Bio

Josh M. Wells Jr.

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College (1967-1968) / Football
Pascagoula, Mississippi

The first time Josh Wells strapped on a pair of shoulder pads and hit the gridiron, it was his junior year at Carver High School in Pascagoula. Three years later, he was receiving national football recognition.

"I didn't even know how to put the pants on right," he said. "I was the laughingstock of the locker room. But I knew I wanted to play."

Wells found his place on the football field and Carver High School went on to win two conference titles. Wells started receiving invitations from colleges. After a four-day try-out at Gulf Coast, Coach George Sekul called him into the office.

“Sekul said, ‘We are impressed with your ability, and we want you on this team, but there is a good chance you'll be the only black athlete on the team, I just wanted you to know that before you made a decision.' The idea was a little overwhelming, and I thought about it all night," Wells recalls.

Wells made his decision the next day when he stepped into the huddle. "I’d been practicing with the first team all week, and we had already started to bond. I knew then I didn't want to leave these guys."

With this decision, Wells became the first African-American to earn an athletic scholarship at Gulf Coast. A few days later, Glenn Larkin and Morris Richardson, also recruited from Carver, made the team's final cut. Coach Sekul says these three players became the first African-Americans in state history to play for a previously all-white state college.

To drive home the point, Sekul avowed, "I don't mean just junior colleges. I mean all state colleges, junior colleges, universities … all of them."

As for Wells, he says, "I didn't come to Perk for any state-wide distinctions. I came to play football and win. Coach Sekul and staff treated me as a regular student-athlete, and the students always saw me as just a member of the team."

As a starting freshman, Wells was an offensive tackle weighing just 192 pounds. What he lacked in size he made up for in pure strength.

"I had my own off-season workout. plan. I worked as a longshoreman on the docks in Pascagoula carrying huge bags of fertilizer all day starting at the age of 18. That's a good upper-body workout."

The 1967 team flexed its offensive muscle throughout the season, scoring more than 50 points against two opponents and at least 30 points in each of six other games. The team went on to crush Pearl River and win the Mississippi Association of Junior Colleges title. Wells was named All-State honorable mention and a letterman.

In his sophomore season, Wells played on the other side of the ball. The Bulldog defense dominated, shutting out four teams and holding three other teams to less than seven points each game. Despite going 9-1, Wells still remembers the 1968 season with some regret.

"The loss to Jones for the state title still hurts to this day. I injured my back a few games before, and every time I made contact during the game, it just ached. I just couldn’t get my energy level up. I truly think we were better coached and more talented."

After the season, Wells earned first-team MAJC All-State honors and an honorable mention as an All-American. He played two more years of college football at Southeast Louisiana University on scholarship and was named All-Conference twice.

After trying college coaching for a year, Wells branched out from football into several other fields. He was a supervisor at Ingalls Shipyard, a certified police officer in Moss Point and Orlando, Fla., and is currently an industrial construction manager for projects around the world.

"Looking back now, I realize Perk and college are where I learned the basic skills for my adult life. I still consider my Perk teammates my true friends, and I try to keep up with as many of them as I can.''