Melvin "Pel" Autry (1965) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Melvin "Pel" Autry

Induction:
1965

Over a three-year period, from 1939 to 1941, there was a player who through his leadership and football abilities was the acknowledged heart and soul of the Southern Miss football team. It was a role in which Melvin (Pel) Autry relished because he was the type of player that set standards for himself that were much higher than his coaches and his teammates might set for him.
      It was because of the high standards that he set that Autry would go on to establish himself as one of the premier linemen in the history of Southern Miss football. He was the type of player that could take a team that was down and virtually lift it on his shoulders and take them to victory.
      As an offensive lineman he took it personal when someone beat him and threw a ball carrier for a loss or sacked the quarterback trying to pass. That's why it didn't happen very often when Autry was around. More times than not he would open up gaping holes for the backs to run through, leading the teams he played on to 20 victories in 30 games in his career.
      Autry was just as successful on the defensive side, playing with the same reckless abandon and fearlessness that made him so good on offense.
      Autry joined Southern Miss in time for the 1939 season and eventually was able to work himself into the starting lineup. That 1939 team would finish 4-2-3 that year, but Autry was one of the true bright spots on an offense that struggled at times. But it was a young team and as the season went on they got stronger and better.
      As the 1940 season opened it was obvious that Autry was ready to step in and accept his leadership role on the team. With the younger players now with a year of experience under their belts, the team posted a 6-4 record and over the final three games of the season outscored its opponents 94-6 and the offense averaged almost 20 points a game, while the defense allowed an average of just 6.6 a contest.
      The 1941 season would be one of the best that Southern Miss had ever put together as they won their first game 70-0 over Georgia State, won the next six as well and finished the year 9-0-1. Autry was superb that season and finished the year by being named the team's most valuable player.
      That 1941 team was one of the most productive offense units that Coach Reed Green would ever had averaging 24.6 points per game, while the defense had four shutouts and never allowed an opponent more than a touchdown in a game.
      Autry also was a member of the Southern Miss basketball team in 1940-41.
            His son Hank, incidentally, was a center for Southern Miss in the mid-1960s and is also a member of the Southern Miss Sports Hall of Fame.