University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Bower Names Spring Game Honorary Captains
4/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bower Names Spring Game Honorary Captains
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Sammy Winder and Bobby Hamilton are well known for their Roberts Stadium exploits, but April 13, they will find themselves roaming the Southern Miss sidelines in a far different capacity for both the Golden Eagle greats.
Head Coach Jeff Bower has named the two as honorary coaches for the annual Black & Gold spring football game at 1 p.m., that will highlight EagleFest weekend. "We've had so many great players here who have gone on and been extremely successful in the NFL and in private business," Bower said. "Many of them have been supportive of the program here, and it's always good to bring those players back to the campus.
"It's good for the fans and alumni and it gets the players back on the campus. These two guys have been involved with the program for a long time, and have been extremely loyal. I also think it's good for our current players to see some of our ex-players who have gone on and done well, come back to the campus."
Winder was an outstanding running back for the Golden Eagles from 1978 through 1981, and Hamilton was an equally outstanding defensive lineman from 1990 through 1993. Winder went on to enjoy an outstanding NFL career with the Denver Broncos where he was their outstanding running back from 1982-1990. He rushed for 5,428 career yards. From 1983-87, he was the club's leading rusher and in 1984 became only the third player in franchise history to rush for 1,000 yards as he gained 1,153 yards on the season. He also was a member of Denver's three Super Bowl teams in the 1980s and started in Super Bowls XXI and XXII.
As a Golden Eagle, Winder rushed for 3,114 career yards, still the second best career total in Southern Miss history. He also remains first on Golden Eagle career lists in rushing attempts (736), rushing touchdowns (39), had nine 100-yard plus games, and put up his best numbers as a senior, with 1,029 rushing yards in 1981.
He currently owns and operates Winder Construction in Madison, Miss. He started the excavation, hauling and bulldozer company in 1987 while still active in the NFL. He is a member of the M-Club Hall of Fame, the Team of the Century and remains heavily involved in supporting Golden Eagle athletics.
Hamilton is a Columbia, Miss., native who signed originally with Seattle as a rookie free agent in 1994. He also has played with the New York Jets, and currently is with the 2002 Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, where he started 15 of 16 games last season. He led the team with a career high 7.0 sacks, and during the 2000 season led all NFL defensive linemen with 79 tackles, including a season-high 10 against the Jets.
Hamilton recorded 175 career tackles at Southern Miss, including a career-best 66 his senior season. He also finished his Golden Eagle career with 19 quarterbacks sacks.
