SCHOLARSHIPS J.W. “WOBBLE” DAVIDSON SCHOLARSHIP
Family and friends are keeping his spirit alive through the Joey Embry Memorial Scholarship Fund, established to help student-athletes at The University of Mississippi. “I think Joey would be really proud of the scholarship fund,” said his mother, Gwen Embry, “not because it is honoring him, but because it will help so many other students.” Embry’s roommate and fellow teammate Bobby Killion, a former Ole Miss center, said, “Joey touched the lives of so many people while having an influence on those who came in contact with him. He was a great man and is missed by a lot of people. I know I’ll miss him for the rest of my life.” Embry left a strong impression on the Ole Miss community, providing leadership both on and off the playing field. As a business administration major, he excelled academically, making the UMAA Honor Roll and the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He also was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). In addition to the scholarship fund, Weyerhaeuser Co. donated equipment to Ole Miss’ Starnes Athletic Training Center in memory of the Ole Miss football player. Individuals and organizations can contribute to the Joey Embry Memorial Scholarship Fund through The University of Mississippi Foundation, P.O. Box 249, University, MS 38677; phone 800-340-9542; e-mail umf@olemiss.edu.
It’s a funny thing about sports and nicknames. They seem to go hand-in-hand. Whether it’s quarterbacks named “Easy” or linemen named “Slim”, a nickname follows you for the rest of your life. Such was the case with J.W. “Wobble” Davidson. Never one to let the spotlight hit him, Davidson spent three years playing left end for Ole Miss, before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach. He gave up the idea of playing pro football to enter the Marine Corps to fight in World War II. He never thought twice about it. He never even left Oxford, returning after the war to spend his days at the place he called home. Davidson’s love for Oxford and his alma mater proved just as great in his family life as it did in his professional life. A proud father of two, Wobble, his wife Sara, son Don and daughter Debra all attended Ole Miss. Davidson spent 11 years as head tennis coach and 23 years as the M-Club Advisor, mentoring student-athletes into productive members of society. He and his family even lived in the athletic dorms on campus. It was his love for Ole Miss that the J.W. “Wobble” Davidson Scholarship fund was established. Given to the children of former Ole Miss letterwinners, the scholarship helps make sure that those who love the University as much as Wobble will always have the opportunity for their children to attend Ole Miss. Davidson graduated from Ole Miss in 1942, earning three letters in football, three in track and two in basketball for the Rebels. A member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame, Davidson also earned his master's degree from Ole Miss. To learn more about the J.W. “Wobble” Davidson Scholarship Fund, including details about making a tax-deductible contribution, contact Clay Cavett at the UM Alumni Office at 662-915-7375.
WESLEY WALLS SCHOLARSHIP Former Ole Miss All-America tight end Wesley Walls of Pontotoc, Miss., and his wife, Christy, have endowed a football scholarship at Ole Miss. The $100,000 gift is used to provide a football scholarship to any Ole Miss signee from Pontotoc County. Walls, a five-time Pro Bowler with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, enjoyed a 14-year NFL career, playing with San Francisco and New Orleans prior to joining the Panthers. He retired in 2004 after one season with the Green Bay Packers. “I received so much from Ole Miss, not only an education and a chance to play college football, but also as a person,” Walls said. “I met my wife here and we truly love Ole Miss and her people. This scholarship represents a way to come back and help Pontotoc County. There are a lot of good athletes over there.” At Ole Miss, Walls earned four letters and excelled both on the field and in the classroom. He came to Oxford in 1985 as a defensive end, but also played tight end his senior campaign when he became one of the nation’s few two-way players in 1988. Following his senior year, Walls was selected first team All-America at tight end by the Associated Press. He was also a first team All-SEC pick, was selected Mississippi’s Amateur Athlete of the Year and was chosen as one of three permanent Ole Miss team captains. Off the field, Walls compiled a 3.41 GPA in General Engineering, earned Academic All-America honors, was a three-time Academic All-SEC pick, was selected Colonel Rebel at Ole Miss, was named to the University of Mississippi Hall of Fame and received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He was selected as one of 11 National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame ScholarAthletes and was chosen to give the response at the awards dinner in New York City. Walls finished his NFL career with 450 catches for 5,291 yards and 54 touchdowns. Upon his retirement, he was considered one of the premier tight ends in the game.
LARRY L. JOHNSON SCHOLARSHIP Larry L. Johnson of Jackson wants to help young men benefit from the same opportunity in life he received: a football scholarship to the University of Mississippi that enabled him to participate in the sport he loved while pursuing degrees for a successful career. The retired BellSouth executive - whose football career at Forest High School in Scott County captured the attention of UM coaches - has established a scholarship endowment with more than $100,000. The first in his family to attend college, Johnson received an athletics scholarship that allowed him to earn two business degrees and play wingback and outside linebacker on three championship football teams (1961, ‘62 and ‘63). Desiring to give back to his college and home community, Johnson’s scholarship agreement stipulates that preference should be given to Scott County football signees when possible. Known to the Ole Miss family as “Larry Leo,” Johnson has been active in the M-Club alumni chapter for athletes. He served on the M-Club’s board of directors and has organized and directed many team reunions. As Student M-Club president in 1963, Johnson helped establish the J.W. Davidson Scholarship fund to honor the legendary Ole Miss coach and has been a regular contributor since that time. He also is an Ole Miss Athletics Foundation member. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business and is a past chair of the Business Advisory Board at the UM School of Business Administration. He is a major contributor to the Business Order and has guest lectured under the business school’s Otho Smith Fellows Program. An active civic leader in Jackson, Johnson continues to give of his time and resources to the community in many areas since retiring from BellSouth in 2000 after 33 years as an executive with the company. Both of Johnson’s sons, Rick and Scott, graduated from Ole Miss. Larry and his wife, Rita Parks Johnson, live in Madison, and they have a blended family of five, with multiple grandchildren.
PARK STEVENS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Park Stevens, a native of Columbus, Missississippi, and a graduate of New Hope High School, walked on to the Ole Miss football team in the spring of 2013 after spending two seasons at East Central Community College. He participated in spring drills with the Rebels and was looking forward to his first season with a Southeastern Conference team. Stevens’ hopes were cut short by a tragic automobile accident July 3, 2013, when Stevens died instantly at the age of 20. “Park had such a magnetic personality. He didn’t meet a stranger,” former East Central Community College coach Brian Anderson told The Clarion-Ledger. “He was just an outstanding young man. He just had personality for days.” “He was a tremendous young man that was loved by his teammates and coaches, and Rebel Nation will never forget him,” said Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Stevens’ family, his friends, our team and all those he touched during his life.” His parents, Dean and Gail, established the Park Stevens Memorial Scholarship Fund with the UM Foundation in his memory. Gifts may be made by sending a check with the fund noted in the memo line to the UM Foundation, P.O. Box 249, University, Miss. 38677; or by visiting www. umfoundation.com/makeagift.
JOEY EMBRY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP During football camps under sun-drenched skies on the Oxford campus, Joey Embry decided he wanted to be an Ole Miss Rebel. In 1995, at the end of his stellar prep career at Bruce (Miss.) High School, the scholarship offer came. Embry was a member of the Rebel football team for two years before his tragic death on May 19, 1998, when he drowned just months before he was expected to be a major contributor on the offensive line. His Rebel teammates dedicated the 1998 season to his memory and wore Embry’s name and number on their helmets.
202