Wendell Magee—1948-49 Wildcat Football

Magee, who prepped at Hattiesburg High School, played baseball and football at Pearl River Community College from 1991-92. His high school football coach, Willie Coats, came to PRCC as head coach and talked Magee into coming here as well.

Magee, 31, played tight end for the PRCC football team and was an outfielder for the Wildcat baseball team under coach Jim Nightengale. He hit .325 and attracted the eyes of professional baseball scouts while at PRCC.

 “Pearl River was an awesome lesson for me,” said Magee. “The people there at that time were all family. There were people I went to high school and graduated with at Pearl River. It was definitely a blessing for me to play there.”

He went on to play football and basketball at Samford (Ala.) University before the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him in the 12th round of the 1994 draft.

Following a couple of seasons in the minor leagues, the Phillies called him up to the big leagues on Aug. 16, 1996. Magee remembers making his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Following the 1999 season, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers, where he played for three years. Each of those years he played more than 90 games, and had 18 home runs and 83 RBIs.

This past year, after receiving his unconditional release, Magee played Class AAA ball in the Colorado Rockies organization. He batted .328. He and his wife, Vanedra  icole Magee, and 11-year-old son Joshua Ryan, make their offseason home in Hattiesburg.