Billy Mitts

F. W. "Billy" Mitts is an American attorney and Democratic politician from Mississippi. He served in the Mississippi State Senate from 1960 to 1964.

F. W. "Billy" Mitts
Member of the Mississippi Senate
from the 40th district
In office
1960–1964
Personal details
Born1919/1920[1]
Clarke County, Mississippi
Political partyDemocratic Party
Spouse(s)Lugennia Mitts
FatherF. W. "Buddy" Mitts
Alma materMississippi State University

Biography

Mitts was born to F. W. "Buddy" Mitts and his wife, and grew up in Clarke County, Mississippi.[1] He attended Mississippi State University, where he had been a cheerleader and the student body president.[2]

In 1959, he was elected as the state senator for Clarke and Jasper counties.[3] He ran for re-election in 1963, when the 40th district had been redrawn to include Wayne County in place of Jasper County.[4][1] He lost in the first round of primary elections to W. Vol "Bill" Jones.[5][6]

Mitts was opposed to racial integration of schools in Mississippi.[7] He is known for his role in trying to prevent the 1962–63 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team from playing in the NCAA tournament against the Loyola Ramblers, a team from Chicago which featured four black starting players, in an NCAA tournament game which is now known as the Game of Change.[8] Mitts and another state senator, B. W. Lawson, obtained a temporary injunction to restrain the team within the state ahead of gameday.[9] However, this injunction was never served before the team's plane departed for the game, and it was later dissolved for lacking legal basis.[10]

Personal life

He married Lugennia White from Macon, Georgia.[1] He has a daughter, Chandler Mitts, who ran for the Mississippi House of Representatives twice in the 1990s.[11]

References
  1. "F.W. (Billy) Mitts Is Candidate for Re-election". The Clarke County Tribune. February 22, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  2. West, Gary (March 10, 2013). "Landmark game had Kentucky connections". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  3. "Cooper, Culpepper, Ramsey, Mitts, Meadows Win in County Races". The Clarke County Tribune. August 28, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  4. "Sample Ballot for State Senator, Fortieth District". The Clarke County Tribune. August 2, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  5. "Official Returns from Clarke—First Primary". The Clarke County Tribune. August 9, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  6. Jones, W. Vol (Bill), Jr. (August 16, 1963). "To the Citizens of Clarke County". The Clarke County Tribune (Advertisement). p. 7. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  7. "State Senator Unleashes GOP, Demo Battle". The Greenwood Commonwealth. Jackson, Mississippi. Associated Press. February 28, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  8. "MSU Entry Brings Additional Criticism". The Clarion-Ledger. March 5, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved June 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Bulldogs Head for Tournament". Enterprise-Journal. Associated Press. March 14, 1963. p. 9. Retrieved June 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Lenehan, Michael (2013). Ramblers: Loyola Chicago 1963—The Team That Changed the Color of College Basketball. Agate Publishing. pp. 211–214. ISBN 1572841400.
  11. Hammons, Randall (January 16, 2017). "Meridian area residents tickled to attend Trump inauguration". The Meridian Star. Retrieved October 5, 2020.

See also
  • Russell Fox (politician), a state representative who also opposed NCAA tournament participation
  • Walter Hester, a state representative who also opposed NCAA tournament participation
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