2002

M Club to induct fornter ECCC football coach into Hall of Fante

Six former Uniyersity of Southern Mississippi ath– letes and a former Golden Eagle coach will be in– ducted into the M Club Alumni Association Hall of Fame oo April 12 at the Lake Terrace Convention Center in Hattiesburg. The class of 2002 includes former football and base– ball standout Willie Coats, football standouts Marvin Harvey and L.T. Herman, women's basketball star Diana Lyons Jones, track standout Chuck Rolle, baseball star Steve Knight and former USM football

coach and Eagle Oub Ex– ecutive Director Bobby Col– lins. Coats is a graduate of Stonewall High School where he ..was a standout football, basketball and baseball player for four years. He was team captain and played quarterback and de– fensive back oo the 1952 and 1953 teams that went undefeated, as well as the 1954 team that lost only one game. These teams compiled a 27-game winning streak. After graduation, he

played in the Mississippi High School All Star Foot– ball Game. Coats attended USM a1 a football scholarshtp, play– ing football for four years and baseball for three years. He played quarter– back and defensive back

for 39 years. He ended his coaching career at East Central Community College where his teams won 19 of their last 23 games. The 1996 team went 10-1, won the Huddlehouse Golden Isle Bowl Game and were ranked fourth in the nation. Coats and Diana Lyons Jones are also members of the East Central Commu– nity Co liege Athletic Hall of Fame.

COATS Continued from page 1A After graduating from USM, Coats played minor league professional base- ball in the Chicago Cubs minor league organization. After playing profes– sional baseball, Coats en– tered the coaching p rofes– sion where he was a suc– cessful high school and jun– ior college football coach

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