The 2023 MACCC Sports Hall of Fame includes Trojan football legend, Price H. “Buddy” Hodges. Born in Vicksburg but raised in Itta Bena, Price H. “Buddy” Hodges graduated from Leflore County High School in 1961 and then attended Mississippi Delta Junior College in Moorhead where he led the football team to their first state championship. The quarterback and then running back earned all-conference as the Most Outstanding Back in 1962 and Little All-American honors as fullback in 1961 and 1962. His sophomore Trojan season began with two losses, but seven straight wins took them to the state championship in Scooba. Hodges shined against East Mississippi Junior College with 30 carries for 176 yards and three touchdowns. He had 16 TDs that season.
Hodges also played baseball and ran track in 1961 and 1962 helping each team win state championships in 1962. He was a member of the “MD” Club for two years and was inducted in the Mississippi Delta Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. After his championships at Moorhead, Hodges was recruited and signed at Mississippi State University on a full football scholarship. He helped the team win the Liberty Bowl in his first season – 1963 – and was the SEC’s second-leading punt returner as a junior averaging 19.8 yards. His career stats at MSU include 503 yards on 129 rushing attempts, four touchdowns. As a receiver, he caught 17 passes for 84 yards and four touchdowns.
Former MSU teammate and MAIS Hall of Famer, Bill McGuire, called Hodges, “a really good football player and quite a guy. He was tough as hell and ran the ball hard.”
After graduation, Hodges married Bonnie Holly Hodges in 1968 and farmed for 45 years. The father of three, son Trey Hodges and wife Mignon Nelson Hodges of Greenwood, Mississippi, daughter Heather Hodges McKinion and husband Raymond McKinion of Brandon, Mississippi and Bonnie Michelle Hodges (deceased), also had five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Hodges coached pee wee football, girls’ softball and junior high football at Cruger-Tchula Academy. He passed away at the age of 69 on May 21, 2012, and he was laid to rest in Itta Bena cemetery in Itta Bena, Mississippi.