Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2024

Photo from L to R: Paul Elias, Jimmy Smith, Jr., Jimmy Webb, Savanté Stringfellow, Richard Duease, Becky Vest(WLOX)

By WLOX Staff

Published: Oct. 25, 2023 at 12:23 PM MST|Updated: 22 hours ago

JACKSON, Miss. (WLOX) - The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame proudly announced the selections for the Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2024 today. The newest group includes three NFL football players, a tennis professional, a track and field star, a basketball coach, a baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster, and the first-ever bass fisherman to be inducted.

The Class of 2024 is as follows:

Walter “Red” Barber – Born in Columbus, MS, Red Barber first started working in radio while at the University of Florida. He caught the eye of Cincinnati Reds General Manager Larry MacPhail who was looking to broadcast his team’s games. The first big league game he watched was his first MLB broadcast. Barber went on to broadcast for the Reds, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the New York Yankees. He and his partner with the Yankees, Mel Allen, were the first two broadcasters honored with Induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is credited with many unusual sayings during his broadcasts like “sitting in the Catbirds seat,” calling arguments “rhubarbs,” or telling listeners that “the batter hit that ball out into the pea patch”.

Richard Duease - Born and raised in Indianola, Richard Duease played many sports throughout his high school and junior college years. He attended Mississippi State and then began his coaching career at Manchester Academy in Yazoo City. He moved to Lee Academy in Clarksdale to coach men’s and women’s basketball. In 1982, he was hired at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, where he still coaches today. While at MRA, Coach Duease has averaged over 30 wins per season. His teams have won 33 State Championships and 15 Overall MAIS Championships. Now in his 49th season, he has a men’s basketball record of 1209-433 and a women’s basketball record of 592-271.

Paul Elias – A native of Laurel, Paul Elias is the first Professional Bass Fisherman to be selected for the Hall of Fame. Perhaps the greatest fisherman the state has produced, Elias began tournament fishing as a pro in 1979 and still competes today. In 1982, Paul won the Bassmaster’s Classic Championship in Montgomery, AL. In 2008, he set a record that still stands today for the largest four-day five-bass limit in one tournament of 132 pounds 8 ounces on Lake Falcon in Texas. Over his career, he has won six tournaments and had over 50 top-ten finishes. Paul is considered one of the top innovators and technicians in bass fishing.

Eli Manning – The youngest of the Manning sons, Eli began making his mark in football at an early age. He excelled as a quarterback in high school before following in his father’s footsteps to the University of Mississippi. During his time in Oxford, he set or tied 47 records to become the most honored offensive player in school history. He was the first player drafted in the 2004 NFL Draft. He enjoyed a 16-year career with the New York Giants, winning two Super Bowls and two Super Bowl MVP Awards. His #10 jersey has been retired by both Ole Miss and the NY Giants. He is in the Giants Ring of Honor, Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame, Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame, and has been selected as an SEC Legend. In 2016, Eli was chosen as the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year.

Jimmy Smith – Born and raised in Jackson, Jimmy Smith started his football career at Callaway High School as a wide receiver. His teammates nicknamed him “Silk” because he made big plays appear easy. He played college ball at Jackson State and then was drafted 36th Overall in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. In his rookie year, he played mainly Special Teams and took the Cowboys to a Super Bowl Victory. In 1995, Smith caught the eye of Jaguars Head Coach Tom Coughlin at a tryout camp and was signed by the team. He was a five-time Pro-Bowler and led the league in passes caught in 1999. He was a fixture for a decade in the Jacksonville offense. Over his career, he caught 862 passes for 12,287 yards and 67 touchdowns. He retired as the Jags All-Time Leading Receiver.

Savanté Stringfellow – A native of Jackson, Savanté Stringfellow attended Provine High School where he was a track and field star. He competed in the long jump, ran hurdles, and had a high jump of 6′11″. He went to Ole Miss where he was coached by Hall of Famer Joe Walker. Long Jump was his specialty and he claimed three NCAA Titles, as well as six All-American titles. In 2000, he earned a spot on the US Olympic team, where he won a Silver Medal in the long jump. He has won titles all around the world in the US, Canada, Australia, France, Monaco, and Hungary. He is a member of the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame.

Becky Vest – Becky Vest grew up in Jackson and attended Provine High School. While in junior high, she won two State Championships in tennis. In high school, she won three more State Championships. Becky chose to attend Odessa Junior College and then Trinity University in Texas because they offered women’s tennis programs at the time. After college, Becky turned professional and played on the Virginia Slims European Tour. She played in the French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon. She has taught tennis all over the mid-south in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In 1998, she was inducted into the Mississippi Tennis Hall of Fame. Her mother, Dorothy Vest is also an inductee of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, making them the first mother-daughter duo to be inducted.

Jimmy Webb – Dr. Webb grew up on a cattle farm near Florence, MS. He was an outstanding student and athlete at Florence High and went on to Mississippi State University. While at MSU, Jimmy attained All-American status, All-SEC honors, and All-Academic Status. He was arguably the top defensive lineman in MSU history, while also studying Veterinary Medicine. He was the first-round draft choice by the San Francisco 49ers and played for six seasons. In 1981, he played with the San Diego Chargers and they won their division and first-round playoff contest. Although the league didn’t keep defensive stats for sacks, tackles for loss, or assisted tackles until 2001, one sportswriter claimed that Jimmy spent so much time in the opponent’s backfield that they should have charged him rent. Dr. Webb and his wife settled in Turlock, CA where he worked in embryo transfer and ran his family farm. He has been inducted into the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame, selected as an SEC Legend, and selected to the 75th Anniversary Sun Bowl Team in 2008.

This impressive group will be formally enshrined next summer during the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Induction Weekend on August 2nd-3rd, 2024. Tickets will go on sale in January 2024.

October fishing at Bogue Homa

The vegetation is dying off, and you can fish many of the areas close to the bank that you’ve not been able to fish when grass has enveloped the lake. Also, this time of year is when the bass are feeding heavily on shad to build up their bodies for the winter and to get ready for the spring spawn.

The lures I’ll use in October include a bladed jig, a swimbait, a Mann’s SpringR worm and a Mann’s Super Frog. The bass will be near the banks in shallow water and holding in or on the edge of the dying grass or under the cypress trees. My main target in October is the dying grass. As nights become cooler, the baitfish will move in even closer to the bank and into the dying grass. The bass then will follow.

In the fall, you’ll also spot numbers of schooling bass.

The Jig/Swimbait

The first two lures I’ll fish on the east side of the lake are a white bladed jig and a white swim bait. I like white because that’s the color of the shad the bass are eating. I prefer a 3/8-ounce bladed jig and fish it on a 7’6” FX custom cranking rod with a 7.3:1 gear ratio Bruin ELS reel and 14 pound test White Peacock fluorocarbon line. I’ll reel the bladed jig fairly fast to keep it out of the grass and rip it off the dying grass. I’m primarily looking for bait and bass chasing that bait.

I like to fish the back 1/3 of the lake where I’ll locate coontail moss and patches of lily pads. When I identify a spot where I can cast my bladed jig, I’ll start retrieving it as soon as it hits the water. These places will also be where I’ll fish a white swimbait.

A Super Frog 

Once I see the bass chasing shad back into the shallow grass on the lake’s east side, I’ll switch to fishing the Super Frog. I’ll start off with a white Super Frog because the shad are white; however, if I’m not getting as many bites as I think I should, I’ll switch to a black frog. I always let the bass show me what color of frog they’ll most actively attack.

I’ll fish both Super Frogs on a 7’3” FX custom rod with a 7.3:1 Bruin reel and 50 pound test bass braid. I’ll walk the frog over the tops of the grass and stop it in an open pocket or an open hole. I’ll also be casting to the lily pads and stopping the frog in any openings in the pads. I like this tactic for bass that are chasing bait in the grass and the pads.

A Spring® Worm

I like to fish this lure in a Junebug color that I’ve wacky rigged with a weed guard hook around the cypress trees on the east side of the lake. I’ll skip the worm under the cypress trees and attempt to get the worm as close to the trunk as possible where there’s shade. On most of the grass lakes I fish, the Junebug color gets the most bites in October.

I’ll fish this worm on a 7’4” medium action FX custom rod with 15 pound test bass braid line and a 12 pound test, 6 foot long fluorocarbon leader. I’ll tie the fluorocarbon to the braid with an Alberto knot. Once the worm hits the water, I’ll let it fall all the way to the bottom, shake it, move it a short distance and allow it to fall to the bottom again. 

I’ll also fish the SpringR Worm around cypress knees and the cypress trees’ root systems.

After I’ve moved the worm two or three times, I’ll reel it in, make another cast and fish the worm all the way around a tree. I’ve found that most of my bites usually occur right after I skip the worm to the base of a cypress tree, and the worm begins falling. On most Mississippi grass lakes, you can fish these techniques and these baits successfully until December. 

The rules

Bogue Homa has a 15 inch size limit on bass. You may catch and release 15 bass in a morning or an afternoon of fishing with seven or eight of those 15 inches long or longer. But Bogue Homa has some very nice-sized bass in it too, and you may hook up to an 8-9 pounder. 

Bogue Homa is home to a number of 3-5 pound bass.