MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Hall, Rayborn

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING JAMES HAROL LOFTON UPON HIS POSTHUMOUS INDUCTION INTO THE MISSISSIPPI SPORTS HALL OF FAME.

WHEREAS, James Harol Lofton, a superbly talented athlete who played halfback and fullback for Ole Miss in the early 1950's, was born on February 14, 1931; and

WHEREAS, James Harol Lofton was a native of Brookhaven and an acclaimed high school athlete at Brookhaven High School, starting his celebrated high school career at the age of 14 and earning a remarkable 15 letters in football, track, baseball and basketball; and

WHEREAS, after his senior year in high school, James Harol Lofton was named as the Big Eight's Most Valuable Football Player and was Mississippi's No. 1 prep star, and following these honors, the Touchdown Club in Brookhaven passed a resolution requesting that the school board retire Lofton's No. 19 red and blue jersey; and

WHEREAS, upon graduation from Brookhaven, James Harol Lofton was actively recruited by 22 colleges, including teams from as far west as Oregon State and Colorado; and

WHEREAS, James Harol Lofton signed with Ole Miss, earning 3 letters in 1951, 1952 and 1953 while playing halfback and fullback for Head Coach Johnny Vaught; and

WHEREAS, Lofton scored 8 touchdowns for Ole Miss in 1952 and ran for 24 yards in the 1953 Sugar Bowl loss to Georgia Tech; and

WHEREAS, in 1953, Lofton achieved All SEC status as he ran 219 yards with 4 scores, averaging 6.0 yards a carry, and caught 10 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown; and

WHEREAS, during his Ole Miss career, James Harol Lofton had 979 rushing yards, scored 12 touchdowns, averaged 5.15 yards per rush, was one of 5 famous Ole Miss backs to average 5 yards a carry, was tied for 6th place with 3 touchdowns for scoring in a single game, and was 16th in career punting; and

WHEREAS, married in 1954 to the former Salena Smith from his hometown, James Harol Lofton joined the U.S. Army and played service football from 1955 through 1957 while stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas; and

WHEREAS, in 1957, Lofton returned home to Brookhaven and operated Lofton's Hereford Farms, and in 1962, rejoined the Army as a captain and served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in military intelligence; and

WHEREAS, after his military service was concluded, James Harol Lofton returned to Mississippi in 1967, where he owned and operated Lofton Oil Products, a Gulf Oil distributor; and

WHEREAS, in 1978, Lofton was critically injured when a 150-foot tree fell on him, never recovering physically from the timber accident; and

WHEREAS, James Harol Lofton was diagnosed with cancer on March 31, 1981, and passed away months later on June 17, 1981, at the age of 50; and

WHEREAS, Lofton devoted countless hours as a Scout leader in the Boy Scouts, and as a deacon, Sunday School teacher and a member of the choir of the First Baptist Church of Brookhaven; and WHEREAS, Harol and Salena Lofton had four children, Mindy L. Tew, James Harol Lofton, Jr., John Carol Lofton and Joel Robert Lofton:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby congratulate and commend James Harol Lofton upon the occasion of his posthumous induction into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the family of James Harol Lofton and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.