.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Great Bobby Wilson Passes Away
6/23/2008 | Football
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. Ole Miss great Bobby Wilson passed away on Saturday at the age of 84 after a short bout with cancer. Funeral services will be held Thursday at 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Tenn.
Wilson, a 1988 inductee into the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame, was a four-year letterman on the Rebel football team from 1946-49 and was a member of legendary coach Johnny Vaught's first SEC championship team in 1947. Wilson is the Rebels' all-time interception leader with 20 career picks and is tied with former LSU defensive back Chris Williams for the most in Southeastern Conference history. Wilson's 379 return yards on interceptions is also an SEC record.
A two-sport star at Ole Miss, Wilson was a four-year letterwinner in baseball from 1947-50. He was drafted in football by the Philadelphia Eagles in the ninth round in 1950 and was also drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1951 Major League Baseball draft. He went on to enjoy a three-year career as a minor-leaguer in the Reds' organization.
After his playing days were finished, Wilson served as baseball coach at Carson-Newman College for 23 years, winning 11 conference titles, including 10 consecutive from 1965-74. The Eagles went on to win the 1965 NAIA National Championship, the first national title in any sport in Carson-Newman's history. During his career, he coached the Eagles to a 490-260-1 record and mentored 16 All-Americans from 1965-87.
Wilson is a member of the Carson-Newman Athletics Hall of Fame and NAIA Baseball Hall of Fame. His number, 38, is the only retired jersey in C-N baseball history. The Piedmont, Ala. native also served as a member of the Carson-Newman faculty, retiring in 1990 from his position as Assistant Professor Emeritus of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
A Piedmont, Ala., native, Wilson was also a World War II veteran, serving in the European Theater from 1943 to 1946 as a member of a coast artillery unit.
