A big weekend lies ahead for Mississippi athletes being inducted into various halls of fame.
Not only will former Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis have his name enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, but an impressive class down in Jackson will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame – an honor Willis was the recipient of in 2020.
Your newest member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Former Ole Miss and San Fransisco 49ers standout Patrick Willis pic.twitter.com/gaRGZPfFtY
— Caleb Salers (@CalebSalersST) August 2, 2024
The 2024 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame class is headlined by none other than Eli Manning. Before going on to win two Super Bowl MVPs with the New York Giants, Manning broke or tied 47 records at Ole Miss on his way to becoming the program’s most decorated offensive player in school history. He’ll once again follow in the footsteps of his father, Archie, who not only played at Ole Miss as well but was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.
Joining Manning in this year’s class is another Mississippi legend who made a name for himself while in New York. The late Walter “Red” Barber, a Columbus native, was the voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939-53 before moving over to Yankee Stadium to call games from 1954-66. Considered a mentor by Vin Scully, Barber was one of the first two broadcasters inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.
Jimmy Smith and Jimmy Webb will join Manning to make up the group of gridiron guys in this year’s class. Smith, a Jackson native who stayed home to play at Jackson State, was the 36th overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft. He went on to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ all-time leading receiver with 12,287 yards and 67 touchdowns. Webb, a Florence native who played at Mississippi State, was in the NFL before they began keeping sack totals. However, a sportswriter at the time said Webb spent so much time in opposing teams’ backfields, that “they should have charged him rent.”
Richard Duease, going into his 49th season as a high school basketball coach and 42nd season at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, will enter the hall after recently becoming the all-time winningest high school coach in Mississippi history. On top of 33 state championships, he has a boys’ basketball record of 1209-433 and a girls’ record of 592-271.
Paul Elias will be the first professional bass fisherman inducted into the hall. A native of Laurel, Elias began tournament fishing in 1979 and still competes today. In 1982, he won the Bassmaster’s Classic Championship, and in 2008, he set a record for the largest four-day five-bass limit in one tournament of 132 pounds, 8 ounces.
Savanté Stringfellow will join other track and field greats such as Ralph Boston (1976) and Calvin Smith (2014) to have his name enshrined. The long jumper out of Jackson, who attended Ole Miss, was a silver medalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Becky Vest rounds out this year’s class. A Jackson native, Vest went on to play on the Virginia Slims European Tour and competed in the French Open, U.S. Open, and Wimbledon. She joins her mother, Dorothy Vest, as the first mother-daughter duo to be inducted.
Festivities celebrating the 2024 class begin Friday at 6 p.m. at the Sheraton in Flowood. A meet-and-greet will be held Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame before a reception and the induction ceremony at the Clyde Muse Center on the Pearl campus of Hinds Community College begins at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
