One of the best players in Mississippi High School football history will be honored this weekend.
Legendary Philadelphia High School running back Marcus Dupree will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Dupree was one of the country’s most highly-recruited players while playing for the Tornadoes from 1978 – 1981. Dupree fielded offers from schools all around the country. His recruitment was chronicled in the book “The Courting of Marcus Dupree” by Mississippi author Willie Morris.
In 1982, Dupree signed to play for the Oklahoma Sooners. During his freshman season, he ran for more than 1,000 yards and was the Fiesta Bowl MVP.
“He was the most gifted player that I ever coached,” Oklahoma Head Coach Barry Switzer said in the 2010 ESPN Film “The Best that Never Was.”
Dupree eventually went on to sign with the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL, before stepping away from football for five years due to injuries.
In 1990, another legendary running back from Mississippi, Walter Payton, urged Dupree to make a comeback.
Dupree did return to the game of football, signing with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL for the 1991 and 1992 seasons.
The other inductees in the Class of 2017 are Jackson State baseball coach and athletic director Bob Braddy Sr., Harrison Central and Ole Miss basketball star Eugenia Conner, sportswriter Rick Cleveland, Alcorn State and NFL player and coach Leslie Frazier and Mississippi State/MLB pitcher Jay Howell.
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame induction will be Saturday, Aug. 5 beginning at the Jackson Convention Complex. A reception begins at 5:30 pm with the banquet to follow at 7:00.
