[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 67 (Thursday, May 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING JULIUS HARPER DAVIS

                                 ______
                                 

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 18, 2005

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, recently, Millsaps College in Jackson, 
Mississippi dedicated Harper Davis Field to a man who coached there for 
25 years, and who has built a lifetime legacy of service to sport and 
his fellow man across the state. Coach Harper Davis, affectionately 
called ``Hippo'' by friends and teammates, called the rededication of 
Millsaps' Alumni Field to him the ``greatest honor of my life.'' And 
while leading the Millsaps Majors he built a record of 138-79-4 
including an undefeated season in 1980, his life has much more to 
honor.
  At age 17, Harper Davis left his Delta home in Clarksdale, 
Mississippi and enlisted in the US Marines Air Corps as a pilot to 
serve his Nation in World War II. After the War was over, he was met at 
Texas Grand Prairie Air Station by Mississippi State University 
assistant coach Phil Dickens who had the Bulldogs' playbook in hand. 
Two days later they arrived in Starkville for two practices before his 
first game where Davis scored two touchdowns as MSU defeated Auburn 20-
0. Two days of study and two days of practice were followed by two 
touchdowns. In addition, during those two days, Harper Davis met 
Camille, his future wife. He would go on to be named to the AII-SEC 
team while at State where he also ran on the school's track team. He 
was co-captain of the football team, voted Best Athlete, President of 
the ``M'' Club and named ``Mr. Mississippi State University.'' 
Additionally he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Omicron 
Delta Kappa, Blue Key and the Colonels Club.
  He graduated from Mississippi State with a bachelor of science degree 
in business finance and mathematics in 1948, in 1962 earned a master's 
degree in education administration.
  After leaving Mississippi State University, Harper Davis was a first-
round draft choice of both the Chicago Bears of the National Football 
League and the Los Angeles Dons of the All-American League. Harper 
Davis played one year with the Dons before the league folded and then 
went on to play with the Bears as well as the Green Bay Packers. Many 
considered him the fastest man in the NFL.
  Over the years, Harper Davis has coached the backfield at his alma 
mater as well as head coach at West Point High School, and Columbus 
High School before arriving at Millsaps College. He has been inducted 
into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame and the Mississippi 
Sports Hall of Fame and was named Mississippi Sportsman of the Year in 
1976. He has been honored nationally for his contributions to the sport 
of football and his work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
  Harper Davis is a member of Christ United Methodist Church and with 
his now departed wife, the former Camille Hogan of Starkville, has 
three sons, Michael, Andrew and Patrick with four grandchildren, 
Morgan, Drew, Paul and Brad.
  Mr. Speaker, Harper Davis has now been coaching football for over 50 
years and he continues today at Jackson Academy, where four of my sons 
attend. His gentle firmness and wise lessons continue to build young 
men in Mississippi. I am glad to recognize him today and honor a 
lifetime of service.

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