Thad Vann

Bio

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, a team that would win the SEC Championship and was many'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. USM accomplished these feats while they were not considered a major college team. 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.