Bio

Kirby Carlisle

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College (1965-1966) / Football
Gulfport, Mississippi

Kirby Carlisle was a record-setting football player at Gulf Coast. He shares the record for most interceptions (9), which he set during the 1965 season. His 1966 punting average (41.0) was not broken for more than 20 years. In 1973, he was named to Coach George Sekul's Defensive Team of the Decade. He played on two Mississippi Association of Junior Colleges championship teams: the 1966 baseball team coached by Ken "Curly" Farris and the 1966 football team coached by Sekul. That Bulldog football state-championship team defeated Pearl River for the first time in 18 years by a score of 33-0. Carlisle fondly remembers scoring a touchdown in that game.

"I was really just in the right place at the right time," he said. "I was incredibly lucky to get to play on great teams with such outstanding coaches. Both Coach Sekul and Coach Farris demanded our best on the field and in the classroom.”

Carlisle started Gulf Coast during the summer semester and also worked for then-maintenance supervisor Ed Evans, "It was the best time, and I learned a lot of important things about leadership, hard work and teamwork from the coaches, our teammates and our instructors.”

He married his wife, Jeannie, during his freshman year at Gulf Coast, and they have been married 45 years in October. "We both attended Gulfport High School, but we got married while at Perk," he said. "We have had many good years together, and we have the best memories of Perk."

His grandson, Brandon, played football at Gulf Coast and won the Offensive Line Award in 2009. His daughter, Lee, played softball at the college in 1994. "My family has always considered Gulf Coast our college," he said. "We love the people there, and we enjoy the games."

After graduating from Gulf Coast, Carlisle attended Wichita State University and then the University of Southern Mississippi, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice. Before retiring in 2009, he worked in both law enforcement and security.