SENATOBIA – Former Northwest head football coach Bobby Ray Franklin has been selected as Grand Marshal of this year's Senatobia Christmas parade, according to Glenda Neal of the Tate County Economic Development Foundation. The parade will be held on Monday, Dec. 3 beginning at 7 p.m.

Through the years, all great football programs have had at least one legendary coach. Notre Dame had hall of famer Knute Rockne, the University of Alabama had Paul “Bear” Bryant, and the Green Bay Packers had Vince Lombardi.

Northwest's answer to that elite trio of coaches was Franklin.

Franklin put Northwest on the map on a national level, leading the Ranger football program to NJCAA National Championships in 1982 and 1992.

A six-time Region 23 Coach of the Year and five-time MACJC Coach of the Year selection, Franklin was head football coach at Northwest from the 1981 through the 2004 seasons. In those 24 years, he accounted for six state and region championships, 11 division titles and eight bowl game appearances. Franklin's coaching record of 201-57-6 (.767) speaks for itself, and most impressive is the fact that he never had a losing season. Against north division opponents, he was 123-21-2 (.846).

Franklin came to Northwest in 1979 and joined the football program as offensive coordinator under head coach Ray Poole. The Rangers posted a record of 9-1 in 1979 and 4-6 the ensuing season.

Franklin took the reins as head coach in 1981 and was 6-3-1 in his initial campaign, then led Northwest to its first NJCAA National Title with a 16-9 victory against Ferrum College in the 1982 East Bowl. That same season, the Rangers also claimed the state and region championships by posting a record of 12-0-1.

Ten years later in 1992, Northwest again vied for the NJCAA National Championship by earning a berth in the Mid-America Bowl in Tulsa, Okla. The Rangers, who were beaten 49-21 in the national game in 1991 by Northeastern Oklahoma, began the 1992 campaign ranked No. 1 in the nation. Northwest then proceeded to tear through its regular season schedule and finished with a record of 12-0, including two wins in the state playoffs and the state championship game against Itawamba. The Rangers got their revenge and Franklin's second national championship by shutting out Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 34-0 in a winter storm, which included heavy sleet and snow.

Franklin is a member of the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame, the Northwest Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame, the National Junior College Athletic Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was one of 12 players named to the SEC legends class during the SEC championship game.

Franklin's coaching career began in 1967 as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech University. After one season with the Yellow Jackets, Franklin took a job as secondary coach with the Dallas Cowboys. While Franklin was in Dallas, the Cowboys were in the playoffs every year and in the Super Bowl in 1970 and 1971. He also coached the defensive backfield in the 1969 and 1970 Pro Bowl games, winning the Super Bowl in 1972 against the Miami Dolphins. 

After leaving the Cowboys in 1972, he joined the Baltimore Colts' staff under Howard Schnellingberger.        

A former All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels, Franklin received Most Valuable Player honors in the 1958 Gator Bowl and 1960 Sugar Bowl and was also runner-up for MVP in the 1957 Sugar Bowl. He called the signals for the Ole Miss Team of the Decade in 1959.

In addition to his college football fame, Franklin was a four-year varsity track man for Ole Miss.

Franklin also played in the College All-Star Game at Soldier Field against the World Champion Baltimore Colts before he joined the pro ranks with the Cleveland Browns. For seven years, Franklin was a standout defensive back for the Browns and ranked second in the NFL in interceptions (nine) his rookie year – three returned for touchdowns. He also ran three fake field goals for touchdowns as holder for legendary kicker Lou Groza.

A native of Clarksdale, Franklin was a standout athlete at Clarksdale High School earning 12 letters in football, basketball and track. He earned All-American, All-State, All-Big Eight and All-Southern honors during his high school career. Franklin is married to the former JoAn Hannaford and has two children, Bobby Ray Franklin, Jr. and Ashley Franklin Beale.

**Note: portions of this bio/story pulled from former SID Brett Brown