Five Former Bulldogs To Join MSU Sports Hall of Fame

The following story can be found in the Nov. 4 Mississippi State Football Game Program, which can be purchased for $5 in and around Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday.

During halftime of Saturday's game, the stars of today will head to the locker room as the legends of the past take the field. This weekend, five former Bulldogs are being inducted into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame, and each of them will be honored today.

The athletic achievements and accomplishments among this group are many, and their performances on their fields of play are certainly worth highlighting. However, what makes this entire group so special is the impact each of them had on their alma mater.

Philip Still, a great in his time, was a member of MSU baseball's first College World Series team, a group that started a tradition and expectation still alive today.

Mario Haggan was a part of the greatest stretch of football in MSU history, starting his first year on campus when the Bulldogs made their first and so-far only appearance in the SEC Championship Game after winning the SEC West, and continuing with Joe Lee Dunn's famous defense that finished the 1999 season No. 1 in the country.

Bill Buckley has touched more lives than perhaps any in MSU's Hall of Fame, working with Bulldog athletes and native Mississippians during his 22 years with the Mississippi chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, just this year being named the FCA state director in Mississippi.

Walt Harris is one of the all-time great performers on the football field in MSU history, but perhaps his most important accomplishment was what he did to help kickstart the Jackie Sherrill Era at MSU, one of the first to pave the way for MSU's all-time winningest coach.

And perhaps no one has had a greater impact on the university as a whole than John Correro who has served in more roles than any. Correro retired from the school in 2005 after four decades with the university, serving last as the MSU Alumni Association executive director, and just this year he retired after nearly 40 years of working the MSU football radio broadcast team. The very Hall of Fame he's being inducted into wouldn't exist if not for his years of service with the M-Club Alumni Association.

So yes, the athletic accomplishments are great, but this class has meant a great deal more to its school than that.

"I think impact is such a good word," M-Club President Tyson Lee said, "because as you look at these five guys, they've all had some type of impact while they were here as a player of after they left.

"I just love seeing people leave Mississippi State and continue to do well," Lee added. "That what they learned here on the field and what they learned here in the classroom, they take those things and apply them wherever they go. In this class, we've seen that."

However, they all, of course, did start their careers on the field, and all the success they've had off the field has been mirrored by great achievement on it, as MSU's announcement of the group outlined below:

A three-year letterman for the Bulldogs from 1970-72, Buckley evolved into a standout receiver after a stellar high school career for the Starkville Yellow Jackets. The hometown product led the SEC twice in receptions, 47 in the 1972 and 41 in 1973, while also leading the league with 776 yards in 1972 before being drafted by the New York Jets in the 11th round.

Harris made an immediate impact for Jackie Sherrill's Bulldogs, emerging as a starter his freshman season at cornerback. As a sophomore, he tied the school record with six interceptions en route to earning second-team All-SEC honors. After earning All-SEC accolades again as a junior finishing fifth in the nation with six picks, he was named All-SEC again as a senior and was invited to play in the Senior Bowl. The LaGrange, Ga., native, whose 16 interceptions are tied with Johnthan Banks as the most in school history, was selected with the 13th overall pick of the 1996 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. He spent 13 years in the league with four teams, and made the 2006 Pro Bowl when he was with the San Francisco 49ers.

Still, a three-year letterman for Paul Gregory's Diamond Dawgs, led Mississippi State to its first College World Series appearance as a senior in 1971. The Decatur, Ga., native, who passed away in 2004, has the best fielding percentage by a third baseman in MSU history at .972. That same year, he led the SEC with 42 runs scored, 11 home runs and 37 runs batted in. For his accomplishments, he was named first-team All-SEC and tabbed a consensus All-American.

A four-year letterman, Haggan established himself as one of the best linebackers in school history. The Clarksdale, Miss., native was a member of the 1998 SEC Western Division championship team and a member of the 1999 squad that led the nation in total defense. He played in three bowl games and was a first-team All-SEC selection and a second-team All-American in 2000. He led the Bulldogs in tackles his last three years, totaling 199 as a senior and finishing with 359, the eighth-most in program history. A seventh-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2003, Haggan, a 2015 SEC Legend, played 10 years in the NFL. He finished with 282 tackles, nine sacks, eight forced fumbles and one interception.

Correro quarterbacked the Bulldogs from 1959-61 and has been an integral part of the M-Club Alumni Association for more than 40 years. His service and leadership to the organization for four decades have helped lay a foundation that will continue to be built upon in the years to come.

"All of these inductees are great people and have served Mississippi State in several different capacities," MSU Athletic Director John Cohen said. "They're all very deserving of being in our Hall of Fame."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Five Former Bulldogs To Join MSU Sports Hall of Fame

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