Hall of Fame
calls Mississippi State's Basketball Ambassador

The telephone scarcely had a chance to ring before Bailey Howell answered. Not that he was anxious this February morning, you understand . . . just optimistic.

"They said they'd call us by nine if we had received the necessary votes," Howell said. "When the phone rang I probably picked it up before the first ring was over. It was from the Hall of Fame and they told me the good news, and of course we were very excited about it."

It was good, exciting news indeed that Howell had been elected for membership in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Mississippi State's all-time all-star officially takes his place among the greatest figures in basketball history at a September enshrinement ceremony in Springfield, Mass., where the first peach basket was nailed to the wall.

"It's probably the single greatest honor that you can receive in the world of basketball. No pun intended, it is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. To be recognized as having the kind of career that warrants being a part of the Hall of Fame, it's hard to really comprehend the significance of it, what it means now and what it will mean in the years to come."

It is not hard to comprehend his significance in Bulldog history. Before the Final Four, before Erick Dampier or Jeff Malone, Rickey Brown or Red Stroud, before the proud row of banners hanging in Humphrey Coliseum-for that matter, before The Hump itself-before them all, there was Bailey Howell. Playing for Coach Babe McCarthy from 1956-59, he put Mississippi State on the national basketball map. Then, over a dozen-year NBA career, he represented his alma mater professionally with a Bull-dogged style of play.

So it is no surprise that four decades after leading State to its first Southeastern Conference championship, Howell holds a unique status. Or, as Coach Richard Williams has often said, Bailey Howell is Mississippi State basketball. It is a mantle of greatness the man wears very lightly.

"When you reflect on it, you just realize how fortunate you've been and how blessed you've been, how good God has been to you," Howell said. "And the people of Mississippi and Mississippi State and the family, how much they supported me and the basketball program when I was here.

"I can't imagine a student-athlete having a better situation than when I was here, to go to school and play basketball, and for that closeness to continue. Over the years-it'll soon be 40 years since I graduated-it makes you really appreciate just how good everybody has been to you."

Now everyone who has appreciated Howell the college star, the All-Pro, the longtime Starkville resident, the church elder, the successful businessman, can cheer again as he becomes the first male Mississippi representative in basketball's shrine.

Of course, Howell has earned plenty of other honors, awards, and recognitions over the years. Consensus All-American and SEC Player of the Year; a six-time NBA All-Star and twice an All-Pro pick; two World Championships with the Boston Celtics; member of both the Mississippi State and state of Mississippi sports halls of fame; and a NABC Silver Anniversary All-America honoree.

But this, as he says, is really special. "It doesn't matter what profession you're in, what sport or whatever. To be considered one of the top players in the world means a lot to you.

"I had a real long and productive career in a select group of people, which gives you a very special feeling. It humbles me more than it makes me think I was special. It is special, but it is something that you really can't accomplish on your own. You have to have played under good coaches, against good competition, with good ballplayers." Howell certainly had the benefit of all the above, and to know the man is to realize he would gladly share space on his plaque with every coach, teammate, and competitor along the way. Especially the teammates.

"You can accomplish individual goals, I guess, but they don't mean anything when you compare them to team goals. For a group of guys to bond together and really kind of commit to a common goal and to each other, then when something nice happens it gives you a feeling that you can't find in individual sports. Team sports have a camaraderie; it's sort of a mini-slice of life."

Howell has never settled for just one slice in his life. Basketball, education, business, home, and family, he has given each his best effort. Retired in 1994 after 23 years with Converse, he stays busy overseeing his rental properties, though the work limits his time on the tennis court. He and wife Mary Lou have kept the same address on South Montgomery Road since he hung up the uniform for good, raising three daughters. The Howells are Humphrey Coliseum fixtures in the second row, section 117, close enough to the bench to study the plays Williams designs.

And all along, Howell has remained not just a Bulldog supporter, but a high-profile ambassador for Mississippi State. "The athletic administration since then, the coaches and their staffs, have continued to do nice things for me. They have just been incredible the way they've included me in some real nice things that come with major college athletics and basketball." He was a guest of the Athletic Department in State's run through the 1995 and '96 NCAA Tournaments, and did almost as many interviews with national media as the active Dogs. "The team last year and what they accomplished I think is the greatest story in Mississippi State's athletic history. And it was good to be close to it and enjoy it."

Now, that seems a strong statement for someone whose teams and teammates wrote a great story in their own right. But the fact is that Howell has happily made the transition from star player to loyal fan. Though, he admits, he also now has more of a fan's outlook on losses. "It's easy as a player because you know you did everything you possibly could, and if you get beat anyway you can cope with that. But as a fan or alumnus, it's easy to get where you don't think you ought ever lose, throw the ball away, or miss a shot!"

The larger point is that Howell is a devout believer in the benefits of college athletics and college life. Critics of college sports don't understand what the example of a successful team says for the entire university.

"We had wonderful years here. I'm not just talking about winning and losing, but the college experience. Even without athletics it is something to savor. But if you are part of some part of the university that is having success, it's even nicer. And so many people have a common interest in sports. It's a part of the overall thrust of the university, I would think, providing a challenge for the more talented students who you have in whatever field. You need to provide them the opportunity to see just how good they are and how far they can go with it."

The late Tupelo sports editor Bill Ross liked to recall when Babe McCarthy woke him up one Sunday morning to report he had signed Bailey Howell. "Who is Bailey Howell?" Ross growled, upon which McCarthy proclaimed the kid from Middleton, Tenn., would change the game of basketball in Mississippi.

Remember, this was before blue chip lists and recruiting hotlines. But all coaches in the South coveted the Tennessee season scoring record-holder. Mighty Kentucky, state schools Tennessee and Vanderbilt, and nearby Mississippi were the other choices, since Howell was determined to play in the SEC. Yet it was McCarthy who sold the 6-foot-7 center on a school and program with no tradition and unlimited potential. "You don't know how things would have worked out if I had decided to go to one of those other schools, but I can't imagine it working out any better than it did here. I liked the campus, the friendly nature, the down-to-earth people. But there wasn't any basketball tradition here or anything.

"Coach McCarthy was ahead of his time. He really worked hard in recruiting; he showed up more often than the other people. You just sensed that he was going to build a basketball program. I could have gone to a school that already had a history of great basketball, but it was nice to be part of building something for the first time."

Howell filled McCarthy's building. In his first varsity season he scored 37 points with 22 rebounds when State whipped Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats for the first time ever. The next year he led the SEC in scoring to earn his first All-America recognition. And in 1959, the Bulldogs claimed the SEC crown, with Howell again pacing the league in points and making every All-America team. The only disappointment was the well-documented decision not to participate in the NCAA Tournament against integrated ball clubs. "Enough has been said about that," Howell said. "We were the best team in the SEC and in the South, but we didn't get the opportunity to see if we could win the whole thing. That's what is so sad about it."

Two things must be remembered about Howell's 2,030 college points-he did it in only three seasons, and in McCarthy's tightly controlled domino offense. "It worked for us, but it wasn't fun to play that way," he admitted. With freshman eligibility and a shot clock in the '50s, Howell's MSU records would be untouchable. Which is why professional basketball was so liberating when the Bulldog star was drafted second overall (behind some center named Chamberlain) by Detroit.

Obviously the NBA of 1959-71 was a very different proposition than today when kids grow up dreaming of TV exposure and shoe contracts instead of team championships. "It wasn't that big of a deal," Howell said. "The money was better than you could do in some other professions, but it wasn't that significant. You played because you enjoyed it, and you could earn a good living and get a good financial start. I thought maybe I'd play about eight years, something like that." In fact, he had 12 seasons with Detroit, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia, and could have continued. But after a dozen years and 17,770 points, it was the right time for a change.

"I always took a lot of pride in being a real consistent player and performing every night. By retiring when I did, I avoided a lot of the frustrations of hanging around and all the ups and downs. And moving was beginning to bother our children. They were at the age where they needed stability. I could have played a couple more years, but still I was going to have to work the rest of my life, so I figured I might as well get started." Which he did as a sales representative for Converse (see, he did get a shoe contract after all.)

Even by modern glitz and showtime standards, Howell's career was brilliant-an 18.7-point average over 950 regular season games, 9.9 rebounds, four seasons scoring 20 points or better. When he retired, he ranked in the top 10 in an amazing nine statistical categories. Numbers like those today would merit a salary the size of some national budgets. Yet, Howell does not envy the Monopoly money NBA of the '90s. The best way to put it is to say the man perfectly fit the game of his day.

"I think it was probably more fun then. It was certainly a good time to play. Of course, I would have enjoyed the better conditions they play under today, the ease of travel is much better. But I don't regret missing the incredible amount of money. Too many things go wrong when you're dealing with that kind of environment.

"I don't know how to really describe myself as a player. Other than, I worked real hard at trying to be prepared to play every night, and do the very best that I could and not let my teammates down. As far as saying a guy is a good shooter or rebounder or defensive player, I think I'd rather be remembered as a person who came to play every night. Knowing how difficult it is, one of the best compliments you can pay a person is that he showed up to play. That's what being a pro is all about."

This truly was a pro's pro, so much so that he has played in Celtics' reunion games and in three NBA Legends Games-and the uniform still fits, unlike many teammates who double-dribble with every step. But his reputation also keeps him involved with the pro game today, at the NBA's pre-season rookie workshop. There, he and other former players advise each class of first- and second-round draftees about the game outside the game.

"We deal with the things off the court. The part I'm involved with is dealing with stress, all the different things that are going to be very stressful to them and affect how they play and perform. You spend several hours of sessions over a period of three, four days, talking about things.

"You never know how you help them, it depends on the individuals, but this seminar is comprehensive. Everything you can imagine-drugs, alcohol, sexual abuse, AIDS, finances, nutrition. Because it is a big investment teams make when they draft these guys. You're there to try to help them. And, you try to give them a little more appreciation of where they are, and a little history about the game, the NBA."

Speaking of history, at last fall's workshop Howell had the pleasure of working with Erick Dampier, the young man who better than anyone restored his legacy of Bulldog power in the paint. The then-and-now image of State's two greatest centers isn't the contrast it might seem; both are small-town boys who made their way on hard work.

"One of the tragedies of life is to have a lot of ability or talent and waste it," Howell said. "God blesses you and He really expects you to do something with those blessings and talents. Anything in life that's worth having is worth working for and sacrificing for, and it really doesn't come without that."

Basketball has been fun for Bailey Howell. The game has taken him from the backyard rims of Middleton to the Hall of Fame. It is quite a journey for a small-town boy whose biggest dream once upon a time was to just earn a place on the local varsity team.

"Basketball sure has been good to me. I remember going to games when I was in grade school, seeing the high school guys out there playing. I'd go home and go to bed, and I could still see them out there on that lighted court, playing."