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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Field Takes Hollingsworth Name Sept. 5
6/21/1999 | Football
September 1, 1998
UNIVERSITY, Miss. -- When Dr. Gerald M. "Jerry" Hollingsworth of Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., walks to the field in The University of Mississippi's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Sept. 5, maybe reality will dawn.
The gridiron for legions of Rebel football players officially will become Hollingsworth Field in pre-game ceremonies honoring the 1951 Ole Miss alumnus and longtime supporter.
Hollingsworth said the honor is so overwhelming that he hasn't shared the news.
"I haven't even told my family and closest friends," he said with a chuckle."
"It's a tremendous honor, something I'll cherish all my life, but it feels like a dream. I still can't believe it."
Hollingsworth should be something of an expert on dreams. Hes been making them come true for Ole Miss by providing more than $5 million in support.
"It's difficult to find words to express adequately our gratitude for the tremendous support Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth continues to give to academic and athletic programs of the University. We simply would not have the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium expansion and the indoor sports facility without his help," said Ole Miss Chancellor Robert C. Khayat.
"He is one of our most outstanding and most generous graduates. The fact that he has given so much to this University, as well as to the young people of his own community, speaks volumes about his kind, loving and generous spirit."
Head Football Coach Tommy Tuberville concurred, saying, "It is only fitting that the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium be named for Dr. Hollingsworth. In the short time I have known him, it is evident to me just how much he loves The University of Mississippi. We appreciate the way he continues to support our total athletic program."
At a crucial phase in plans to attract private funds for the $13 million football stadium expansion, Hollingsworth stepped forward with a gift of $3 million, which brought his contributions to more than $5 million. At the press conference announcing the gift, Coach Tuberville said the size and quality of a stadium is key to attracting student- athletes to a college campus.
"Players look at these things before they sign a national letter. We want to attract more fans, but we also want to be able to attract more recruits," he said.
In 1995, Hollingsworth gave $2 million to fund the Hollingsworth- (Archie) Manning Memorabilia Room of the Starnes Center and to provide support for basketball offices and the indoor sports facility. The Memorabilia Room provides a comfortable setting for coaches to talk with prospective student-athletes and showcases sports trophies. (Ole Miss' Dr. Ronald Bartlett has sculpted a bust of Hollingsworth to be presented in the Sept. 5, which will be displayed in the Memorabilia Room.) The basketball offices are connected to the C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum. The indoor sports facility -- which houses offices and locker rooms for womens rifle, soccer, softball and volleyball programs, and contains three tennis courts, a championship volleyball court and another court for both volleyball and basketball practices -- is located on Coliseum Drive near Highway 6.
"We are very honored to name the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth. He has always been a generous supporter of The University of Mississippi, and because of his love for Ole Miss athletics, it is very fitting that we are able to honor his name and his commitment to Ole Miss," said Director of Intercollegiate Athletics John Shafer.
Hollingsworth said his close relationship in the Ole Miss family prompted him to provide resources to the University. Among friends, he named legendary coach John Vaught, the late John Cain, Warner Alford, Eddie Crawford and Chancellor Khayat.
"These people treat me like family," Hollingsworth said.
A native of Smith County in Mississippi, Hollingsworth has been involved with youth and athletics most of his life. He was the team doctor for Choctawhatchee and Ft. Walton Beach high schools for almost 35 years and helped found the All-Sports Association of Northwest Florida, which honored him with its Community Service Award for helping youngsters in athletics.
The Ole Miss chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame honored the physician with the Amateur Football Award for contributions to the collegiate athletic world.
Hollingsworth earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Ole Miss and then attended two years of medical school at the University. He went on to earn his medical degree from Harvard University in 1955 and completed his surgical residency at Duval Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla.
From 1957-59, he was a Navy flight surgeon and then started his private medical practice in 1959 in Ft. Walton Beach.
"I feel undeserving of this honor but very proud," Hollingsworth said of the field being named in his honor.
"Ole Miss has come so far with both academic and athletic programs. I'm so happy to be a Rebel."
