The Greenwood Commonwealth from Greenwood, Mississippi • Page A36

PROFILE 2011 Page 34 Greenwood Commonwealth Thursday, February 24, 2011 including four sacks. Emmons, 37, was selected in the seventh round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an outside linebacker and played for the Steelers until 1999. In 2000, he went to the Philadelphia Eagles. He was signed as a free agent by the New York Giants in March 2004 and was released by them on Feb. 12, 2007.

His best NFLseason came in 2004 with the Giants, when he recorded 97 tackles and started in 15 games. He finished his 11-year career with 429 tackles, 19 sacks and five interceptions. Alphonso Ford: He was a standout basketball player for Amanda Elzy High School and went on to have a stellar career at Mississippi Valley State, where Ford led all NCAAfreshmen in scoring during the 1989-90 season, averaging 29.9 points per game. In his sophomore year, he averaged 32.9 points per game, second only to Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount University. He became the first player in NCAAhis- tory to average 25 points per game in four straight seasons.

His 3,165 career points scored in the NCAAare fourth on the all-time scoring list behind only Pete Maravich, Freeman Williams and Lionel Simmons. Ford played just five games in the 1994-95 NBAseason for the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected him 32nd overall in the 1993 NBADraft, but he became a star in Europe. Ford, one of the greatest Euroleague scorers of all time, died Sept. 4, 2004, at the age of 32. Later that year, the Euroleague paid tribute to Ford by naming its leading scorer of the year award the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy.

Cissye Gallagher: The former LSU golfer and ex-member of the LPGATour owns a Mississippi-record 11 state amateur championship golf titles. Growing up in Greenwood, she excelled at golf at an early age while attending Pillow Academy and won her first state amateur championship in 1986 at the age of 19, the first of three straight for her. She won her last in 2006. Jim Gallagher: The Greenwood golfer won five events on the with his first win coming in 1990 at the Greater Milwaukee Open. In 1993, he won twice: the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic and The Tour Championship.

He repeated his two-win performance in 1995 by claiming the Kmart Greater Greensboro Open and the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He was a member of the victorious 1993 Ryder Cup team and the 1994 Presidents Cup team. Gallagher, 49, is planning to make his Champions Tour debut later this year. Sherrod Gideon: The Greenwood High School product holds almost all of the University of Southern Mississippi receiving records after a standout career in Hattiesburg from 1996-1999.

Gideon, now the offensive coordinator at Leflore County High School, holds the USM record for career receiving yards (3,214) and receiving yards in a season He was chosen in the sixth round of the 2000 NFLDraft by the New Orleans Saints. He make the team and later played three seasons in the Canadian Football League. Gerald Glass: The silky smooth Amanda Elzy High School basketball star played two years at Delta State University and then two at the University of Mississippi, where he was fourth in the nation in scoring as a junior. He finished his career, after just two seasons, as the sixth leading all-time scorer. Glass, 43, now the boys basketball coach at Elzy, was affectionately referred to as Class at Ole Miss.

He gained national attention with his legendary matchups against Chris Jackson. He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 20th overall pick in the 1990 NBADraft. As a rookie, Glass set a Timberwolves franchise record for a reserve with 32 points off the bench versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Glass also played for the Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Hornets in four NBAseasons from 1990 to 1996. His best season as a pro was in 199192 for the Timberwolves, when he appeared in 75 games averaging 11.5 points per game.

Earnest Gray: He is one the best athletes ever produced by Greenwood High School. He played wide receiver at the University of Memphis and was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1979 NFLDraft. Gray caught 78 passes for 1,139 yards and five touchdowns in 1983 best of seven seasons in the NFL. He finished his NFLcareer with 3,790 yards and 27 touchdowns on 246 receptions. Gray, 53, now works as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration coordinator for the Memphis Fire Department.

Kent Hull: Hull, 51, started at center at Mississippi State University from 1979 to 1982 before playing three years with the U.S. Football New Jersey Generals and 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Athree-time Pro Bowl selection, Hull played in the straight Super Bowl losses. Hull was selected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, inducted into the Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, received the Ralph C. Wilson Distinguished Service Award in 2001, was selected to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and was the 19th inductee to the Wall of Fame at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo in 2002.

Deacon Jones: After playing one year at Mississippi Valley State in 1960, he was drafted in the 14th round of the 1961 NFLDraft by the Los Angeles Rams and went on to play in seven straight Pro Bowls, from 1964 to 1970, and was selected to an eighth after the 1972 season with the San Diego Chargers. In Los Angeles, Jones became a part of the Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the Rams, along with Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier and Merlin Olsen. Jones, 72, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980. Jones played at South Carolina State University before coming to Valley. S.C.

State revoked after school officials learned that he was a part of a civil rights movement. Leroy Jones: The Greenwood native was a standout football player at Norfolk State University and was then taken in the second round of the NFL Draft (49th overall)in 1975 by the San Diego Chargers. The 6-foot-8 Jones, a football and basketball standout at Amanda Elzy High School, started at defensive end for six of his eight seasons with the Chargers. He finished his career with 81 sacks, nine blocked field goals, five interceptions and three touchdowns. Jones, 60, now lives in Orlando, Fla.

Cleo Lemon: The former Greenwood High School quarterback was a four-year letter winner at Arkansas State from 1997 to 2000, playing in 42 contests during his four-year college career. Lemon lettered in football and basketball at GHS and also played baseball. At Arkansas State, he set school career records for passing yards, completions and touchdowns as Lemon completed 551 of 1,128 passes for 7,706 yards and 48 touchdowns and 33 interceptions. Lemon signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFLin March 2010, quickly became the starter and led his team into the second round of the playoffs. He completed 285 of 462 passes for 3,433 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Lemon, 31, now lives in Jacksonville, Fla. Jonathan Nichols: The former Pillow Academy standout was a record- setting kicker at Ole Miss from 2001 to 2004. As a junior in 2003, he won the Lou Groza Award, given to college top placekicker. During that season, Nichols was a first- team All-Southeastern Conference and first- team All-America selection, set 15 school records and was Ole scorer with a school-record 117 points. Nichols was 24-for-28 on field goals and made all 45 PAT attempts that season.

He is Ole leading scorer with 344 career points and the career leader in field goals made (63). Robert The Itta Bena resident was a rugged, talented end for Mississippi State from 19401942. He was an All- SEC performer his last two seasons in Starkville and a team captain his senior year. Patterson, a member of the MSUSports Hall of Fame, was a sophomore on the 1940 team that went 100-1 and beat Georgetown in the Orange Bowl, 14-7. He was a junior on 8-1-1 squad that won the SEC championship in 1941.

Stewart Patridge: The Morgan City native and former Pillow Academy standout quarterback led MississippiDelta Community College to a 12-0 record and a national junior college championship. After one year at MDCC, Patridge transferred to Ole Miss, where he received numerous awards during his senior season in 1997. Patridge was the Ole Miss Quarterback Club Player of the Year and Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and was named the ESPN National Player of the Week after completing 27 of 43 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns as the Rebels upset No. 8 LSU36-21 in Baton Rouge. He also won the 1997 Conerly Trophy, given annually to the top college football player in Mississippi.

Patridge was named Most Valuable Player in the Motor City Bowl as he completed 29 of 47 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns. Patridge finished his career at Ole Miss completing 310 of 510 passes for 3,564 yards and 15 touchdowns, giving him a 60.6 completion percentage, which is the third best in Rebel history. He also ranks eighth in school history in total offense. Emmons Ford Gallagher Gallagher Gideon Glass Gray Hull Jones Jones Lemon Patterson Nichols Patridge.