100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 57 Days – A look back at the 1957 season

Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has arrived and the Mississippi State coach is back to work.

After a disappointing first season, the coach and his staff are doing what they can to get things back on track in Starkville. The players on the field will be the difference for State this season if they are to make a return and we’re going to discuss every single one of them over the course of the next few months.

As we do every year, we’re counting down 100 days until State’s first game at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on August 30. Over this period of time, we’ll breakdown every scholarship player on the roster, look back at great moments in MSU history and even talk about legends that have come before the current Bulldogs.

Today, we look back on a memorable 1957 season.

100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 57 Days – A look back at a 1957 season to remember     

In hindsight, the ‘50s became known as a period of regret in Bulldog football history. The firing of Alyn McKeen was ultimately a bad decision by Director of Athletics Dudy Noble, but he made two great hires in a row with Murray Warmath and Darrell Royal only to see them position themselves for better jobs elsewhere.

Noble was hoping to hit again on an up-and-comer when he hired Royal’s offensive line coach Wade Walker. After four-straight winning seasons from Warmath and Royal combined, things didn’t start well for Walker in 1956 as he went 4-6, but in 1957, there was a glimmer of hope.

The ’57 team didn’t blow anyone away on the stat sheet. You won’t find the team in many school record books and there definitely would be no high-powering offense to show, but they won.

A 14-9 loss to Tennessee in the second game of the season is the big “what if” from that ’57 season. The Maroons would commence to win five of the next six games after that loss. They beat Florida, Alabama and LSU all on the road that season and went 6-2-1 on the year with a 4-2-1 conference slate; a 7-7 tie to hated Ole Miss was the one that stung the most.

It was a decade dominated by iconic offensive backs Jackie Parker and Art Davis, but the State College offense was nothing to write home about. The team won games with some grit and a total team effort. Quarterback Billy Stacy did it all playing quarterback, returning kicks and punts and playing defense. In 1958, he would become the second player in school history to have three interceptions in a game. In ’57, long before Dak Prescott and others, Stacy was an All-American who had just 598 total yards of offense and four touchdowns.

A product of Walker’s coaching, the Maroons had three All-SEC offensive linemen in Jack Benson, Jimmy Dodd and Sam Latham. Defensive end John Benge also earned All-SEC honors. While the teams won games, it’s difficult to look at today’s offenses, compare the numbers and see how they were so successful. Back then, they had the fewest passing attempts and completions (26-73) since 1950, a record that still stands. State College’s top receiver was Gil Peterson who had seven catches for 57 yards.

All of that said, the rushing attack wasn’t setting records either. The Maroons’ top rusher was Molly Halbert who carried it 76 times for 386 yards. The defense was to be commended as they still hold the record for fewest first downs allowed in a season since 1950 (101) and fewest passing yards allowed (635).

That team ended the season ranked 14th in the country. It was the first time since 1942 that MSU had been ranked inside the top 25 at the end of the year and would be the last until 1974. It was the highest ranking since 1940 and the second highest ranking in school history until it was finally topped in 1999.

Despite the successful season, the Maroons turned down a bowl invite to the Cigar Bowl in Tampa, Fla., an act that would cause a riot inside the state of Mississippi these days. The very next year, despite many of the top players returning, State College would win just three games. Walker won two games in 1959 and 1960 and his final year was a 5-5 season in 1961 before he resigned and ran the Athletic Department following Noble’s ousting.

As for that ’57 team, it might have been a flash in the pan for a program that was going down a dark road for most of the next 40 years, but they gave a memorable run for maroon and white-clad fans everywhere.