Bio

Jimmy Guy McDonald of Houlka was inducted into Itawamba Community College’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. He was a pitcher for the Indians baseball team from 1966-67. McDonald spent 49 years in basketball, coaching all but four of those years at Houlka, where he began his career in 1969. He won a total of 1,772 games, 906 coaching girls and 866 coaching boys. The girls captured state titles in 1975 and 1977. The girls’ team also won a Grand Slam title in 1975. The boys’ team won a state title in 2000. He took his teams to the state tournaments in Jackson 22 times, including his final season, when the boys reached the Class 1A semifinals. A former semi-pro pitcher, McDonald excelled as a baseball coach, leading Houlka to a state title in 1973. He also coached softball at Houlka. In 1991, he left to coach boys’ basketball and baseball at Kossuth. McDonald returned home to Houlka in 1995. His awards included Kellogg’s Woman’s Basketball Coach of the Year (1977), Mississippi Coaches Hall of Fame (2014), NEMS Basketball Coach Hall of Fame (2012-13) and NEMCABB Coaches Hall of Fame (2014).  McDonald retired following the 2017-18 season, and died unexpectedly at his home on December 4, 2019. He and his wife of 43 years, Debbie, are the parents of two children, Bradley Hubert (Lauren) McDonald and Jill Marie (Brad) Vance, and five grandchildren, Jade Gunnells, Addie Kate Vance, Jace Tutor, Lily Tutor and Mary Haire.