"Thanksgiving" means different things for different people.
For many, the holiday conjures images of bounteous feasts and gatherings
with family and friends. For others, it’s an opportunity to serve those who may
not have enough food, clothing or shelter. For many Mississippians, though, it also
means that it’s time for football. Specifically, it’s time for the annual
gridiron grudge match between Mississippi State and Ole Miss. We call it the “Egg
Bowl.” What’s at stake in the annual battle for the golden egg are bragging rights for a
whole year. Fifty years ago, though, the Egg Bowl didn’t exactly produce a
winner...or a loser, for that matter.
The 1963 edition of the Egg
Bowl was played at Scott Field in Starkville on Saturday, November 30. The
weather was cold and blustery, with wind gusts in excess of thirty miles per
hour. Coming into the game, both teams had good records. Ole Miss was undefeated,
and only a 0-0 tie in the first week against Memphis State to tarnish an
otherwise stellar campaign. Once again, the Rebels had almost wrapped up the
SEC championship and were heading to the Sugar Bowl, leading the conference in
both offensive and defensive categories. Mississippi State had also had a good
year, with just two losses (to Memphis State and Alabama) and one tie against
Florida. For the Bulldogs, it was the first winning season in six years. Both
teams were led by All-Americans at center and tackle and both teams had good
coaches. Ole Miss, of course, was led by the legendary Coach John Vaught.
Mississippi State’s coach in 1963 was Paul Davis, a native of Knoxville,
Tennessee. Davis (left) played at Ole Miss and then coached at New Albany High School
before heading to Jones County Junior College. From there, he coached at
Memphis State and then at Mississippi State as an assistant under Coach Wade
Walker. Davis took over the reins as head coach the previous year and only managed
a 3-6 record in 1962. Although Ole Miss
was still considered the odds-on favorite for the 1963 Egg Bowl, the game
promised to be a hard-fought contest, especially at Scott Field. On this
occasion, however, many of the 35,000 fans assembled for the game were not entirely
focused on football. Just six days earlier, President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated
in Dallas, Texas. By all accounts, the
crowd was a bit subdued. It had certainly been an eventful week. 
Once
the teams kicked off, however, all eyes focused on the contest at hand. In the
game, Ole Miss scored first, driving the ball eighty yards in eleven plays,
scoring on a pass by Rebels quarterback Jim Weatherly. A native of Pontotoc, Weatherly
(right) was an All-American football player but is best known today as a songwriter.
Among other tunes, he composed “Midnight Train to Georgia,” made famous by Gladys Knight & the Pips. On this day, however, he was the man at the helm
of the league-leading Ole Miss squad. Meanwhile, Mississippi State couldn’t get
a first down in the opening period. In the second quarter, though, the Bulldogs
got going and managed to score on a 49-yard field goal (a school record at the
time) from kicker Justin Canale. Canale was from Memphis and was one of five
brothers who played at either Mississippi State or Tennessee. After graduation,
he played as a lineman in the AFL for both Boston and Cincinnati before joining
the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, where he was part of the 1970 Grey Cup
championship team. With Canale’s successful field goal, Ole Miss held a slim
7-3 lead at halftime. 
In
the third quarter, the Rebels had a hard time moving the ball and at one point were
backed up deep in their own territory. Facing a stiff wind, the punter managed only
an 18 yard kick and the Bulldogs got the ball at the Rebel 32 yard line. From
there, State went on to score their only touchdown of the day on a halfback pass
by Ode Burrell, the only pass he ever threw in his college career and the only
pass completed that day by State. Burrell (left), a native of Goodman, Mississippi, was
a JUCO All-American at Holmes Junior College before heading to Mississippi
State, and then went on to play for the AFL’s Houston Oilers, where he was
named the AFL All-Star in 1965. The first time he touched the ball for Houston,
Burrell returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. As big as that play was, however,
it probably didn’t compare with the pass he threw in the Egg Bowl. With that
touchdown, the Bulldogs – incredibly - were now in the lead, 10-7! Mississippi State’s narrow margin held for more than a
quarter, but then Ole Miss began what looked to be the game-winning drive.
Starting at their own 25 yard line, the Rebels moved methodically down the
field, gaining 72 yards in twelve plays. With a little more 3:00 remaining, Ole
Miss had the ball at the State three yard line. It was fourth and goal, and the
game was on the line. Instead on going for the winning touchdown, however,
Coach Vaught chose to send in the kicker, Billy Carl Irwin. Placed at the ten
yard line, Irwin easily made the kick (although he had missed an extra point in
the 1962 Egg Bowl), and the game was tied 10-10. With time left on the clock,
Mississippi State had the opportunity to pull the upset of the year, but it was
not to be. The Bulldogs just couldn’t move the ball and the game ended in a tie.
The 1963 Egg Bowl ended just
where it began – tied. Throughout the long history of the game, there had been
other ties, but this would be the last (and will likely be the last). In
explaining why he went for the tie instead of an outright win, Coach Vaught
(seen here in the 1963 Sugar Bowl) noted that Ole Miss was still “conference champions and undefeated.” Had the
Rebels failed to at least tie Mississippi State, Auburn would have taken the
conference title, so on paper it was a solid decision. For the Bulldogs,
though, they could now rightfully claim that the Rebels hadn’t beaten them. As
with most ties, neither side was entirely happy with the outcome, but neither
was too upset either. Neither team lost, but then neither team won. Ole Miss,
for its part, preserved its claim to an undefeated season and won the SEC
title. Mississippi State earned the right to claim at least a partial victory
in the Egg Bowl and got to a bowl game for the first time in twenty-three years
and earned a #11 ranking in the polls (Ole Miss was a consensus #7). With a
record of 6-2-2, Coach Davis was named the SEC Coach of the Year. 
In the post-season bowls, Ole
Miss went to New Orleans and played in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama. Played
in four inches of snow, the Tide couldn’t score a touchdown but managed to beat
Johnny Vaught’s team on the strength on four field goals, 12-7. Interestingly,
the quarterback that day for Coach Bear Bryant was Steve Sloan, substituting
for Joe Namath, who had been suspended. Sloan, of course, would later become
head coach at Ole Miss. Mississippi State, meanwhile, earned a trip to “sunny”
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played North Carolina State in the Liberty Bowl
on December 21. With temperatures as low as 15 degrees, only 8,309 fans (in a
stadium which held 102,000) saw the game in person. Mississippi State won the
game 16-12, capping off a 7-2-2 season. Due to the low attendance, the game
moved to an indoor facility in Atlantic City in 1964, becoming the first bowl
game played indoors. The next year, the Liberty Bowl moved to Memphis, where it
remains today.
Photo and Image Sources:
(1) Egg Bowl trophy: http://sezyou.wordpress.com
(2) Davis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_E._Davis
(3) Weatherly: http://www.fanbase.com/Mississippi-Rebels-Football-1964
(4) Burrell: http://www.fanbase.com/Ode-Burrell
(5) Vaught: http://www.mmbolding.com
(6) Liberty Bowl: http://www.wcbi.com
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