1958 National Champions

HATTIESBURG----Fifty years ago two unbeaten teams could have locked horns at the Sugar Bowl, LSU and Mississippi Southern College. As Sports Editor of the Jackson State Times I campaigned for such a showdown.
The New Orleans Sports Editor Bill Keefe mentioned the possibility. Paul Dietzel, who I nicknamed Pepsodent Paul because of his sparkling smile, said "Thanks, but no thanks."
John Cox, voice of Southern athletics for three decades, has written a book about this team and I heartily recommend it. The title is A Season to Remember 1958 Southern Miss Football. It is the Story of the UPI College Division National Championship.
This was Coach Pie Vann's 10th season as head coach of the Southerners as the team was called in those days. Southern had exploded on the national scene in 1953 defeating SEC Champion University of Alabama and later that season whitewashed the University of Georgia, 14-0.
The State Times went out of business in 1962 when Dumas Milner, the majority stockholder in a need for cash after property in the Bahamas went down the drain, offered the paper to two other major stockholders to former Jackson Mayor Leland Speed, Sr. and Parham Bridgers, a real estate mogul. The competing paper publisher of the Clarion-Ledger and Jackson Daily News made a better offer, and Milner, one of the South's top car dealers, took the best offer, the best deal.
The Hedermans eliminated the competition, the State Times, and shut it down, sending all employees into the job search business. I went to the Houston Colt 45's , an expansion team with the New York Mets, and helped launch the Houston team's first good will caravan. A month or so later just before spring training began, I was recommended to the Trenton N.J. Times for the Executive Sports Editor-Columnist assignment covering the Yankees, the Mets, the other expansion team, the Phillies, the Giants, the Eagles and major college athletics. I headed East.
I watched with interest the 1962 and 1963 college football season Deep South battles including Johnny Vaught's warriors near the end of the Glory Year decade which I covered and Pie Vann's battling Southerners.
In 1958 Southern played only nine games, winning them all, including victories over three major college teams, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and West Texas State. plus college division teams Louisiana Tech, Memphis State, Southeastern Louisiana. Abilene Christian, Trinity, and the University of Chattanooga , the Thanksgiving rival in those days.
Southern was captained by Jim Taylor and Richard Johnston who both attended the 50th reunion the night before the East Carolina game. Others on hand were John Russell, Little All-Amercan End Bob Yencho, George Sekul, Bill Weber, John Perkins, Sonny Tucker, Andin McLeod, Teeny Coats, Ray St. Pierre, Billy (Goat) Sullivan, Homer Boyd, J.C. Arban, Hugh McInnis, Charley McArthur, Pete Rich, Charley Dedwildler, former line coach Jack Thomas, trainer Larry (Doc) Harrington manager Jim Crawford, and stadium manager Ken Shearer, who also is the team historian and handles the mailing.
Former line coach Roland Dale,who turned down the head coach job after a couple of days, was the line coach in 1958 but left to enter private business, resulting in Jack Thomas' hiring. Earlier in the evening Dale and his wife Teenie were on hand to be recognized as a former Athletic Director with a beautiful room in the sparkling Athletic Office building.
Sekul was the field general of that team ably assisted by Teeny Coats and Billy Larsen,.Besides Thomas Coach Vann also had his great backfield coach Heifer Stuart still on board as well as Pete Taylor, who had succeeded the great H. A. Smith, a master recruiter. Ace Cleveland, former Hattiesburg American and Jackson sports writer. was the athletic publicity director, a job I held from 1951-l955. The Southern press box is named after Ace, who served his school for 30 years. His sons are the gifted Jackson scribes, Rick and Bobby. His grandson Tyler is a member of the Hattiesburg American sport s staff.
Reed Green was the Athletic Director during Pie's era after being hired as head coach. He brought Pie to Southern from Meridian High . Pie captained the Ole Miss football team in his playing days.
Southern won its Thanksgiving battle with Scrappy Moore's Chattanooga Moccasins with a goal line stand which impressed a 16-year old lad named John Austin Murphy who became a lifetime fan. He left Southern $180,000 in his will for athletic scholarships.
In 19558 Southern beat North Carolina State, 26-14, in Mobile and crushed Virginia Tech, 41-0, resulting Bill Keefe's column note of being the best small college team in the country.
It also caught Paul Dietzel's attention. A star in his playing days at Miami University in the Mid-America Conference Dietzel knew about such teams. He preferred to play Frank Howard's Clemson Tigers instead and LSU barely won the battle of the Bengals in New Orleans, handing Clemson's 7-2 season a third defeat.
Southern's great national champion college division team stayed home and the players on that team 50 years later still are sad that they did not get a chance to play the major college national champion LSU Tigers.
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