Abbeville, Mississippi: Home of the Gillom Sisters

Abbeville, Mississippi, is proud of its most famous native citizens — Peggie and Jennifer Gillom. In fact, a prominently placed sign in the city located just north of Oxford tells the world that Abbeville is the home of the nationally and internationally renowned sports legends.

Peggie Gillom
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

What the Manning family is to football at Ole Miss, the Gillom sisters are to basketball at their University of Mississippi alma mater. Both Peggie and Jennifer earned places in the Ole Miss sports record books while playing for the Lady Rebels, both went on to careers in the WNBA –– Jennifer as a player and Peggie as a coach –– and both have the distinction of being inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Gillom sports legend, recognized in 2009 when the University named its new sports center the “Gillom Sports Center” in their honor, began with Peggie Gillom-Granderson. The senior of the two sisters remains the highest scorer and rebounder in Ole Miss basketball history, scoring 2,486 points and grabbing 1,271 rebounds in her years on the team. Peggie helped lead the team to a 103-23 record, three SEC West titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Jennifer Gillom
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

Sister Jennifer “Grandmama” Gillom also made the sports record books as a Lady Rebel in the mid-1980s, scoring 2,186 points to become the second highest scorer in Ole Miss women’s basketball history, and the third highest overall, behind sister Peggie and Ole Miss men’s basketball legend John Straud, who scored 2,328 total points. Jennifer Gillom also helped to lead the United States Basketball Team to a gold medal in women’s basketball in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Today, basketball fans throughout the county recognize Abbeville, Mississippi, as the home of the Gilloms –– a fact that makes the city a true Hotty Toddy hometown.