Dooley, MGCCC Athletics Hall of Fame member, dies at 82

PERKINSTON — Bill Dooley, a member of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Athletics Hall of Fame, died Tuesday at the age of 82.

Dooley was an all-state football player at Perkinston Junior College before becoming an All-SEC lineman at Mississippi State. He went on to win more than 160 college football games as a head coach.

Dooley is now tied for second in victories at North Carolina, where he remains the longest tenured coach in school history. He went 69-53-2 in 11 seasons, taking the Tar Heels to six bowl games.

In all, Dooley went 162-126-5 including his coaching stints at Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He was a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year.

At Perk, he lettered in football in 1952 and 1953, helping the team to a 14-6-1 overall record. Dooley was a guard on the 1953 team that tied Copiah-Lincoln in the Laurel Lions Bowl.

He also helped Perk win the state championship in track, where he competed in discus and shot put.

Dooley was inducted to the MGCCC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. He was born in Mobile, Ala. The brother of legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley, Bill Dooley is survived by his wife, Marie; four sons, Jim, Billy, Sean and Ashton; and four granddaughters.

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