The University of Mississippi Athletics

Warner Alford In Mississippi Sports Hall Of Fame Class of 2003

Warner Alford In Mississippi Sports Hall Of Fame Class of 2003
Former Ole Miss Athletics Director To Be Inducted Along With Seven Others

Aug. 9, 2002

JACKSON, Miss. - The Jackson Touchdown Club and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Inc., announced Thursday the selection of eight new inductees to be enshrined in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

The MSHOF 41st Anniversary Class of 2003 includes Warner Alford, a McComb native who played for SEC and National Championship Ole Miss gridiron teams and served as the school's athletic director; James Ray Carpenter, talented golfer who hails from Hattiesburg and was the first Mississippian to be chosen as President of the PGA ; the late Bill Foster, a Rodney native who was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame; Mildrette Netter Graves, Olympic gold medal winner from Rosedale who was a championship high school track coach; Sue Gunter, Hall of Fame basketball coach from Walnut Grove who is the fourth winningest women's basketball coach in NCAA history at LSU; Kent Hull, All Pro football center from Greenwood who starred at Mississippi State and played in four consecutive super bowls with the Buffalo Bills; Jackie Slater, a Jackson native who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was a durable All American at Jackson State and an All Pro offensive lineman for the L.A. and St. Louis Rams; and Bob Stevens, Hall of Fame high school coach who hails from Hazlehurst and was a lineman for top teams at Southern Mississippi.

With the induction of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2003, membership in the MSHOF will increase from 209 to 217 athletes, coaches, administrators, and sports media. The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame was created in 1960 by the Jackson Touchdown Club at the suggestion of MSHOF member Jimmie "Mississippi Red" McDowell.

Induction ceremonies will be held on Friday, May 2, 2003 at the Vicksburg Convention Center and Auditorium Vicksburg, MS. The Chairman of the 2003 MSHOF Awards Banquet is A. M. Zeidman, who is the incoming president of the Jackson Touchdown Club and can be reached at (601) 992-2617. The current President of the Jackson Touchdown Club is Ralph Sowell and he can be contacted at (601) 982-9383.

For more information regarding the banquet and other activities for the MSHOF Induction and Award Ceremonies, please contact Glen Waddle, Secretary of the Jackson Touchdown Club and the MSHOF Selection Committee at (601) 948-4471, ext 229, or 1-800-682-6423, ext 229.

WARNER ALFORD--Outstanding athletic administrator who was the co-captain of SEC and National Championship football teams at Ole Miss.....All America and All Big Eight lineman from McComb High School who was also All Big Eight in basketball and track.....Played left guard for Ole Miss between 1958 and 1960, which featured the greatest teams in school history.....Co-captain along with MSHOF member and QB Jake Gibbs of the 1960 Rebel squad that finished 10-0-1, won the SEC championship, and claimed the Football Writers Association of America Grantland Rice Trophy, emblematic of the National title.....Coached by MSHOF member Johnny Vaught and was teamed up with a host of Rebel players who are also enshrined in the MSHOF.....Helped Ole Miss compile a record of 29-3-1 during his playing career.....Assistant coach at R. H. Watkins High in Laurel, Davidson College in North Carolina, and Georgia Tech before returning to Ole Miss under Head Coach Billy Kinard as Defensive line coach.....Named Ole Miss Athletic Director in 1978 and served the school in that capacity for 16 years until 1994....Increased the number of men's and women's sports at Ole Miss and placed emphasis on graduation rate of student-athletes.....Instrumental in renovations to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the Doc Knight fieldhouse, golf, and track facilities.....Oversaw the construction of the Oxford University Stadium Swayze Field baseball stadium and the Palmer Tennis Center.....Served on numerous SEC and NCAA Committees.....Inducted into the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.