Billy B. Slay was born on December 10, 1928, and died on December 14, 2020. He was happily married to Joan Tucker Slay for 69 years.
After graduation from Mendenhall High School he served in the U.S. Air Force for four years with one year in Korea during the war. He then attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he received his Bachelor and Masters degrees. After one year of coaching football at Bay High in Panama City, Florida, Billy returned to USM and joined the faculty. He later earned a Doctorate at Louisiana State University. He was on the faculty at USM for 30 years. As Chairman of the Department of Athletic Administration and Coaching, he was named Distinguished Professor of the Year for 1983.
During his tenure at USM, Billy, along with colleague Dr. Robert McDavid, pioneered a system of performance testing for athletes, focusing on football players. They were contracted by 3 NFL teams and a number of college teams to measure their football roster. Their work was the fore runner to the modern day NFL Combine and other programs of player performance testing.
After retiring from USM, Billy joined the University of West Alabama for two years as Department Chairman of Health and Physical Education and three years as Athletic Director before a second retirement.
Billy was an avid hunter and fisherman. He was loved for his famous hushpuppies, and has been called the “Hushpuppy Whisperer”.
His love of family was unequaled.
Billy is survived by his wife Joan, two sons Ken (Vicki) of Ridgeland, MS and Shannon (Donna) of Madisonville, LA and three grandsons Brandon, Nicholas, Evan and one granddaughter Lauren.
A family only service will be held on December 20, 2020, at Parkway Heights Methodist Church. A register will be provided at the church from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on that day for anyone who wishes to leave a message. A memorial service is planned for sometime in 2021.
