Warner Alford came from Mississippi royalty, but he didn’t play like it. At McComb High School in the 1950s and later as an offensive guard on some of Ole Miss’ greatest football teams, he, as old coaches are wont to say, would knock you into yesterday — or at least into the dirt.
Warner’s parents, J.W. and Inez Chandler Alford, owned Denman-Alford department store in downtown McComb. They were involved in every meaningful business, civic, religious, educational, professional and economic development activity in the city.
He was mayor and a school board member. He was a king of the Junior Auxiliary Azalea Ball. She was a queen.
Warner, who died March 27 at age 87, grew up in the store. He came home after leaving Ole Miss to work there. He and his wife Kay built a small house near the high school.
Then, somebody asked him to voluntarily help coach the McComb Tigers. There went his mercantile career. In 1965, he joined the football staff at Davidson College, N.C., and never looked back.
No short essay like this can offer proper credit to one of the most varied and successful careers of anyone involved in intercollegiate athletics. I followed it from his stellar play as a 165-pound guard on those great Ole Miss teams of the 1950s and 1960s, to several assistant coaching jobs, and to his position as Ole Miss athletic director for 16 years.
He remodeled almost every aspect of Rebel athletics. He led the expansion of women’s athletics. When he took over as athletic director in 1978, Ole Miss sponsored eight sports. It had increased that number to 15 when he left in 1994, including eight sports for men and seven sports for women.
As an athlete, Alford and quarterback Jake Gibbs were permanent co-captains of the 1960 Rebels squad that won the SEC, defeated Rice in the Sugar Bowl and was named National Champions by the Football Writers Association of America.
Alford became a member of at least five halls of fame, including the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. After retiring as athletic director, he led the alumni association and raised money for the UM Foundation. His work for Ole Miss didn’t stop until his gallant heart did.
On a personal level, I recall how Warner and Kay led the youth fellowship group at Centenary United Methodist Church after their return “home” from Ole Miss. Warner was a teammate on the church’s basketball team. My, how he loved to shoot the ball.
Many years later, Warner gave a name and his full backing to a publication, The Ole Miss Spirit, that I and two associates, Chuck Rounsaville and Josh Bogen, were starting. He did it despite knowing others with the same idea had failed. The publication is now in its 45th year.
Warner Alford’s life as a servant to the University of Mississippi is legendary stuff. Now, in his death mourned by so many, you can honor him with a memorial to the Warner and Kay Alford Ole Miss Opportunity Endowment. They started it to help deserving students from lower-income families in Mississippi. Contact umf@umfoundation.com., or phone 662-915-5944.
