Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Doug Barfield
- Induction:
- 1975
When you think of quarterbacks, you think of leaders. You think of players that at just the right moment, when your team is in a tight spot, instinctively knows how and where to make the right play. And like a general on the battlefield that quarterback must know how to rally his troops and lead them to victory.
Southern Miss has had its share of players like that now through the years. A field general that has led the team to outstanding victories, but few have had the combination of leadership qualities mixed with talent as Doug Barfield.
Barfield was another in the long line of Alabama players that decided on Southern Miss to further their football careers and get an education. He came to Southern Miss from Grove Hill, Alabama, where he was one of the Alabama's most outstanding high school athletes. His senior year he was good enough to attract the attention of several schools and played in the state high school all-star game.
He would see his first action for the school as a freshman in 1953. That Southern Miss team was loaded and his statistical contribution that season was a single pass attempt, but in 1954 that started to change.
That 1954 team had a couple of outstanding quarterbacks in Hall of Famers Jim Davenport and George Herring, but Barfield completed four of 12 passes for 47 yards, rushed three times for 21 yards and returned a couple of punts. He was proving to the coaches that he would do anything to get a chance to play.
Although an injury kept him out of the 1955 spring drills, Barfield was ready when the season began and had a large part in the team finishing 9-1 and winning its final seven games that season. The team employed three quarterbacks that year with Barfield, herring and Bobby Hughes handling the duties. Barfield would finish the year completing 15 of 33 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns on a team that averaged 27.7 points and 363.1 yards a game. Barfield showed he could be an elusive runner that season as he carried 19 times for 143 yards (7.2 average).
Barfield and Hughes would share the quarterbacking duties in 1956 and Barfield would have his best year at Southern Miss. He helped the team to a 7-2-1 record and a berth in the Tangerine Bowl against West Texas State. He completed 23 of 71 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown on an offense that averaged 20.6 points and 349.8 yards a game. He was the leading rusher among the quarterbacks that year with 34 carries for 180 yards (5.3 average) and five touchdowns and also saw considerable action on defense and tied for the team lead with two interceptions. His 30 points that season made him the third leading scorer on the team.
Barfield also lettered four years as an infielder with the school's baseball team.
Barfield would go on to have a successful career as a coach on the high school and college level and spent a short stint as head coach of Auburn University in the late 1970s.
He was a leader both on and off the field during his career at Southern Miss and the teams he played with were 33-8-1 and are recognized today as some of the school's best.
Southern Miss has had its share of players like that now through the years. A field general that has led the team to outstanding victories, but few have had the combination of leadership qualities mixed with talent as Doug Barfield.
Barfield was another in the long line of Alabama players that decided on Southern Miss to further their football careers and get an education. He came to Southern Miss from Grove Hill, Alabama, where he was one of the Alabama's most outstanding high school athletes. His senior year he was good enough to attract the attention of several schools and played in the state high school all-star game.
He would see his first action for the school as a freshman in 1953. That Southern Miss team was loaded and his statistical contribution that season was a single pass attempt, but in 1954 that started to change.
That 1954 team had a couple of outstanding quarterbacks in Hall of Famers Jim Davenport and George Herring, but Barfield completed four of 12 passes for 47 yards, rushed three times for 21 yards and returned a couple of punts. He was proving to the coaches that he would do anything to get a chance to play.
Although an injury kept him out of the 1955 spring drills, Barfield was ready when the season began and had a large part in the team finishing 9-1 and winning its final seven games that season. The team employed three quarterbacks that year with Barfield, herring and Bobby Hughes handling the duties. Barfield would finish the year completing 15 of 33 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns on a team that averaged 27.7 points and 363.1 yards a game. Barfield showed he could be an elusive runner that season as he carried 19 times for 143 yards (7.2 average).
Barfield and Hughes would share the quarterbacking duties in 1956 and Barfield would have his best year at Southern Miss. He helped the team to a 7-2-1 record and a berth in the Tangerine Bowl against West Texas State. He completed 23 of 71 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown on an offense that averaged 20.6 points and 349.8 yards a game. He was the leading rusher among the quarterbacks that year with 34 carries for 180 yards (5.3 average) and five touchdowns and also saw considerable action on defense and tied for the team lead with two interceptions. His 30 points that season made him the third leading scorer on the team.
Barfield also lettered four years as an infielder with the school's baseball team.
Barfield would go on to have a successful career as a coach on the high school and college level and spent a short stint as head coach of Auburn University in the late 1970s.
He was a leader both on and off the field during his career at Southern Miss and the teams he played with were 33-8-1 and are recognized today as some of the school's best.
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