell is catching the winning 13-yard touchdown pass thrown by quarterback Charlie Conerly in the 1948 Delta Bowl, which the Rebels won 13-7 over Texas Christian University. It was the first bowl victory for the Rebels and only the second post-season appearance, with the first being the 1936 Orange Bowl.
The junior college transfer was, in fact, a player on Coach Vaught's first team as head coach at Ole Miss, and Howell lettered in football and track.
The student athlete went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees from Ole Miss, serve in World War II and the Korean War as a Marine Corps major, play professional football, coach high school football in Mississippi and Arkansas, and become a successful businessman. He had a lifelong connection to his alma mater -- supporting programs, participating in alumni activities and encouraging young people to attend Ole Miss.
Howell of Marietta, Ga., died Dec. 15, after a long and valiant struggle with congestive heart failure.
Many know of his life contributions, but few may know of his direct impact on the personal life of Robert Khayat and thus on the future of The University of Mississippi. Howell became the football coach at Moss Point High School when Khayat was a 10th-grader and, in Khayat's words, "Dixie Howell turned the place upside down. He energized the football team, the school and the community.
Coach Howell was only there two years, but he came into a program where there wasn't much optimism. He made us believe we could be successful."
Football scholarship offers came to Khayat at the end of his high school career, and Howell convinced Khayat to accept the one from Ole Miss. Not only did Khayat follow his advice for a college choice, but he also is nearing his fifth-year anniversary as the University's chancellor and has served Ole Miss as a law professor and through other leadership roles.
"Dixie Howell is the reason I first came to Ole Miss," Khayat said from his office on the Oxford campus. "That choice set the course of my life. We enjoyed a 50-year friendship, and I learned valuable lessons from Coach Howell."
Back in those days, Khayat was, well, slow. In fact, he earned a nickname which reflected that lack of speed -- "Anvil Foot." Howell told Khayat if he wanted to be quick on his feet, he would have to spend hours jumping rope. "And that's what I did," the chancellor said, smiling at the memory. "I would jump rope and jump rope, just like you see these boxers do. Dixie Howell taught me that you have to make the commitments necessary to achieve goals. I've applied that lesson throughout my life.
"Dixie Howell had a great capacity to challenge and to love at the same time," the Ole Miss chancellor said.
A native of Talladega, Ala., Howell attended Holmes Junior College (now Holmes Community College) and completed V-12 officer training at Millsaps College. He played professional football for the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Conference. Howell also was recruited by the San Franciso 49ers shortly before being called up to serve in the Korean War.
After earning his educational degrees and coaching football, he later joined Hardware Mutual Fire and Casualty in Asheville, N.C. Howell then moved to Atlanta to join Oakite Products Inc. Howell retired after working 30 years at Oakite, finishing his career as Southeast division manager.
He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Marietta, Golden K Kiwanis Club at Lost Mountain and the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. He was a former member of the Atlanta Track Club.
Howell and his wife, Peggy, had one daughter, and she was born while Howell coached at Moss Point High School. That daughter, Dr. Elizabeth F. Howell, is now a respected physician in Atlanta.