Former Bulldog Bill Buckner Passes Away
By Rick Cleveland
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer Bill Buckner, who touched the lives of literally thousands of young Mississippi athletes, died this Friday morning after a long, courageous battle with leukemia. He was 69.
Visitation will be at First Baptist Church of Jackson from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday. Another visitation will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church of Jackson, followed by the funeral service at noon.
"Bill made a difference in the lives of thousands in the state and his impact here at Mississippi State will last forever," said MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin. "His leadership and vision helped grow the Missisippi Fellowship of Christian Athletes into what it is today."
Buckner, inducted into the MSHOF in 2013, made his mark on Mississippi sports as a football quarterback, as a coach and as an administrator and he did it at the high school, junior college and college levels. But it was as state director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he found his life’s calling.
Buckner oversaw FCA staff growth in Mississippi from just Buckner, himself, to 21 full-time staff members and six part-timers and helped the organization spread to 390 campuses, up from 100 when Buckner came on board in 1987.
A native of Starkville, Buckner holds the distinction of being his team’s Most Valuable Player four times in five years — at three different schools Those schools included Starkville High, East Mississippi (Scooba) Junior College and Delta State. He was an All American at East Mississippi where he played for Hall of Famer Bull Sullivan.
Buckner also played a year at Mississippi State (1965) and threw the first touchdown pass in the Houston Astrodome, then known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
Buckner has also been inducted into the Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame, the East Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame, the Delta State Hall of Fame and the Hinds Community College Hall of Fame.