.png&width=48&height=48&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Great Barney Poole Passes Away
4/12/2005 | Football
April 12, 2005
JACKSON, Miss. - Ole Miss and the State of Mississippi lost one of its sports legends here Tuesday with the passing of Gloster, Miss., native George Barney Poole, 81.
Brown Funeral Home on Highway 24 in Gloster is in charge of the service, which will be held Friday at 11:00 a.m. Visitation is set for Thursday night from 6:00 to 8:30, also at Brown Funeral Home.
Poole, a member of the famous "Pooles of Ole Miss" family which produced over 50 University of Mississippi athletics letters, is recognized as one of the greatest ends in college football history. This unprecedented athletic family tree began at Ole Miss with the trio of brothers Buster, Ray, and Barney, all members of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. "Poole Drive" on the Ole Miss campus is named in honor of the family.
An All-America and All-Southeastern Conference selection while playing at Ole Miss in 1947 and 1948, Poole was also named All-America in 1946 while playing at Army.
Wartime eligibility policies gave Poole eight seasons, and football one of its greatest big-play ends. He began his career at Ole Miss on the 1941 freshman team, a squad which was split up by World War II, but eventually produced three members of the College Football Hall of Fame - Poole, Charlie Conerly, and Doug Kenna.
Poole played his first varsity season at Ole Miss in 1942 as a sophomore. He then played with the North Carolina V-12 unit in 1943 and with Army for the 1944-46 campaigns before returning to Ole Miss for two final seasons (1947-48). The 1947 Ole Miss team, coached by John Vaught, won the first of six SEC championships and defeated TCU in the Delta Bowl in Memphis.
During this time, Poole amassed no less than seven football, eight baseball, and seven basketball letters. In football, his secret was a "feel" for the game, particularly on defense, and the talent was best displayed in the final seconds of the 1946 Army-Navy game. The Cadets were battling to preserve a third straight undefeated season, leading 21-18, when the Midshipmen advanced deep into Army territory. Twice, Poole made game-saving tackles, the last when he hauled Navy's Pete Williams down at the Cadet four yard line, ending the final threat with just seven seconds left in the game.
"Barney never made a better tackle, or one that meant as much," praised Army coach Red Blaik. Poole followed college ball with seven successful years as a pro, then coached at the high school and collegiate levels. He eventually became manager of the Mississippi Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Miss.
Poole was selected to the Ole Miss Team of the Century (1893-1992) and was chosen as an SEC "Living Legend" in 1995. He had 70 career pass receptions at Ole Miss for 764 yards and 11 TDs, and ranks sixth for most catches in a season, 52 for 511 yards and eight TDs in 1947, which led the nation. His 52 catches in 1947 was also a school record at the time.
He established a record for most receptions in a single game with 13 against Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1947, which was tied by Floyd Franks against Alabama in 1969.
Following his final season at Ole Miss, Poole participated in the North-South All-Star Game and served as his team's captain in the Chicago All-Star Game.
Poole, who played professional football for New York Yankees (AAFC), Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts and New York Giants, was selected in the 6th round of the 1945 National Football League Draft by the New York Giants and then in the 9th round of the 1948 draft by the New York Yankees of the AAFC.
Barney Poole was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1974.  | |
He was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1974, the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame in 1966, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1965 and the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. Poole was also selected to Preview Sports magazine All-Decade Team for 1940-49 and was named to Athlon Sports All-Time Rebel Team (1893-1995).
Poole, who was born October 29, 1923 in Gloster and attended Crosby High School, is survived by his wife of 56 years, Martha, who currently resides at Hospice Ministeries in Ridgeland, Miss. They retired to his hometown of Gloster in 1990.
He is also survived by two daughters, Janet Poole Youngblood of Tulsa, Okla., and Jodie Poole McGehee and her husband, Ronnie McGehee, of Madison, Miss.; three granddaughters, Sarah Elizabeth Youngblood of Tulsa, Okla., Hanna Lauran Youngblood of Tulsa, and Jessica Faye McGehee of Madison; one brother, Ray Poole of Oxford, Miss.; one sister, Wildean Robertson of Berwick, Miss; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
