The State’s Best Jocks

March 26, 2008

The Jackson Free Press recently asked our bloggers and online readers to come up with their picks for the greatest sports heroes of all time from our state. The thread got passionate, and it got ugly. Insults flew. A couple people stormed out.

“To some kids and older folks Steve McNair is a hero. To some it is Archie. To a young girl it may be any one of the women that have represented Mississippi! To some it is some no-name player that played a sport that you don’t follow or care about,” Pikersam declared.

But in the end, the JFP bloggers indeed came up with a list. And they proved that sports are not just a boys’ game.

“I am a woman. I talk sports. I like sports. I have heroes and heroines. I am talking, too. Can’t keep this subject “between men,’” J.T. said, cutting straight through the testosterone.

Top 10 Blogger Picks

Walter Payton “Daah bears 85” –senab. Payton was born in Mississippi, and went on to have an outstanding collegiate football career at Jackson State University and professional career for the Chicago Bears.

Brett Favre “Longest starting streak for a QB” –senab.
Winston Thompson wrote of Favre at espn.com: “I’ll miss him turning Southern traits into something positive. Like Favre, I’m from Mississippi. Just that name carries horrible—and deserved—connotations. But Brett ... the things we’ve always valued about ourselves, the toughness, the wildness, the exuberance, those things were suddenly treasured. Brett Favre made it cool to be from Mississippi. He seemed small town, and the rest of the NFL seemed anything but. It’s sprawling, corporate. It’s a cubicle. Brett Favre is a farm, and I think, deep down, we all miss our agrarian roots. If Tom Brady is what America is, then Favre is what America was and, sometimes, I think we wish we could have that America back.”

Jerry Rice “Part of the greatest dynasty, the best receiver” – goldenae.
Rice grew up in Crawford, graduated from Mississippi Valley State University in 1984 and went on to play in the NFL until Aug. 24, 2006, when he officially retired as a San Francisco 49er.

Steve McNair “Greatest college QB ever; if people never saw McNair plat at ASU, they have no idea what great is” – goldenae.
Born in Mount Olive and attended Alcorn State University. Plays in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.

Ray Guy “If you have an award named after yourself, you deserve to be on the list” – golden eagle 97.
The Ray Guy Award is a national prize honoring the nation’s top college punter.

Cool Papa Bell “First Mississippian in the National Baseball Hall of Fame” –BubbaT. Born 1903 in Starkville, Cool Papa Bell spent his entire career playing in the Negro Leagues and in Latin America. He retired a year before Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier in 1947. Over the previous 25 seasons, however, Bell was a major league star by anyone’s standards. He once scored from first base on a bunt. A part of his Hall of Fame plaque, awarded in 1974, reads: “Contemporaries rated him the fastest man on the base paths.” (Read more from the Negro League Baseball Players Association at http://www.nlbpa.com )

Robin Roberts “State bowling champ at age 10” – pikersam.
“Good Morning America” anchor who grew up in Pass Christian.

Margaret Wade “An award named after her” – pikersam.
Delta State coach Margaret Wade had a trophy created in her honor to award the top women’s college basketball player. She was also the first woman enshrined in Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Delta State University’s Hall of Fame.

Lusia Harris “Played in the Olympics, won a silver medal, 1997 the first and only woman ever drafted by an NBA team (the Jazz)” –BubbaT
Lusia Harris-Stewart was born in Minter City. In 1976, she played basketball in the Olympics and was selected Delta State homecoming queen. In 1992, she was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 1999, she was indicated into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Will Clark “MSU All-American who went on to have an amazing career as ‘Will the Thrill’ in San Francisco” – fondrenfarms

posted by L.W. on 03/28/08 at 08:03 AM