Connect with us

Headlines

Vassallo: Jake Gibbs Forgotten Great QB of Magnolia State

Published

on

gibbs1960SB_original_crop_north

With amazement I recently went through the list (per Saturday Down South) of the greatest QBs in the history of the Magnolia State. Although I agreed with most of their selections, I was literally shocked and in utter disbelief that Jake Gibbs was not only omitted, but not No. 1 overall!

When we grade or evaluate greatness in sports legends, popularity and other secondary issues are just that — secondary. Jake Gibbs won championships opposed to winning “the most popular in class.” Although he was quite popular as well, he will always be in my book the greatest quarterback in Ole Miss history as well as Magnolia State history, bar none!

Through the years, I have been engaged in debates as to who was the better centerfielder, Mantle or Mays. The answer is an easy one in my thought process: Mantle! The World Series is the ultimate test in baseball. Comparing Mantle and Mays in the October fall classic, Mantle leaves Mays at the starting gate.

Mantle still holds the all-time major league record for World Series home runs with 18. Mays never hit a single one!! Yet there are still those who claim he was better than Mantle.

Returning to the quarterback listing, there may not be a speed limit sign on the Ole Miss campus honoring Jake Gibbs, but there should be a statue honoring this great QB and former NY Yankee. Jimmy Lear introduced Ole Miss football to greatness via John H. Vaught while Jake Gibbs solidified the introduction. Maybe, just maybe one day, Jake will receive the recognition and respect he so much deserves starting here on the Ole Miss campus!


Steve-Vassallo-Photo-Oct-20131-150x150

Steve Vassallo is a HottyToddy.com contributor. Steve writes on Ole Miss athletics, Oxford business, politics and other subjects. He is an Ole Miss grad and former radio announcer for the basketball team. In addition, he is a certified economic and community developer and currently, a highly successful leader in the real estate business with Premier Properties of Oxford.You can contact Steve at sovassallo@gmail.com or call him at (985) 852-7745.

Advertisement
Click to comment

0 Comments

  1. Kaye Bryant

    January 21, 2015 at 8:34 am

    Who could possibly forget Jake Gibbs!! One of the greatest players ever and brought fame to two Ole Miss sports! And in addition one of the nicest guys you will ever know! I agree he deserves a lot more recognition!

  2. Sally Spier Stassi

    January 22, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    Oh, no! That is an unbelievable omission. Jake Gibbs was the face of Ole Miss football..AND baseball in the late 50s early 60s,,,never to be forgotten. He was an extraordinary athlete and such a nice guy, a role model for so many young men.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ole Miss Men’s Basketball

Mon, Nov 4Long Island University Logovs Long Island University W, 90-60
Fri, Nov 8Grambling Logovs GramblingW, 66-64
Tue, Nov 12South Alabama Logovs South AlabamaW, 64-54
Sat, Nov 16Colorado State Logovs Colorado StateW, 84-69
Thu, Nov 21Oral Roberts Logovs Oral RobertsL, 100-68
Thu, Nov 28BYU Logovs BYUW, 96-85 OT
Fri, Nov 29Purdue Logovs 13 PurdueL, 80-78
Tue, Dec 3Louisville Logo@ LouisvilleW, 86-63
Sat, Dec 7Lindenwood Logovs LindenwoodW, 86-53
Sat, Dec 14Georgia Logovs Southern MissW, 77-46
Tue, Dec 17Southern Logovs SouthernW, 74-61
Sat, Dec 21Queens University Logovs Queens UniversityW, 80-62
Sat, Dec 28Memphis Logo@ MemphisL, 87-70
Sat, Jan 4Georgia Logovs GeorgiaW, 63-51
Wed, Jan 8Arkansas Logo@ 23 ArkansasW, 73-66
Sat, Jan 11LSU Logovs LSUW, 77-65
Tue, Jan 14Alabama Logo@ 5 AlabamaW, 74-64
Sat, Jan 18Mississippi State Logo@ 17 Mississippi StateL, 81-84
Wed, Jan 22Texas A&M State Logovs 13 Texas A&ML, 62-63
Sat, Jan 25Missouri Logo@ Missouri5:00 PM
SECN
Wed, Jan 29Texas Logovs Texas8:00 PM
ESPN2
Sat, Feb 1Auburn Logovs 2 Auburn3:00 PM
TBA
Tue, Feb 4Kentucky Logovs 10 Kentucky6:00 PM
ESPN
Sat, Feb 8LSU Logo@ LSU7:30 PM
SECN
Wed, Feb 12South Carolina Logo@ South Carolina6:00 PM
SECN
Sat, Feb 15Mississippi State Logovs 17 Mississippi State5:00 PM
TBA
Sat, Feb 22Auburn Logo@ Vanderbilt2:30 PM
SECN
Wed, Feb 26Auburn Logo@ 2 Auburn6:00 PM
TBA
Sat, Mar 1Oklahoma Logovs 12 Oklahoma1:00 PM
TBA
Wed, Mar 5Tennessee Logovs 1 Tennessee8:00 PM
TBA
Sat, Mar 8Florida Logo@ 6 Florida5:00 PM
SECN

@ COPYRIGHT 2024 BY HT MEDIA LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. HOTTYTODDY.COM IS AN INDEPENT DIGITAL ENTITY NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI.