D. Elmore, 63; Ole Miss Football Star

Doug Elmore, 63, a former All-Southeastern Conference and University of Mississippi quarterback, died Friday at Hospice Ministries in Jackson, Miss. No cause of death was given.

Elmore, inducted into the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, played on three of Johnny Vaught’s greatest teams at Ole Miss, when the Rebels were 29-3-1. Elmore played in two Sugar Bowls and one Cotton Bowl. He was also an all-SEC centerfielder on the baseball team.

The Reform, Ala., native was quarterbacking the Rebels in 1959 in one of the most memorable games in SEC history, a 7-3 loss to Louisiana State University marked by Billy Cannon’s electrifying 89-yard punt return Halloween night. The loss cost Ole Miss an undefeated season and probably the national championship. Behind sophomore Elmore, Ole Miss drove from its 32 to the LSU 2. It came down to fourth-and-goal with 18 seconds left. Elmore tried to score off left tackle but was stopped at the 1.

Elmore was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1962 and played one season in the NFL. He played in the Canadian Football League in 1963 for Calgary, then coached one year as an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana College before entering the insurance business in Jackson in 1965.