.png&width=48&height=48&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Great Ray Poole Passes Away
4/2/2008 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. Ole Miss and the State of Mississippi lost one of its sports legends here Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. with the passing of Gloster, Miss., native Ray Smith Poole, 86, following a short battle with cancer.
Poole was a member of the famous "Pooles of Ole Miss," a family which has produced over 50 University of Mississippi athletics letters, representing three generations.
Visitation is scheduled for Friday from 5 until 7 p.m. at the Oxford-University United Methodist Church. Services will be held at the church Saturday at 1 p.m. with burial in Oxford Memorial Cemetery.
Poole was a faithful member of the Oxford-University United Methodist Church for 53 years where he had served on the Administrative Board. Honorary pallbearers will be his Coffee Club members and Ole Miss M-Club alumni members. Waller Funeral Home is in charge.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the UMAA Foundation and designated to the Ray Poole Golf Scholarship Fund.
"Ray Poole was among the most favorite Ole Miss athletes and coaches in our history," said Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat. "As a student he was a three-sport letterman and his career at Ole Miss was followed by a number of years in professional football. He joined Coach Johnny Vaught's staff and coached place-kickers and special teams during those remarkable years. He and his wife, Wanda, are much loved by the people of Ole Miss and Oxford and he will be missed."
"Coach Poole was one of my coaches when I played a few years ago," said Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone. "In fact, he has been an integral part of Ole Miss athletics for over five decades. His presence will be greatly missed."
This unprecedented athletic family tree began at Ole Miss with the trio of brothers Buster, Ray and Barney Poole, who all would become members of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. "Poole Drive" on the Ole Miss campus is named in honor of the family.
Poole's Ole Miss collegiate football career was interrupted by a three-year stint as a Marine lieutenant, which included 17 months overseas in the Pacific, seeing combat on Guam, Saipan and Okinawa.
While playing as a V-12 Marine trainee at the University of North Carolina in 1943, Poole was named third team All-American by Look Magazine and United Press International. He was also selected to the All-Southern Conference and All-South teams that same year. While stationed in Pearl Harbor in 1945, he was a member of the Fleet Marine Force team.
When he returned to Ole Miss, he served as captain of the 1946 Rebels and was selected an All-Southeastern Conference first team end by both the Associated Press and United Press International. He was also named to the All-South team in 1946 and participated in the 1946 Blue-Gray All-Star Game and the 1947 Chicago All-Star Game.
A three-sport star at Ole Miss, Poole joined the Rebels out of Crosby High School and earned three letters in football (1941-42; 1946), four letters in basketball (1941-42-43; 1947) and four letters in baseball (1941-42-43; 1947). As a senior pitcher in 1947, he compiled a 5-2 record. Poole played center and guard in basketball and led the team in scoring in 1943.
While at Ole Miss, he was a member of the M-Club and Omicron Delta Kappa, was selected to the Ole Miss Hall of Fame and was elected Colonel Rebel, the highest honor given by his peers.
A pitcher in baseball, he signed a pro contract with the Chicago Cubs in 1947. He played with Meridian of the Southeastern League in 1948 and 1949, and with Memphis part of the 1949 season.
Selected in the 13th round of the 1944 National Football League draft by the New York Giants, Poole played six seasons (1947-52) for the Giants and then two years (1953-54) for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He earned All-Pro status as a defensive end with the Giants in 1950 and All-Pro with the Alouettes in 1953 and 1954 when he finished second in the CFL in scoring both years.
Poole played 71 games in the NFL, catching 83 passes for 1,164 yards and eight TDs. He scored 223 points with the Giants, including eight receiving TDs, one fumble recovery for a TD, one safety, 27 field goals and 86 extra points.
He returned to Ole Miss in 1955 as an assistant football coach and scout, joining legendary head coach John Vaught's staff in time to help the Rebels capture the 1955 SEC championship and defeat TCU, 14-13, in the January 2, 1956 Cotton Bowl. Poole served as an assistant coach at Ole Miss for 20 years (1955-74) and was a part of four SEC championship teams and three teams which claimed a share of three national titles. For a period of time, Poole also served Ole Miss as freshman baseball coach and head golf coach.
Following his retirement from Ole Miss, Poole served two years (1979 and 1980) as head football coach at Northwest (Miss.) Community College in Senatobia. He served as Athletics Director at Northwest C.C. in 1981.
He was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987, received the Distinguished American Award from the Ole Miss Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1983 and was chosen as a Southeastern Conference Living Legend in 2001. Poole also received the Admiral Thomas J. Hamilton Award from the All-American Football Foundation.
Poole, who received his Bachelor of Science degree from Ole Miss in 1947 and his Master's from Ole Miss in 1950, was born on April 15, 1921.
Poole is survived by his wife of 57 years, the former Wanda England of Big Creek, Miss.; son, Ray, Jr. and wife Jenny of Batesville, Miss., and daughter Patti Sanders and husband Emil of Atlanta, Ga. Ray, Jr., Jenny and Patti all graduated from Ole Miss.
He is also survived by his sister, Willodene Robertson of Centreville, Miss.; many nieces and nephews; and three grand-children, Trey Poole and Will Poole of Batesville and Cara Sanders of Atlanta and Charlottesville, Va. Trey and Will are currently students at Ole Miss.