Ole Miss Chapter Hands Out NFF Awards

OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame recently honored Butch Lambert, Jr., with its Contribution to Amateur Football Award and Wesley Walls with the Distinguished American Award, Chapter President Frank Crosthwait announced.
The Contribution to Amateur Football Award is given by the Ole Miss Chapter in honor of those who have made numerous contributions to the college athletic world through a lifetime of service to their fellow man, while the Distinguished American Award is presented to individuals who have carried the lessons learned on the football field into a life of service to their community.

"We are pleased to have honored these two men for their many contributions to Ole Miss athletics," Crosthwait said. "They are most deserving of this recognition."

A native of Tupelo, Miss., and a long-time resident of Jackson, Miss., before moving to Jacksonville, Fla., Butch Lambert, Jr., was an accomplished official on both the high school and collegiate levels, following in the footsteps of his father, Butch Lambert, Sr., as one of the profession's best. Both were honored in 2006 by the National Football Foundation when they received its Outstanding Football Official Award.
Lambert's officiating career began in 1969 as a field judge for high school football. From there, he served as a field judge on the junior college level from 1972-74, which included the officiating of two junior college All-Star games.
In 1974, Lambert's officiating career took off when he joined the Southeastern Conference. He officiated as a field judge for the first two years and then enjoyed a long 26-year career as an umpire. In this tenure, Lambert officiated 38 bowl games, 17 Blue-Gray All-Star games, 13 Senior Bowls, one National Championship game (Oklahoma-Washington in January 1985) and one SEC Championship game. He also officiated one game with his father, the Auburn-Georgia Tech game in Atlanta in 1981.
Extremely active on the collegiate scene, Lambert was the president of the Southeastern Conference Football Officials Association and was twice named a nominee for the Ed Dudley Award for excellence among SEC officials.
Off the field, Lambert has over 30 years of experience in solid waste management and government relations. He is Director of Corporate Development of Advanced Disposal Services in Jacksonville, Fla.
A graduate of the University of Mississippi with a bachelor's degree in business administration, Lambert was an accomplished pitcher on the baseball team and received two professional contracts.
A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Board, Lambert remains extremely active in his local community serving many organizations including the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, M-Club Alumni Association, Jackson Touchdown Club and the 32 Degree Master Masons.
He is also a past board member of the Central Mississippi Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
Ole Miss football brings to mind many names, but one of the first many people think of is Wesley Walls of Pontotoc, Miss. As a tight end for the Rebels, Walls earned several accolades, including selection to the Athlon Sports All-Time Rebel Team. He was also named to the 1980s All-SEC Team.
Walls only played tight end for the Rebels for one season, 1988, but made the most of that time. He was an Associated Press All-America First Team selection and was also selected to the All-SEC First Team as he caught 36 passes for 426 yards and three touchdowns.
Prior to moving to tight end, Walls played outside linebacker and defensive end for the Rebels. He posted 133 career tackles before his senior season. He played both ways during his senior campaign when he served as a team captain. At the conclusion of his senior year, Walls was selected to play in the Senior Bowl and the East-West Game, but was injured and could not participate. He did play in the Blue-Gray Game.
Following the 1988 season, Walls was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round. He spent five years with the 49ers before moving to the New Orleans Saints for two seasons. He then played seven years for the Carolina Panthers before finishing out his NFL career in 2003 with the Green Bay Packers. He was a three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection during his 15-year NFL career.
Walls also excelled in the classroom at Ole Miss, earning Academic All-America First Team honors his senior year as well as Academic All-SEC honors for three seasons. He was the recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate scholarship in 1989 and was one of 11 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes that same year. Although in the early stages of his NFL career, Walls still found time to return to Ole Miss and earn his B.S. in engineering in 1991.
In 1997, Walls was selected as the Mississippi Professional Athlete of the Year by the Jackson Touchdown Club. He was inducted into the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and named SEC Legend in 2007.
Walls has continued to be closely involved with several charitable organizations since his graduation from Ole Miss. He serves on the boards of the Kent Hull Foundation, Alpha House for Boys, OrthoCarolina Research Institute and the Charlotte Touchdown Club.
He and his wife, Christy, also gave $100,000 to the University of Mississippi in 1998, to endow a football scholarship at Ole Miss.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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