Recreation

Overview

As a young man Archie Manning excelled both athletically and academically in the small Delta town of Drew, Mississippi. Upon graduating from high school with valedictorian honors, Manning began his college football career in 1967 at the University of Mississippi. Under the guidance of legendary college coach John Vaught, Archie Manning and the Ole Miss Rebels football team achieved national recognition. Prior to the start of Manning’s senior year in 1970, the Rebels became one of the national favorites in college football.

OVERVIEW

James “Cool Papa” Bell was the first native Mississippian to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Starkville native’s professional career began in 1922 when he signed with the St. Louis Stars. Aside from playing for five years in several Latin American leagues, Bell spent the majority of his career playing for various teams in the Negro Leagues.

OVERVIEW

In every period of history there exist extraordinary citizens that make everlasting contributions to their society. Gideon Lincecum is one such individual. Through his writings we can gain much insight into the experiences of settlers during the early period of Mississippi’s statehood. His works are an invaluable source of reference for grasping an understanding of how social and cultural changes effected Mississippians of his era.

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1, 2, and 3.

OVERVIEW

At all levels of athletic competition, Mississippian Boo Ferriss serves as an inspiration to all athletes.  A pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1940s, Ferriss suffered a career-ending injury in 1947 and served a brief period as a professional baseball coach for the Red Sox. Boo Ferriss then returned to his native state. In 1959, he became the athletic director and head baseball coach at Delta State University.  It was here in the Mississippi Delta that he launched one of the most successful baseball programs in the state.

OVERVIEW

Elvis Presley, or better known as simply Elvis, was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. Even after his untimely death, this Mississippian still remains a pop icon. He rose from a humble beginning in Mississippi to launch a rock and roll revolution with his charismatic stage presence and distinctive voice.

OVERVIEW

In this lesson, students will explore the life and work of “the most popular and influential blues guitarist of the last three decades,” according to Robert Palmer, author of Deep Blues, (p. 178). The life of Riley B. “B.B.” King is, in many ways, reflective of the early hard lives of most Delta blues musicians. No study of Mississippi’s rich cultural history is complete without including the Delta blues and its practitioners, now studied, sung, and imitated around the world.