MGCCC Homecoming 2005
Athletic Hall Of Fame

MGCCC names six to Athletic Hall of Fame – Six former Bulldog athletes will be honored this Saturday at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Homecoming at the Perkinston Campus.  They will be officially inducted into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Malone Hall at 10 a.m. 

For more information, call Terry Shavers at 601-528-8900, or e-mail terry.shavers@mgccc.edu.

Allen Williams

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College

Aug. 1983 – May 13, 1985

Football and track

When Allen Williams came to Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College in the fall of 1983, few knew that in only two seasons he would be named an All-American running back and part of a national-champion football team.

Williams came to Perkinston from the Vancleave community in Jackson County. It didn’t take long for him to become part of Coach George Sekul’s offense. By mid-season he was being identified in local papers as the “strong freshman back” after scoring big touchdowns against Hinds, Northwest and Jones.

The 1983 team was on the verge of playing for a national championship but needed a victory over Jones in the state-championship game. The Bulldogs’ offense was stopped by the clock in the final moments of a dramatic comeback and a controversial official’s call. The loss would prove to be the motivation Williams and his freshman class needed to go all the way the following season.

Beginning with the opening kick off in the 1984 season against Mississippi Delta, Williams was a force on the gridiron, pounding in two touchdowns. In 10 regular-season games, he racked up more than 750 yards and 13 touchdowns and averaged more than 5 yards a carry. But Williams was more than just stats – he scored when it mattered most. He capped four game-winning drives in the fourth quarter against Pearl River, Jones, Itawamba and Co-Lin to maintain the perfect season and kept the Bulldogs advancing in the national polls.

Williams’ presence in the national-championship game changed the Harford Owls’ defensive approach. He racked up almost 100 yards rushing, but more importantly, forced Harford’s defense to protect against the run and opened up the Gulf Coast passing game. Gulf Coast won its third national title with a 21-7 victory.

By the end of the perfect 1984 season, Williams was named All-Star, All-State, All-Region and second team All-American. He also received recognition off the football field: He was named to the National Junior College Who’s Who list and the National Dean’s list during his sophomore year. He was the first Gulf Coast football player to sign with a Big Ten university (Northwestern University).

Pasquale “Pat” D’Auria

Harrison-Stone-Jackson Junior College

Sept. 7, 1936 – June 3, 1938

Football, baseball and boxing

In the fall of 1936, with $110 in his pocket, a young man boarded a bus in Nyack, N.Y., bound for the University of Alabama. His goal was to play college football, but when Pasquale “Pat” D’Auria didn’t meet Alabama’s height and weight requirements, he continued his bus ride south and enrolled at then Harrison-Stone-Jackson Junior College. And instantly, Alabama’s loss became our gain, as D’Auria took Perkinston by storm.

D’Auria, who died in December 2004, had already established an impressive athletic record at Nyack High School, excelling in boxing and as a two time All-County shortstop and an All-County running back in football. He continued this tradition while at Perkinston, lettering in boxing, football and baseball.

The Daily Herald called D’Auria “a brilliant drop-kicker,” as he converted 19 extra points for the Bulldogs in two years. His efforts helped Gulf Coast secure the 1936 State Championship with a 7-0-1 record.

D’Auria’s leadership ability could also be seen on the baseball diamond. As the starting third-baseman in 1937, he helped the Bulldogs win the South Division title, and his teammates elected him team captain in 1938. Equally diverse in the academic arena, D’Auria was active in five organizations at the college, serving as an officer in three. It’s easy to see why his peers voted him Best College Freshman in 1937 and Best Sport in 1938.

He accepted a boxing scholarship to Southwestern Louisiana State College and took on contenders from across the South, including a draw with the SEC boxing champ in 1940. He also lettered in baseball at Southwestern, hitting .457 one year, and was drafted by the Yankees. D’Auria played one year of minor league baseball in Port Arthur, Texas, and that’s when he knew he belonged in the classroom.

“I had my teaching contract in my back pocket, and when the batting averages came out in the paper and I saw I was hitting .210, I figured it was time to get on with teaching,” he once said.

World War II delayed his plan for five years, as D’Auria served his country in the Army Air Corps and attained the rank of staff sergeant. While in the service, he also played and coached on a fast-pitch softball team that won the USO championship.

Returning to Nyack in 1946, D’Auria dedicated his life to education for more than three decades, serving as a teacher, guidance counselor and assistant football coach. He was also dedicated to his beloved wife of 53 years, Katherine, and their five children. D’Auria was active in all phases of his community, coaching Little League and participating in local politics and church organizations. He also attended Fordham University and Seton Hall University to earn his advanced degrees.

D’Auria’s son, Patrick B. D’Auria, shared one of his favorite anecdotes about his father’s Bulldog days. It seems his father was granted special permission by Superintendent Cooper J. Darby to graduate, despite still owing $5 to the college. Patrick recalls, “The superintendent let him graduate without paying it, with the promise that my father would send the money at a later date. He did. This is a code that my father lived by his whole life.”

Gale Farmer

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College

Aug. 1963 - May 16, 1965

Basketball

As a 6-foot-1-inch guard from Harrison Central High School, Gale Farmer became a starting forward for the Bulldog basketball team by the second game of his freshman season. Farmer was the final piece Coach Bob Weathers needed for a title run.

Weathers’ teams were ripe for a state championship, making the playoffs two of the last three years. Gulf Coast came into the 1964 playoffs hot, winning the regular-season South Division title. Farmer was a major reason the Bulldogs returned to the title game. In the semi-final game against Holmes, he was the leading scorer, pouring in 24 points while going perfect from the field, hitting 11 of 11 shots.

In the state finals, the Bulldogs faced long-time foe Pearl River. On the very last day in February in a leap year (Feb. 29, 1964), the Bulldogs took the big leap, led by Farmer’s 16 points, and cinched the title in a 60-50 triumph over the Wildcats. The team finished the year with a 20-6 record.

In his second season, the Bulldogs had a 19-3 season, but lost the South Division title to Hinds. Framer was named All-State and attributes his selection to the winning attitude and work ethic instilled by Weathers.

Farmer’s round-ball ability earned a scholarship to Southeastern Louisiana University. He transferred after one year to the University of Southern Mississippi. After graduation in 1967, he was hired as head basketball coach at Biloxi High School.

In 1969, Farmer began training to become a special agent for the FBI. A 30-year career ensued and included major investigations such as international drug cartels, organized crime and political corruption. In addition to his investigative duties, Farmer was also a firearms and defensive tactics instructor and police training coordinator.

While with the FBI, he used his athletic prowess to play basketball, softball and racquetball for the Bureau. While assigned in Los Angeles, he took over as coach and shooting guard for the basketball team. Using Weathers’ one-four offense, the team became a tournament winner in the Police League.

Farmer is married to Christine (Harp) Farmer, a 1964 Perkinston alumnae. They have two sons, Steve and Brett, and one grandchild. He is a lifetime member of the MGCCC Alumni Association and now resides in Slidell, La.

William “Skip” Holland

Mississippi Gulf Coast

Junior CollegeAug. 1970 – Jan. 1972

Football

“Big Skip Holland.” That’s the way every newspaper referred to William Holland by the end of the 1971 national championship football season. And it was a description well earned by the 220-pound, 6 foot-4-inch George County native. Besides his size, Holland was a “big-play” defensive guy, always disrupting plays and finding his way to the ball. Holland set the tone in the second game of the ‘71 season, against Co-Lin. The Daily Herald wrote, “Holland turned in a tremendous performance. Holland made three unassisted tackles, nine assisted tackles, covered two opponent fumbles and was consistently playing tough in the Wolves backfield.” The Bulldogs won 30-7 and held Co-Lin to just 49 yards in rushing. Holland made up the left side of one of the college’s toughest defenses. Altogether, the Bulldogs’ defense held eight teams each under

14 points in a game. Gulf Coast also kept four teams -East Mississippi, Southwest, Hinds, Delta- under 100 yards of total offense for an entire game. These performances were the backbone to the Bulldogs’ perfect 11-0 season.

Gulf Coast and Holland faced their biggest challenge of the year in the national championship game on Dec. 3 against Fort Scott (Kansas) Community College. The Greyhounds came into the game the defending national champs, riding a 27-game winning streak and boasting of the most highly recruited running backs (Tommy Reamon) in junior college football.

“I told Holland before the game, ‘Your job is to stop Reamon,’” Coach George Sekul said after the game. And the Holland and Bulldog defense did, holding the talented back to just one touchdown.

The Savannah Morning News bitterly reported the following day, “It was Gulf Coast’s sticky defense that shut off Reamon’s outside runs, thus putting a damper on the Greyhounds’ offensive machine. Big Skip Holland did a fantastic job at the defensive end for Gulf Coast.”

“Big Skip” finished his sophomore year being named All-State and second team All-American. Perhaps his longest legacy is found in the Gulf Coast record book. More than 30 years after leaving Gulf Coast, Holland’s name still appears in the top 10 of most individual tackles and most assisted tackles in a season.

Holland went on to Delta State and majored in civil engineering. This led to career a in pipefitting and construction that took him across the country and into Canada. In 1978, he became an ordained Baptist preacher and has been a pastor in Mississippi for more than two decades.

Merrill “Red” True

Harrison-Stone-Jackson

Agricultural High School

Sept. 8, 1930 - May 1932

Sept. 6, 1933 - Summer 1934

Harrison-Stone-Jackson

Junior CollegeSummer 1934 - Jan 26, 1936

Baseball, boxing, track and tennis

Merrill “Red” True, nicknamed after his red locks, is one of the student athletes who built the college’s championship athletic legacy in the early 20th century. He helped earn the college four South Division titles, was a member of three different state championship teams (baseball, track, tennis) and was a founding member of the Bulldog boxing program.

How did he have time to accomplish so much and still graduate? True is one of those unique student athletes who started playing college sports at Perk while still in high school at AHS. As a high school freshman in 1931, True made the Bulldog baseball team as the substitute second baseman. He was a starter whenever Bulldog pitcher Pat Morris was on the mound.

Coming into the last series of the season, the Bulldogs needed a sweep over East Central to claim the South Division title and a spot in the state playoffs. By the third inning, the Bulldogs were already down a run and had no hits. Red got the bats going with a one-out single into left field. Two batters later, True was driven in to score, and the Bulldogs never trailed again. The 1931 team went on to win the South Division and state championship. True was the team’s starting infielder in 1934 and 1935, and the Bulldogs went on to win the South Division both years.

Red’s second junior college state championship came in 1932 on the hard courts. He teamed with William “Fish Bait” Miller to win the state’s double tennis title.

In 1933, Red, along with a handful of other students, volunteered to start a new boxing team at the college. True, like most of the other guys, didn’t have any experience in the “sweet science” of boxing. But after three months of practice, True laced up his gloves as a middle weight and stepped into the boxing ring set up by the college inside of the old gym. The Daily Herald covered the fight.

“After one minute and 40 seconds, Dennis (Gillespie) had taken so much punishment from Merill True that Coach Carter tossed in the towel. Gillespie opened up with a sharp jab to True’s face but that was his last good punch. True outclassed him and showed promise.”

Perhaps Gillespie would have reconsidered the fight if he had known Red’s workout regimen every day. It began at 2 a.m. in the morning in the college’s boiler room. For four hours True shoveled piles of raw black coal into one of the college’s boilers. It was back-breaking work that True says kept him in shape all year and, more importantly, helped pay for college.

Red won his third and final state championship in track. The same speed and quickness that serviced him on the baseball diamond and between the ropes helped him excel in the pole vaulting. Track competitions were decided by overall team points. True constantly scored in the top three in pole vaulting to boost the team’s points. The Bulldog track team came into the 1935 state championships undefeated and continued its winning ways, outscoring its nearest opponent by almost 200 points.

Although it doesn’t seem possible, Red also had time for one of his true passions, the theater, while at Perk. He was voted best junior college actor in 1935 for his portrayal of a death-row inmate in the “Valiant.” His performance was so well received the college performed the play again the following year, just to see True in the role one more time.

Margaret “Peg” Farris Robertson

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College

Summer 1974

Fall 1975 - May 12, 1977

Basketball

Peg Farris, the daughter of former Bulldog baseball coach Kenneth “Curly” Farris, helped Gulf Coast push the “7” envelope in the 1976-77 basketball season. A 6-foot Lady Bulldog, Farris was part of “the greatest triumvirate ever,” which included AHOF members Connie Winstead and Edna Purvis. The trio scored in the double digits, dominated the court and took the Lady Bulldogs to the NJCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament in March 1977.

On May 2, 1975, head women’s basketball coach Sue Ross, also an AHOF member, announced five grant-in-aid women’s basketball scholarships, the first ever awarded by Gulf Coast. Farris, a Stone High grad, was the first player to sign.

At Stone, Farris, winner of Perk’s Most School Spirit award in 1976 and 1977, was selected to numerous All-Tournament teams and to All-Gulf Coast Conference and All-District. One college publication stated, “We are expecting a lot of rebounding strength and scoring from Peg this year.” Farris delivered.

The Lady Bulldogs lost the bid for the 1976 South Division championship, but they came back hungry the next season. Campus life for Farris that year also kept her busy: She was a member of the Fellowship of Christian athletes, the Dorm Council and the Bat Girls.

The Lady Bulldogs also won the South Division title in Wesson Feb. 17-19, 1977. They then hosted the women’s state championship tournament Feb. 23-25 at Perk. Gulf Coast won, taking the first state-sanctioned Mississippi junior college state championship in Gulf Coast’s history. Next they won the NJCAA Region VII Tournament, held March 1-5, 1977, in Cleveland, Tenn., and then went back home to prepare for the Third National NJCAA Women’s Tournament held in mid-March in Overland Park, Kan.

At 24-11 and riding a 13-game winning streak, they lost the first game, but won the next four games and placed No. 7 in the in the nation. Farris scored and rebounded in the double digits in those last four games.

Farris, an Honors grad at Perk and Citizenship Award winner, ended her junior-college basketball days as All State, All South State, All State - Second Team, All Tournament Region VII Team, All Region VII, and All National – Second Team. Today, Farris, who received a full scholarship to Delta State University, has three children and is outpatient supervisor of Rehabilitation Services at Singing River Hospital in Ocean Springs. She can still attest to what Sue Ross said back in 1977: “South state, state, Region Seven and seventh nationally in seventy-seven.”

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