[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11366-11367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MERIDIAN HIGH SCHOOL WILDCATS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rice of South Carolina). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2013, the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Fleming) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of 
the majority leader.
  Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, 48 years ago this August marks my first 
practice as a football player for the famed Meridian, Mississippi High 
School Wildcats. After almost a half century, I still remember the 
fragrance of freshly cut dew-covered grass juxtaposed against the 
pungent odor of skin balm and the human stink of a sweaty locker room.

[[Page 11367]]

  1966 was the first year of our newly appointed head coach, Bob Tyler, 
from a small town in north Mississippi. My initial thought and first 
reading of him was a Meridian Star news article in which he was quoted 
as saying he believed in maintaining a high level of physical 
conditioning. I immediately knew that meant we would be running our 
butts off. And we did.
  Our first August practice was everything I expected, and much more. 
We practiced twice a day, sometimes three times a day, first in shorts 
and then in full pads. Temperatures approached 100 degrees, with 100 
percent humidity. Prayers for a quenching rain usually went unanswered.
  Coach Tyler kept some of the existing assistants such as Jerry Foshee 
and the late Earl Morgan, and brought in new ones, including Charles 
Garrett and Robert Turnage. Charles McComb, Jim Redgate, Don Evans, and 
Doug Marshal were also assistants under Tyler.
  August, 1966, practices under Coach Tyler and staff seemed unique, 
even from the beginning. The level of organization, the level of 
excitement of over 100 young men coming out to join our team, and the 
professionalism and commitment to a strong work ethic and Christian 
principles were evident from the beginning.
  There was also something else quite unique in the history of the 
football program. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 
Meridian, Mississippi, deep in the segregationist South, began to 
slowly integrate its public schools.
  That first Tyler August of 1966, we were joined by James Williams, 
the first black athlete in the Wildcat football program's history. The 
following year, several more African Americans, including Robert Bell, 
a defensive tackle, joined us. Not very tall, but very wide and 
athletic, Bell proved to be quite immovable, and hitting him seemed 
like slamming into rebar filled with concrete. He went on to play for 
Mississippi State.
  Our relatively unknown head coach then, Bob Tyler, led Meridian High 
to a fully undefeated season in his first year. The championship game 
was also quite unique in a couple of ways. Our opponent, the Jackson 
Provine Rams, still ran the old single-wing offense popular during the 
1930s. The secret to Provine's success was high school coaches of the 
1960s had no experience defending against the--even then--archaic style 
of football.
  Bob Tyler had an old secret weapon, too, which was defensive line 
coach Earl Morgan, who played college football during the single-wing 
era. He knew exactly how to destroy it.
  The other surprise of the game was a touchdown from the very first 
play of scrimmage when a ``long bomb'' was lobbed from Bob White to 
George Ranager. Meridian High won the game and the Big Eight 
championship, equivalent to today's 6-A championship.
  The 1967 season under Tyler went much the same way. We had another 
perfect season, except for a tie game with Columbus. Nonetheless, we 
went to the State championship and defeated Biloxi High to make it two 
State championships in a row.
  With such a sterling resume, Bob Tyler received considerable notice 
from colleges, as you can imagine. SEC coaches pursued him, and the 
great Johnny Vaught, head coach of Ole Miss, recruited Tyler to become 
assistant at Tyler's alma mater and favorite team ever.
  It was rumored that Vaught was grooming Tyler to succeed him as head 
coach. Vaught ultimately retired with health problems, and Tyler left 
for the opportunity to coach under the legendary Bear Bryant of the 
famed Crimson Tide. It wasn't long before Bob got his shot to become 
head coach of an SEC football team. He went on to Mississippi State, 
where he found great success during his 5-year tenure.
  Bob Tyler was not only noted for his coaching, but for the talent he 
developed. Smylie Gebhart, a great defensive end, went on to become an 
All-American at Georgia Tech. David Bailey, a wide receiver, went on to 
set reception records under Bear Bryant. George Ranager caught the 
winning touchdown for Alabama in the famous 33-32 shootout with Ole 
Miss in 1969.
  Coach Charles Garrett, Tyler's right-hand man, took the helm for the 
1968 season and had big shoes to fill. With Tyler promoted to the SEC, 
Garrett proved he had what it takes. Meridian High School had a third 
undefeated regular season, but lost out in the State championship 
rematch against a very fast Biloxi High School team.
  Garrett developed stars, too. In his 3 years as an Ole Miss running 
back, Greg Ainsworth ran for 1,361 yards and 17 touchdowns. Mac Barnes, 
Garrett's quarterback for the 1969 season, became a coaching star in 
his own right. He went on to coach Meridian High championship teams as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, though of mediocre athletic ability, I gained 
tremendously from my experience as a Meridian High Wildcat under both 
Bob Tyler, Charles Garrett, and their very able assistant coaches. Any 
achievements I have made in my life and career must be credited to a 
large extent to what I learned on the practice field--concepts such as 
personal discipline, commitment to excellence, personal sacrifice for a 
unified team goal, preparation for success, and the meaning of 
teamwork.
  Morris Stamm said:

       It is a commitment to a bigger goal, an opportunity for a 
     young man to learn more than blocking and tackling.

  Don May offered this:

       My life lessons learned from the MHS football days proved 
     positive. Hard work and dedication can enable an individual 
     to accomplish any goal and achieve success throughout a 
     lifetime. Applying those lessons to my career and personal 
     relationships has helped me achieve things I would not have 
     thought possible.

  I now look forward, Mr. Speaker, to the scheduled gathering with many 
of my teammates and coaches of the Meridian High Wildcats who coached 
or played under Tyler during the football season of 1966 and 1967. 
Therefore, I now hereby declare the period of 1966 and 1967 to be the 
``Coach Bob Tyler Era.''
  What is likely to be our final roll call will be held on August 23, 
2014, Meridian. Amazingly, most of the coaches and players, including 
Tyler himself, after nearly a half century, are still living and will 
attend the reunion.
  Some have gone on to glory before us, however, and will miss that 
final roll call and we will miss them. They include coaches Earl Morgan 
and Byron McMullen, as well as players such as Smylie Gebhart, David 
Bailey, Mike Cumberland, David Murray, Gary Saget, Maurice Ross, Mike 
Magee, Woodson Emmons, and possibly others.
  Mr. Speaker, I now close with these words.
  To a man, each of my brother Wildcats, I am sure, feel as I do that 
every moment of the hard work, sweat, pain, and sometimes 
disappointment was worth it, and we are all better men because of it. 
Such a common experience even a half century ago bonds us together 
forever. Indeed, we were then, as we are today, and always, even when 
we no longer answer that roll call, will be known as the Meridian High 
Wildcats, a true ``band of brothers.''
  Mr. Speaker, today I want to express a heartfelt tribute to the 
leaders of our Wildcat band of brothers--Coaches Bob Tyler, Charles 
Garrett, and all Wildcat coaches, living and not, and to all of my 
brother players living and not--for all you have done for our town, our 
school, and especially for me.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________