Three former Bulldog sports greats named to Hall of Fame

Three former Mississippi State sports greats, Joe Dan Gold, George "Bubba" Hampton, and Lee Austin Watts, were inducted into the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame in a ceremony prior to the Oct. 5 football game with Georgia.

Gold was the captain of MSU's 1962-63 basketball team that became the first in school history to play in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-5 Benton, Ky., native scored 13.3 points per game and snared 7.8 rebounds a contest en route to leading the Bulldogs to a 22-6 record and an unprecedented third-straight SEC crown that season. The end of his collegiate eligibility didn't signal the end of Gold's involvement with the Bulldog basketball program. After playing his final game, Gold took over the reins as the coach of MSU's freshman team until 1965, when he succeeded MSU's all-time winningest basketball coach, Babe McCarthy. Gold served as the head coach for five years before departing in 1970. He lives in Williamston, Ky., where he is the superintendent of Williamston's independent schools.

Hampton, a Meridian, Miss., native was a three-year letterman for the Bulldog football team (1964-66) playing both offensive guard and tackle. Following the 1966 season, which was his senior campaign, Hampton was named second-team, all-SEC at both the guard and tackle positions. He also was named to the academic all-SEC team following each of his three seasons. Since graduating from MSU with an M.B.A. in 1968, Hampton has been a banker in Meridian. Currently, he is the president of Trustmark National Bank, a position which he has held since 1984.

Watts played an integral part in laying the groundwork for the success that the MSU baseball program has enjoyed throughout its history. A three-year letterman, Watts was a star on the first two SEC championship squads in school history, in 1948-49. In 1948, the Eutwa, Miss., native hit .333 while playing a sterling center field, as the Bulldogs went 12-5 in SEC play to capture the conference crown. Despite his success as a junior, 1949 was the year in which Watts etched his name into MSU history. Watts played brilliant defense and hit .365 to lead MSU not only to a second-straight conference title but also to its first-ever appearance in regional play. Following his graduation from MSU with a degree in agriculture in 1949, Watts signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. After playing for a season in the Dodgers' minor league system, Watts gave up baseball to run the family farm after the death of his father in 1950.