Bio

Joe Hyman McAnulty

Perkinston Agricultural High School & Junior College (1956-1958) / Basketball, Baseball, Tennis
Albemarle, North Carolina

Before Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, there was Joe McAnulty. This Gulf Coast Athletic Hall of Famer took the term “multi-sport athlete” to a whole new level at Perkinston in the late 1950s. McAnulty played and lettered in basketball, baseball and tennis during his time at Perk and won the prestigious Hollis Award for being the college’s best athlete. According to the 1950 Perkinston Junior College Bulletin, the Hollis Award went to the athlete “who had done the most to advance and promote the best interest of good student conduct, welfare and promoting of athletics and thereby has set a good example that other students may emulate and follow.”

In basketball, he helped the Bulldogs become one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation. His role on the hardwood consisted of setting up other players like Jerry Sharp and Jay Pinson, both fellow MGCCC Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.

On the diamond, his two-year batting average was .360. As a pitcher, he chalked up an 11-2 career record with the Bulldogs. During the 1957 season, McAnulty batted .375, went 4-1 as a starting pitcher and helped lead the Bulldogs to a Mississippi Association of Junior Colleges title. In 1958, he co-captained the South State-champion Bulldogs while batting .346 and going 7-1 on the mound as a starter and reliever. At one point, the team put together a 14-game winning streak before finishing second in the state.

Perhaps his best sport was tennis. As a singles player on the tennis team, McAnulty went undefeated from 1956-58 and won the state singles title two years in a row. In 1957, he defeated Charlie Walker of Jones County Junior College in the finals 7-5, 6-4.

In 1958, McAnulty’s wins included a 6-0, 6-0 win against Harold Hughes of Pensacola in the season opener; a 6-1, 9-7 decision over Bill Garnett of Pearl River; a 6-0, 6-0 victory against East Central’s Clyde Mills; at 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of Jones’ Ed Roberto; and another win over Garnett in the state finals.

“Joe McAnulty was an outstanding athlete and a student of highest standing,” says former coach Curtis Davis, who coached McAnulty in tennis.