New Book Details Untold Ole Miss Football Stories

To commemorate 125 years of Ole Miss football history, the Nautilus Publishing Company has published “Stories from 125 Years of Ole Miss Football” (Nautilus: $42), a collection of stories and photographs that don’t fit the typical “sports book” model.

“We didn’t want to repackage the same stories that have been repeated through the years,” said Editor and Publisher Neil White. “Every interview began with a simple question: Tell us a story most people don’t know about.”

White and his team of contributors — including Rick Cleveland, Billy Watkins, Robert Khayat, Jeff Roberson — interviewed more than 100 former players and coaches, as well as children, grandchildren, and widows of former Rebels.

Some of the stories uncovered by the contributors include:

• The undefeated season no one knows about
• The 1907 coach who got players drunk at halftime
• The 1920s football star who was expelled for dancing
• A nude walk through the Ole Miss campus that ended freshman hazing
• The season Archie Manning intercepted four passes
• The Ole Miss defense that was better than 1959’s squad
• The former Ole Miss player who was banned from the NFL . . . for life! 
• The significance of 1943 — when no team was fielded

In addition to exposing hundreds of new Ole Miss football tales, the book includes an appendix with Top Ten lists, including:

• The 10 best and worst Ole Miss teams
• The 10 greatest victories of all time
• The 10 most disappointing defeats
• The all-time Ole Miss offense and defense
• The all-time Ole Miss special teams
• The 10 greatest Ole Miss college players
• The 10 greatest Ole Miss NFL players
• The top salaries of each head coach

“Stories from 125 Years of Ole Miss Football” (ISBN: 978-1-949455-12-0) will debut at the Mississippi Book Festival Aug. 17.

Hottytoddy.com staff report