Mississippi Today
Touching all bases: On Ferriss award, Furr, and brushes with Tom Watson

Ole Miss slugger Kemp Alderman won the 2023 Boo Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi’s most outstanding college baseball player, as chosen by Major League scouts and college coaches. As is almost always the case in these post-season awards, there was an outcry that the wrong guy got the trophy.

Alderman won over fellow finalists Hunter Hines of Mississippi State, Tanner Hall of Southern Miss, Ty Hill of Jackson State and Slade Wilks of Southern Miss. Hall won the award in 2022.
First things first: Alderman is a worthy winner. All he did was hit .376 with a slugging percentage of .709 and on-base percentage of .440. He slammed 19 home runs and knocked in 61 runs. “One of the most productive seasons in Ole Miss baseball history,” is the way his coach, Mike Bianco, described it.
Nevertheless, social media and fan websites (and my email) were inundated with cries of favoritism or a rigged vote. Most of it came from Southern Miss fans who believed Hall, the Golden Eagles’ All American pitcher, should have won for a second consecutive season.
You may remember that Hall won last year, beating out, among others, Ole Miss’s heroic slugger Tim Elko, who eventually would lead the Rebels to the national championship. Naturally, Rebel fans believed Elko should have won.
As with Alderman, Hall’s numbers were off the charts. Pitcher of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference, Hall is 12-3 with a 2.23 earned run average. He has struck out 109 batters while walking only 30. In conference games, he was 9-1 with a 2.00 ERA. Understand, he was always pitching against the other team’s best guy.
If I had a vote, I would have voted for Hall, but that’s taking nothing away from Alderman, nor any of the other finalists who all had phenomenal seasons. Congrats to Kemp Alderman, who was eloquent and thoughtful in accepting the award. Congrats also to Hall for an All American season that is far from over.
This past Sunday, Jackson native Wilson Furr was leading the Korn Ferry Tour event in Kansas City when he went to the first tee to begin the fourth and final round. He looked around the quite sizable gallery and, much to his surprise, saw someone he recognized.
That someone was Tom Watson.

Yes, that Tom Watson: Kansas City native, winner of eight major tournaments, 39 PGA tournaments, eight European Tour tournaments and the world’s No. 1 golfer for four years consecutively.
Furr’s thoughts were just what you might suspect: “Tom Watson, one of greatest players in golf history, is out here watching me … ”
No pressure there.
So, Furr’s group gets to the sixth green, with Watson still watching, and Furr faces important chip shot, still holding a narrow lead. He addresses the ball and then it happens. In the gallery, someone’s phone rings.
Furr backs away and looks in the direction of the ringing phone. Yes, it was Tom Watson’s phone, and the World Golf Hall of Famer was fumbling with it, sheepishly trying to turn it off.
The rest of the gallery had a good laugh and Furr went on and made his par.
Furr shot a final round 71, which tied him for second place behind Grayson Murray, who shot a final round 68.
The second straight Top 10 finish moved Furr to No. 26 on the Korn Ferry points list, with the tour moving to Knoxville this week. The top 30 on the points list will gain full PGA Tour privileges for 2024. Furr has made quite a comeback since missing the cut in a Florida tournament last month because of controversial two-shot penalty.
I had my own personal episode with Tom Watson, long before he became famous and long before cell phones, for that matter.
This was 50 years ago in 1973 at the old Magnolia Classic in Hattiesburg. Several friends, including PGA officials, told me I had to get out on the course and watch this young golfer, recently graduated from Stanford, destined for greatness. Tom Watson.

So I looked at the pairings, did the math and figured he should be approaching the fifth hole. The fifth at the Hattiesburg Country Club was then — and is now — the hardest hole on the course. I headed that way and arrived at the fifth green just moments before I saw somebody’s shot land on the green, bounce once and then roll into the hole. That somebody turned out to be Watson.
So, the threesome reached the green and the two other golfers marked their golf balls, while Watson, a short, little guy (then with a mustache) looked all around the green for his.
“Hey, buddy,” I called out, “check the hole.”
Watson walked over, looked down, broke into a smile and picked up his ball. He waved the ball to the gallery, which was one. Me. On a hole where par is a good score and birdies are rare, he had made an eagle-2. I followed him the rest of the way, amazed at his compact, efficient swing. He went on to finish third in the tournament. It was his last trip to the Magnolia Classic. He would win the Western Open the next year and the British Open in 1975. He was off and running. The rest was magic.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed
April 26, 1964

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention.
The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.”
In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity.
In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election.
The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mississippi Today
Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday
Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.
“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”
The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.



“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”
The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.
“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”
NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.




This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mississippi Today
With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says
Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed.
They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them.
Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother.
“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.”
Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023.
Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board.
The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition.
A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities.
Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board.
In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties.
The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more.
From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths.
“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said.
Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.
A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents.
Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed.
In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.
Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records.
Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson.
Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.
He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media.
Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary.
Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents.
At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.
“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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