Happy 32nd birthday to former Southern Miss quarterback and Petal High School standout Anthony Alford, one of the greatest all-around athletes the Pine Belt has produced. At Petal, Alford was a nationally ranked dual-threat quarterback who led the Panthers to the Class 6A championship game as a senior, passing for 2,058 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for another 1,731 yards and 24 scores.
He signed with Southern Miss as a four-star recruit and started five games at quarterback in 2012, throwing for 664 yards and rushing for 329 yards with six touchdowns. After a disastrous 0-12 season coaching and an on-campus arrest, he transferred to Ole Miss, where he appeared at safety and returned punts in four games during the 2014 season. His college football career never developed as many expected, but Alford’s athletic journey was far from over.
Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round of the 2012 MLB Draft, Alford eventually left football behind and committed fully to baseball. He reached the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 and later played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, finishing his MLB career with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. His career also carried him far beyond the Pine Belt, including stops in the Australian Baseball League, South Korea with the KT Wiz and Mexico’s professional league.
From Petal to Hattiesburg, Oxford, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Australia, Korea and Mexico, Alford turned his rare combination of speed, strength and athleticism into a career that took him around the world. Happy birthday to one of the Pine Belt’s finest athletes.
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