Yes. Billy Stacy knew. He once said to me, “I was that other quarterback who was born in Drew,” during a round. After a long battle with cancer, Stacy, an All-American Mississippi State quarterback and All-Pro NFL defensive back, passed away Tuesday at his Starkville home. He was 83 years old. You wouldn’t have known his athletic accomplishments if you had not met him. Larry Templeton, former Mississippi State athletic director, said that Stacy was a humble man who achieved everything. He grew up in Winona and played high school basketball there. Archie Manning says, “I have always believed that Billy Stacy is from Winona.” Because my dad was a big Billy Stacy fan, my daddy talked about him often. Winona was a member of the same Delta Valley Conference that we were. My dad saw him play in highschool and was a huge fan of him during his time at State and in NFL.” This is what you need to learn about Billy Stacy in order to understand how great a football player that he was. He was the third overall pick of the NFL Draft by then-Chicago Cardinals in the spring 1959. (Manning was the 2nd pick in the 1971 draft. What are the chances? Two men from the same small Mississippi Delta town were chosen in the top three. Stacy was a second-team All-American at State as a quarterback, and defensive back. He led State to a record of 6-2-1 and No. The final Associated Press poll ranked him at No. 14 These Bulldogs won at Alabama and Florida, as well as at LSU. They lost by one to Auburn and Tennessee, and tied Ole Miss 7-7. This knocked Johnny Vaught’s Rebels from a tie for SEC Championship. Stacy was 6-foot-1 and 195 lbs when he played college football. This is a huge stature for a quarterback and more than most of the linemen who blocked him. He was still the fastest player on the field, even at his size. Stacy could have been even better at track, as well as football. Templeton stated that Jerry Simmons was State’s track & field coach back in the day. “Jerry used the saying that Billy Stacy could have been an Olympic champion at hurdles if he had focused on track. Bailey Howell, the basketball legend, was a classmate and briefly a teammate of Stacy. Howell stated, “I went to track one year.” They wanted me to do high jumping. I attended one Vanderbilt meet. That’s the thing I remember about Billy Stacy. He was fast enough to be a big man. He was like a one man track team. He participated in many events and won the majority of them.” Stacy signed for the Cardinals and was one of the NFL’s most respected defensive backs for five years. He was All Pro and participated in the 1962 Pro Bowl. J.J. Watt, the current NFL star, was a highlight show and headline-grabbing story five years ago when he scored touchdowns on a pass reception and a pass interception return. Watt was the last person to accomplish this feat. Billy Stacy, who was more than 50 years old. Friends often talk about Stacy’s kindness and willingness to help others. He was the Mississippi Sheriffs Boys and Girls Ranch’s executive director for many years. From 1985 to 1989, he served as the mayor of Starkville. Inducted into the Mississippi State Hall of Fame, Stacy was also inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, in 1979. *** Funeral services for Billy Stacy will take place Friday, September 13, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, Starkville.