Buddy Palazzo (1989) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Buddy Palazzo

Induction:
1989

Buddy Palazzo was one of the school’s most outstanding quarterbacks playing for Coach P.W. Underwood from 1970 through 1972. He set numerous passing standards at Southern Miss that lasted for nearly 20 years, until fellow Hall of Famer Brett Favre broke them.
   Palazzo was a three-year letterman at Gulfport High School, where as a senior, he was most valuable player and he also made all-state and all-Big Eight Conference. He was also named MVP of the Mississippi High School All-Star game.
   After spending his freshman year (1969) quarterbacking the freshman team he moved in as backup to Rick Donegan at quarterback in 1970. As a sophomore Palazzo completed 26 of 56 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns, but his poise and leadership abilities showed the coaching staff he had a chance to lead the team in the future. That 1970 team finished 5-6, but enjoyed one of the bigger victories in school history when they defeated No. 4 Ole Miss in Oxford.
   Although Palazzo still remained a backup to Donegan in 1971, his strong arm and running abilities earned him even more playing time. In fact he wound up starting five games. He completed 64 of 116 passes for 797 yards and four touchdowns in leading the team to a 6-5 record, including a five game winning streak to end the season.
   The offense really started to click late in that season as the Golden Eagles scored over 31 points three times in the last five games that year, including a 38-0 shutout of VMI.
   During that 1971 season Palazzo would be part of one of the longest scoring passes in Southern Miss history when he connected with Willie Heidelberg on an 81-yard touchdown pass against Richmond.
   As a senior Palazzo was named co-captain of the team and enjoyed a spectacular year throwing the football. Although the team would struggle to a 3-7-1 record, Palazzo would do his part by completing 160 of 291 passes for 1,888 yards and eight touchdowns. His yardage that season was a new Southern Miss record and would last for 16 seasons.
   Palazzo finished his career with 250 completions in 463 pass attempts and his career-passing yardage of 2,978 is one of the highest marks in Southern Miss history. His completion percentage of 54.0 percent is also one of the best in school history.
   After his outstanding career at Southern Miss he went on and played several seasons in the World Football League, seeing action with the Florida Blazers and the Birmingham Vulcans.
   Golden Eagle fans will also remember the fluid throwing motion and the strong arm of Palazzo and how he helped lead the team to some great victories during his career. As one of the first of the true run-pass quarterbacks, he has earned his spot among the all-time greats at Southern Miss.