Corky Palmer (1998) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Corky Palmer

Induction:
1998

It is not difficult to close your eyes and imagine Corky Palmer in the backyard throwing the ball with his father or his brothers and dreaming of the day that he might play in the major leagues.
   But although that dream would never pan out, it was that dedication to, and love of the game of baseball that earned Corky his own special niche in the Southern Miss Sports Hall of Fame.
   Corky grew up in Hattiesburg and spent countless hours on the campus as a young boy, watching Southern Miss play football, basketball and baseball and even today his eyes lit up when you hear him talk about his Golden Eagles.
   It was that love for the Golden Eagles that led him to school at Southern Miss and while there became one of the finest catchers that the school has ever produced.
   Playing for the legendary Coach Pete Taylor, Corky had a special knack for the game and immediately pressed for playing time his freshman year and responded by hitting .425 and leading the team to a 16-12 record.
   He was the team's regular catcher as a sophomore and that season he continued to rank among the team's best hitters and began to show the tools behind the plate that put him in a class of his own. His strong throwing arm made it difficult for opposing base stealers to be successful and his ability to block pitches and handle his pitchers were superb.
   Palmer would go on to lead the team to some great victories, wins over nationally ranked teams such as Alabama and UNO and in-state rivals such as Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
   Following his success here at Southern Miss, Palmer established himself as one of Mississippi's finest high school coaches with stints at Columbus Lee and Columbia High School, winning three conference championships at Lee and a South State championship at Columbia.
   Then after a two-year stint here at Southern Miss as an assistant he took the head coaching job at Meridian Community College where over 10-years he was 409-160, won four regional championships and came within a game of winning the national championship in 1996.
   He returned to Southern Miss in 1996 as assistant head coach, and then in June of 1997 he took over as head coach.
   His disciplined and fundamental approach to the game of baseball insures that Palmer and his Golden Eagles will have success, and baseball people around the country know that with Palmer in charge the day is not far off the Golden Eagles will be grabbing conference championships and appearing in the NCAA regionals on a regular basis.