Melvin Barkum

[notsofarawaydawg]

Partial Obituary (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sunherald/obituary.aspx?n=melvin-barkum&pid=184281720&fhid=30094)

[msbulldog]

Wow he and Felker were QBing when I was a freshman.

[parabrave]

I remember watching him in High School. Man was he great. He also had a brother Jerome who was a great player.

[drunkernhelldawg]

He was like lightening to the child I was. I think he was one of our most elite recruits the year he came in.

To An Athlete Dying Young
A. E. Housman, 1859 - 1936

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.
This poem is in the public domain.

[Dolphus Raymond]

Didn't Jerome play for JSU then later transfer to State?

[coastdoglover]

Jerome, always played at Jackson State and later with the Jets. Melvin was one hell of a QB in high school and MSU had to fight Bama for him. He ended up being a real good wide receiver. His memorial service is Friday, March 3rd at 11:00 a.m. at the Little Rock Baptist Church in Gulfport. We lost two great ex Gulfport High and MSU players in the last 2 weeks.,Melvin Barkum and Jerry Rosetti who played in the 60's.

[basedog]

Didn't Jerome play for JSU then later transfer to State?

Didn't transfer played for the Jets also, very good TE. Melvin was a great guy and one helluva athlete. I can only imagine how great he would have been running the spread.

[drunkernhelldawg]

notice in Sun Herald today. Service Friday. I hope they buy an obit for tomorrow or Friday.

[tcdog70]

back in the day--Our softball team Played a Gulfport team at a STate Tourney in Starkville--on their team was Melvin and His brother Jerome and their cousin Lem Barney. Needless to say they won it all. We hung with them for a while.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Here's a piece with some detail on his career: http://gridironnow.com/melvin-barkum-mississippi-state-quarterback/

[drunkernhelldawg]

His college stats: http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/melvin-barkum-1.html

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Melvin ruined my senior year in HS at Biloxi High back in '71. Gulfport led by Barkum fought Biloxi for the #1 ranking in the state and Gulfport beat us. Also in that game for Biloxi was QB Mike Patrick who would play for the dawgs as a punter (led the SEC one year with a 44 ypp ave). Unfortunately, Mike passed away a few years back. Was a great guy.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Melvin ruined my senior year in HS at Biloxi High back in '71. Gulfport led by Barkum fought Biloxi for the #1 ranking in the state and Gulfport beat us. Also in that game for Biloxi was QB Mike Patrick who would play for the dawgs as a punter (led the SEC one year with a 44 ypp ave). Unfortunately, Mike passed away a few years back. Was a great guy.

Who was the big State recruit whose family home was in the area of Biloxi High a few years before that? I walked by the house on the way to West End. Seems like they always had flags up. Of course, could just be a wrong idea I had.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Patrick Magee has a big piece on the front of the Sun Herald Sports section. Headline is "Gulfport's Melvin Barkum paved the way for black players at Mississippi State."

[NCDawg]

I remember Barkham ran the wrong way, trying to escape a pass rush, in one of State's games in Jackson-resulted in a huge loss. But he was an extremely talented athlete. Felker won the QB job primarily because he was a little better running the Veer formation, and possibly because he was a little better passer.

[tcdog70]

I remember Barkham ran the wrong way, trying to escape a pass rush, in one of State's games in Jackson-resulted in a huge loss. But he was an extremely talented athlete. Felker won the QB job primarily because he was a little better running the Veer formation, and possibly because he was a little better passer.

Melvin was a better athlete and Felker was a better QB. SEC player of the year

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Who was the big State recruit whose family home was in the area of Biloxi High a few years before that? I walked by the house on the way to West End. Seems like they always had flags up. Of course, could just be a wrong idea I had.

You might be thinking of Ric Pitalo, all-american QB at Biloxi in '68. He went on to play for the Bear at Alabama.