Manning, Rogers share stories at DSU Fundraising Event
By Andy Collier
The Walter Sillers Coliseum proved to be the place to be for sports fans on Thursday (Aug. 1) as the Delta State University Athletics Department hosted its event titled, “A Night of Champions.”
The event featured football great Archie Manning and former Delta State University and Ole Miss Sports Information Director Langston Rogers, who are both members of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, sitting down and talking about sports and life. The two speakers drew a good crowd as fans covered the coliseum floor having dinner and listening to their stories. The event also featured an auction. The proceeds will support the DSU Athletics Department.
“We were really pleased on all fronts,” said DSU Director of Athletics Mike Kinnison. “We felt great about our attendance and community response. I don’t think we could have asked for a better program that was provided by Archie and Langston. They were so gracious and easy to work with and accommodating. We enjoyed having them here. We think it was a positive event for the community. We were really happy and felt great about it being the first event.”
Manning, who played college football at Ole Miss from 1968-70 and played in the NFL from 1971-84 with New Orleans, Houston and Minnesota, grew up in Drew and graduated from Drew High School. He shared what the community of Drew was like when he was growing up.
“Drew was wonderful,” said Manning. “People ask about Drew. I said, ‘Drew was Mayberry. It was Mayberry.’ It was a wonderful place to grow up. It wasn’t very big. It had a couple of thousands. I think we had four red lights, four service stations, two cafes, two drug stores, and one law office where my mother worked after I lost my dad. It was just a wonderful community. We had 48 in our graduating class.”
Manning also came to Cleveland a lot growing up. He had a lot of fond memories coming to Cleveland.
“Drew was 15 miles from Cleveland,” said Manning. “Drew was good, but we didn’t have everything. We didn’t have the things that Cleveland had. I remember coming to Cleveland with my mother. I always enjoyed Cleveland. I made friends here. A lot of people in Drew worked at Baxter. It was great to have a community like Cleveland that wasn’t far.”
When Manning played baseball in the Babe Ruth League, he was on a team coached by Don Skelton who ended up serving as DSU Head Football Coach from 1988-92. He met Delta State Head Baseball Coach Dave “Boo” Ferriss and eventually became friends with him. He attended Delta State football games with his father, and he would be recruited by then DSU Head Football Coach Horace McCool.
Manning reminisced about his high school days in football when Drew High School would play Cleveland High School in the Delta Valley Conference. One game in his senior year came to mind.
“In my last high school game, we were 4-5 in Drew,” said Manning. “We weren’t that good. We didn’t have but 18 players at the end of the year, but we did beat Cleveland in our last game.”
Later in the evening, Manning talked about his family. He’s been married to his wife Olivia for 53 years and they have three sons Cooper Manning, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Peyton Manning and Eli Manning both had great careers at quarterback in the NFL as they each won two Super Bowl Championships. Peyton Manning is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Eli Manning was recently inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Archie Manning talked about his grand children.
At one point during the evening, Rogers said to Manning,”Some people may think that you and Olivia had a grand plan about raising your kids to be successful athletes in college and the NFL.”
Manning replied, “That just wasn’t the case. We were just trying to raise kids. That’s dangerous to try and do that. I’ve seen it. It’s dangerous.”
Manning emphasized the importance of not putting pressure on kids to plays sports.
“I could write a book on quarterback daddies,” said Manning. “They’re a special breed. They really are. We’re all proud of our kids, but sometimes we just get a little bit too involved. My dad was really good the way he supported me in the manor he did. He gave just as much praise to my sister and her activities as anything I did in sports, and that’s the way I tried to be. We were just trying to raise kids.
“I was glad they liked sports. I think it’s great for young people to play sports. They shouldn’t be pushed. They have to enjoy it. They liked it and had good athletic ability. They had good coaching and work ethic. The coaching wasn’t from me. We were very blessed, but there was never any plan for them to be college football players and certainly not pro football players. We’re just trying to raise kids.”
CUTLINES: Archie Manning, who played quarteback in college football at Ole Miss from 1968-70 and quarterback in the NFL from 1971-84, shares stories of sports and family at Delta State University’s event titled “A Night of Champions” on Thursday (Aug. 1) at the Walter Sillers Coliseum. Photo by Andy Collier
Langston Rogers, who served as DSU Sports Information Director from 1966-81 and Ole Miss Sports Information Director from 1981-2010, was also featured at DSU’s “A Night of Champions” event as he asked Archie Manning questions about sports and family. Photo by Andy Collier