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The University of Mississippi Athletics
UM to Dedicate All-American Plaza, Bronze Statue Celebrating Ole Miss Football
4/6/2005 | Football
April 6, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The University of Mississippi will dedicate a bricked area near Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the All-American Plaza at 10:30 a.m. here Saturday during the annual Red-Blue Weekend.
A tribute to the excellence and accomplishments of Ole Miss football, the plaza's centerpiece is a larger-than-life bronze statue of a football player. Adding to the area's ambience, engraved in the bricks are the words to the Rebel fight song, "Forward Rebels."
The plaza is located between the stadium and the new Indoor Practice Facility, where free, public tours are to be offered Saturday beginning at 9:00 a.m. A reception follows the dedication, and the annual spring Grove Bowl intra-squad football game kicks off at 1:00 p.m. in the stadium. Grove Bowl tickets are $10 and may be ordered by calling 662-915-7167.
"The All-American Plaza became a reality because of projects taken on by the class of 2002 and the class of 2003," said Sparky Reardon, UM dean of students. "It is truly a cooperative effort that beautifies our campus."
The idea for the plaza was conceived by members of the Class of 2002. Class president Jim Morrison said the special place "represents the excellence and accomplishments of Ole Miss football, and will allow thousands of Ole Miss fans to share in its memorable past."
Commissioned by Chancellor Robert Khayat and created by sculptor James Bartlett, the statue celebrates Ole Miss football excellence, including the careers of the eight players designated to All-America teams and to membership in the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame: Frank M. "Bruiser" Kinard, Charlie Conerly, Barney Poole, Doug Kenna, Archie Manning, Parker Hall, Jerry Dean "Jake" Gibbs and Charlie Flowers.
Bartlett, UM professor emeritus of modern languages, said that for the statue's basic design, he used a photograph of former Ole Miss wingback Billy Harthcock catching a pass. He also referenced photographs of other Ole Miss players.
"The statue is a mixture, a variety of forms and figures," he said. "It's a hob-gob of Rebels."
Bartlett has been sculpting for more than 50 years. His sculptural bas-relief of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner sits in Moscow's Gorky Institute; a bust of longtime friend Judge David Sam sits in the 10th District Courthouse in Seattle; and a statue to honor his childhood nurse, Anna Rosenkilde, sits in a Salt Lake City children's hospital. He also sculpted the Save the Globe bronze statue located in the Grove at UM as a gift from the Class of 1986.
Other events on campus Saturday include the Walk of Champions at 10:30 a.m. in The Grove. The Mississippi Invitational Track and Field competition also begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Ole Miss Track and Field Complex. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children.
The Rebel softball team takes on Georgia in a doubleheader at 11:00 a.m. at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, and a soccer alumni match is set for 10:00 a.m. at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. Both events are free to the public. Also from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Ole Miss Spirit Live will take place on The Grove stage as former Rebel athletes recall their special memories while wearing the Red & Blue.
The day concludes with the Ole Miss-Alabama baseball game at 4:00 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. Tickets are $7 and can be ordered by calling 662-915-7167.
