Hall of Fame
"Pie" Vann was an officer in the United States Army in the
European Theater of Operations during World War II. He
was little known in coaching circles when he took over the
University of Southern Mississippi reins in 1949. It took a few
years for Thad Vann to show the college football world that
he, indeed, could coach. His 1953 team upset Alabama, 25-
19. And, bear in mind, that Alabama team won the SEC
Championship and was Grantland Rice's pre-season choice to
win the national championship. That same season, Vann's
Southern Mississippi squad pulled off another upset by shutting
out a Zeke Bratkowski-led Georgia team, 14-0. Not bad for
a team that was below the ranks of the country's major teams.
Southern's victory over Alabama in 1953 was labeled by some
as the greatest college football upset since Centre stunned
Harvard, 6-0, in 1921. The following season, Thad Vann's
Southern Mississippi team did it again. They upset Alabama
for the second year in a row. During his career he posted a
139-59-2 record. He retired in 1968 as "the father of
Southern Mississippi football" and with reputation among his
peers as a defensive football wizard. Thad "Pie" Vann died in
1982 at the age of 74.
