In 1892, Jim Ivy was part of the construction crew building a bridge over the Tallahatchie River when coal tar paint got in his eyes. He was blinded for life. Some say Jim was at the baseball game selling peanuts, while others say that he just wandered in. Either way, Texas was whipping the Rebels pretty good when Jim began hooping and hollering that we would win this game! Jim kept cheering, the students took notice, and by game’s end, when Ole Miss had indeed made the crazy comeback against the Longhorns, the foundation of what Blind Jim Ivy would mean to Ole Miss was set.
Photograph by J.R. Cofield.
