Doyle Coats (1968) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Doyle Coats

Induction:
1968

Versatile Doyle Coats was a standout football and baseball player for Southern Miss during the mid 1920s and left his mark on both sports at the school with his attitude, hustling style and hard work.
   As a member of the Southern Miss football teams, Coats was a standout player for Coach Herschel Bobo who was valuable because he could play so many positions. It wasn't unusual to see Coats playing in the backfield or in the line and both his running and passing skills, in addition to his bruising tackling style made him a key ingredient on the squad.
   One of the best teams that Coats was a part of was the 1926 football squad that although they would finish the year with just a 3-4-1 record, helped to lay the foundation for some outstanding teams over the next couple of years.
   The 1926 football team with Coats playing a key role recorded wins over Clarke Memorial College, Louisiana College and Perkinston Junior College, while settling for a tie with Gulf Coast Military Academy.
   The losses that season were to Southwestern Louisiana. Spring Hill. the Mississippi State Freshmen and Pearl River Junior College, all games though that the team was in into the final minutes when the opponents pulled away.
   Throughout the year Coach Bobo praised the play of his team, especially Coats and his willingness and ability to do whatever was necessary to help the team win.
   The 1925 team had suffered through a miserable 0-6 season and it was Coats and his teammates that rallied the team in 1926 and got them back on the right track and lay a solid foundation to build on.
   Coats would also be a part of one of the best Southern Miss baseball teams of the early days of the program. The 1923 team posted a 9-2-1 record and twice they exploded that year for 19 runs in a game and once scored 18. The team swept doubleheaders that year from Centenary and Hattiesburg High. Their only two losses that season was in a doubleheader sweep by Louisiana Tech.
   Once again Coats and his teammates had helped to lay the groundwork for many successful seasons by the Southern Miss baseball team throughout the 1920s and into the '30s before the program was halted after the 1935 season.
   Although you won't find the name of Doyle Coats in many of the record books with the leading rushers, or passers or tacklers in Southern Miss football history or among the leading hitters or pitchers in the baseball record book, one thing is for sure, you will find him among the athletes who loved the competition and who couldn't wait to line up and play every time.
   Coats is memorable because of his great spirit, desire and heart and his willingness to give it all for the team. It was a gift he left the school's athletic program and one he continued to give long after he finished his career.
   Coats also played baseball during the 1923 season.