William D. "Red" Stroud (1989) - Hall of Fame

William D. "Red" Stroud

Induction:
1989
Class:
1963

W.D. (Red) Stroud garnered All-SEC accolades during his three seasons at State and captured AP All-America Honorable Mention status as a senior in 1962-63. He also picked up All-America honors from Converse Yearbook and the Helms Foundation.

Stroud was a major contributor on three SEC regular season championship teams coached by Babe McCarthy. The Bulldogs compiled a 65-13 record and made the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance playing in the historic ‘Game of Change’ in 1962-63.

Stroud became the fifth player in program history to surpass 1,000 points and was named the MVP of the 1961-62 Sugar Bowl Classic. He contributed double figures in 62 of 74 games with a career-high of 30 points in a win over No. 7 Georgia Tech on Jan. 14, 1963.

Following his State career, Stroud was selected by the Boston Celtics in the fifth round of the 1963 NBA Draft. He played professionally with the ABA’s New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967-68.

Stroud, a native of Forest, Mississippi, also was inducted into the state of Mississippi’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. He passed away in 2008.