AT&T COTTON BOWL LOSES MEMBER OF CLASSIC FAMILY

The AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic lost a member of its football family on Friday with the passing of Herman Sidney 'Eagle' Day, a 2003 member of the Classic Hall of Fame after leading Mississippi to an upset win over TCU in the 1956 Cotton Bowl.

A two-time All-Southeastern Conference first team quarterback, Day earned three letters at Ole Miss during his three varsity seasons, helping lead Johnny Vaught’s Rebels to a 26-5-1 overall record as well as back-to-back conference crowns in 1954 and 1955. He was also named to the All-South team in 1955.

Considered an excellent combination passer and runner who could dissect any defense that stood in his way, Day was tagged as "The Mississippi Gambler" after being selected the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the 1956 Cotton Bowl when he led Ole Miss to a 14-13 victory over Southwest Conference champ TCU, which just so happened to be Vaught’s alma mater.

In that Cotton Bowl Classic, the Frogs held a 13-7 lead late in the fourth quarter when Day initiated a brilliant 66-yard scoring drive that consumed 10 plays and five minutes off the clock. With his battle-worn jersey flapping in the breeze, Day sealed TCU’s fate. Forced to scramble on third down, the elusive quarterback broke loose for 25 yards, sprinting through the heart of the Frog defense to the TCU five. Ole Miss scored on the next play to nail down its first major bowl victory.

After playing in the 1956 Hula Bowl, Day was selected in the 17^th round of the 1956 National Football League draft by the Washington Redskins. However, he opted to play three seasons with Winnipeg of the Canadian Football League before returning to the United States to play the next two years (1959-60) with the Redskins where he averaged 42.0 yards on 59 punts in 1960.

Day returned to the CFL the following year and went on to compile an outstanding 12-year career in Canada, earning All-Pro honors twice (1961 and 1962). He won the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy in 1962 as the Most Valuable Player in the West Division of the CFL and was runner-up for MVP in Canada that year.

During his college days, Day also earned three letters as a pitcher on the Ole Miss baseball team. He was a member of Coach Tom Swayze’s 1956 Rebel squad which won the NCAA District III crown and advanced to the College World Series.

Day, who was inducted into the the AT&T Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2003, the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1981,  rated All-Southern, All-State and honorable mention All-America in football while playing at Columbia High School, earning 16 prep letters in four sports. He scored 158 points in football in 1951, hurled six no-hitters in high school and was team captain in football, basketball and baseball.

Day passed away on Friday at his daughter's home in Nashville after a short illness. Born on October 2, 1932 in Columbia, Miss., Day is survived by his wife, the former JoAnne Fulmer of Jackson; a daughter, Diana and her husband, Alan Cartee, of Nashville; a son, William Day of Baton Rouge, La., and his wife, Leslie; and two grandchildren, Ashley Day of Baton Rouge and Ali Day Cartee of Nashville.