JANUARY 4, 2009

A Nov. 8, 1951, photo that appeared in the Vicksburg Evening Post showed five members of the St. Aloysius High School football team that their coach, Joe Balzli, called the “little backs.” The boys were second string when this photo was taken, but they went on to be quite the winning team during their senior year. “We were invited to a bowl game, but Brother Mark declined, saying it was time for us to get back to the books,” said Joe Durst, who submitted the photo. The “little backs” are: from front, Howard Madison, Johnny Wood and Joe Durst. Back left is John Wilson Ellis, and Freddy Groome is at right. Balzli, for whom the St. Aloysius field was named in 1995, was the football coach at the Catholic high school from 1936 until 1961.

Historic photos taken in and around Vicksburg are featured on Sundays in The Vicksburg Post. Many of the photos are from the J. Mack Moore Collection at the Old Court House Museum. Though not all photos were taken by Mr. Moore, they are part of the collection given to the museum by longtime Vicksburg Post managing editor Charles J. Faulk. Appropriate photos from the public will also be accepted and published. To submit a photo, contact Karen Gamble at 636-4545.