Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Dr. Robert Boothe
- Induction:
- 1996
Bob Boothe was a talented basketball and baseball player at the University of Southern Miss, whose  skills and abilities at both sports make him one of just a handful of Golden Eagle athletes who could have made the Hall of Fame in either one.
   It was not until midway through his freshmen year that Bob got the opportunity to play for Coach Chuck Finley and he made the most of the chance. On a team dotted with veterans, he was starting by season’s end averaging 8.4 points per game to rank fifth on the team, while shooting 73.7 percent at the foul line. That team finished 11-17, but won the NAIA District Tournament and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.
   His sophomore year, the team finished 16-12, and he began to assert himself as one of the leaders of the Southern basketball team. He was third on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game and second in rebounding pulling down 8.4 per contest. It was during his sophomore season that he also began to claim the title of the team’s best defensive player. More times than not that year he drew the assignment of guarding the other team’s leading scorer.
   The following year, 1956-57, he again was the third leading scorer on the squad that finished 12-13, averaging 10.8 points and is 10.0 rebounds per game average ranked second behind big 6-9 Bob Kinney. His bold-style of defense helped forced the Southern opponents to shoot just 32.9-percent. Â
   As a senior Bob’s leadership his coaches and fellow teammates recognized abilities and skills as a basketball player and he was elected to be the team captain, and the team finished 18-7. He led the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game and once again was second in rebounding with 9.3 per game.
  Bob finished his career with 715 rebounds and that currently ranks 9th all-time at Southern. But keep in mind that rebounds weren’t kept until his sophomore year, so if you couldn’t give him his average over the final three years of his career for his freshman season he could move several notches ahead to number six on the all-time charts. And although stats like steals and blocked shots were kept by most college teams until much later, one can assume that if they had been kept during Bob’s team, he would easily rank among the leaders in both of those categories.
  He also played baseball during his freshman and senior years and even took time to run track his sophomore year. And although he didn’t enjoy the kind of success in those sports as he did in basketball, I am sure he played with the same type of determination and tenacious spirit.
   His leadership both on the court and off is one of the reasons that Boothe is so well remembered today. His leadership skills on the court and on the field were responsible for many of the successes that the teams he played on enjoyed.
   Today he is a member of the faculty of the College of Business Administration.
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   It was not until midway through his freshmen year that Bob got the opportunity to play for Coach Chuck Finley and he made the most of the chance. On a team dotted with veterans, he was starting by season’s end averaging 8.4 points per game to rank fifth on the team, while shooting 73.7 percent at the foul line. That team finished 11-17, but won the NAIA District Tournament and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.
   His sophomore year, the team finished 16-12, and he began to assert himself as one of the leaders of the Southern basketball team. He was third on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game and second in rebounding pulling down 8.4 per contest. It was during his sophomore season that he also began to claim the title of the team’s best defensive player. More times than not that year he drew the assignment of guarding the other team’s leading scorer.
   The following year, 1956-57, he again was the third leading scorer on the squad that finished 12-13, averaging 10.8 points and is 10.0 rebounds per game average ranked second behind big 6-9 Bob Kinney. His bold-style of defense helped forced the Southern opponents to shoot just 32.9-percent. Â
   As a senior Bob’s leadership his coaches and fellow teammates recognized abilities and skills as a basketball player and he was elected to be the team captain, and the team finished 18-7. He led the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game and once again was second in rebounding with 9.3 per game.
  Bob finished his career with 715 rebounds and that currently ranks 9th all-time at Southern. But keep in mind that rebounds weren’t kept until his sophomore year, so if you couldn’t give him his average over the final three years of his career for his freshman season he could move several notches ahead to number six on the all-time charts. And although stats like steals and blocked shots were kept by most college teams until much later, one can assume that if they had been kept during Bob’s team, he would easily rank among the leaders in both of those categories.
  He also played baseball during his freshman and senior years and even took time to run track his sophomore year. And although he didn’t enjoy the kind of success in those sports as he did in basketball, I am sure he played with the same type of determination and tenacious spirit.
   His leadership both on the court and off is one of the reasons that Boothe is so well remembered today. His leadership skills on the court and on the field were responsible for many of the successes that the teams he played on enjoyed.
   Today he is a member of the faculty of the College of Business Administration.
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