The Super Bowl could very well turn Sunday on the ability of Fletcher Cox of Yazoo City to pressure Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
It wouldn’t be the first time a Mississippian has made an impression in the world’s most watched sporting event. And Marion Countians have shone on that stage as well:
Claudis James, a graduate of Marion Central High School (now East Marion), played for the 1967 Green Bay Packers. They beat the Oakland Raiders 33-14 to win Super Bowl 2 on Jan. 14, 1968. A 14th-round draft pick out of Jackson State, James had spent the season trying to convert from half back to wide receiver and had played on special teams, according to a 1997 story in The Clarion Ledger. He got beat out of the last special teams spot on the Super Bowl roster so although he was on the sidelines in uniform, he was not eligible to play.
“It was a real downer for me,” James was quoted as saying.
But there was a bright side: The Super Bowl ring served him well as a conversation piece during his two-decade career selling school supplies and sporting goods. He also married his wife, Emma, two weeks after the big game.
Jim Dunaway, a Columbia High and Ole Miss product, won a Super Bowl ring for the undefeated Dolphins in Super Bowl 7 with a 14-7 win over the Redskins on Jan. 14, 1973, in the final game of his NFL career.
The most famous football-playing Columbian, Walter Payton, finally got a world championship in Super Bowl 20. The Bears steamrolled the Patriots 46-10 on Jan. 23, 1986, with Payton running for 61 yards on 22 carries, but the future Hall of Famer did not score a touchdown.
“I didn't plan that. That put a damper on things later,” Bears coach Mike Ditka said in a 2007 book. “I asked Walter, and he said it didn't bother him, but it did. I regret not giving him that honor. But we had a game plan, and he was the whole reason it worked because wherever he went, the Patriots' defense went. Later I explained this to him. I don't think he ever accepted it totally.”
Finally, Bobby Hamilton of East Marion High School and USM played a major role in establishing the Patriots’ dynasty. The defensive end sacked Kurt Warner to end the first quarter of Super Bowl 36 on Feb. 3, 2002, as New England won its first Super Bowl 20-17 over the Rams, and he added four tackles in Super Bowl 38 as the Pats beat Carolina 32-29 on Feb. 1, 2004.
In all, not a bad track record for a small town in South Mississippi.
