[2/9/05].

Thousands gathered in Oxford this morning to pay final respects to Coach John Vaught, a name as synonymous with Mississippi football as the game itself.

Former players, coaches, fans, friends and family gathered at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church for the 10 a.m. service.

John Howard Vaught, the legendary Ole Miss football coach who touched thousands of lives, was laid to rest at a private service. He died late Friday night at age 96.

Of those thousands in attendance was the only person alive today named after the Ole Miss coach – Vicksburg’s John Howard Vaught Mims.

Vaught had helped Johnny’s daddy, Crawford, attend Ole Miss and play football for the Rebels in the early 1950s.

Upon graduation from Ole Miss, Crawford wanted to honor his coach by naming one of his sons after him.

Crawford and Betty &#8220Boop” Nosser Mims had a daughter, then a son they named after Crawford. When the third child was born, the couple asked Coach Vaught for permission to use his name.

A gracious acceptance followed, except for one small snag.

On Johnny Mims’ original birth certificate, he is listed as John Howard Mims. Crawford and Boop took Coach Vaught’s first two names, but did not include the familiar Vaught.

When the coach found out about it several years later, he urged a change on the official record. He wanted the Vaught to be included in Johnny’s name.

The Mimses went to court to resolve the name change – at the coach’s expense – and the birth record now reads &#8220John Howard Vaught Mims.”

After Coach Vaught’s son, John Jr., died last year, it left Johnny Mims as the only living person named after the legendary football coach.

&#8220I take pride in that,” said Mims, now executive director of the Mississippi Association of Coaches.

The friendship Crawford Mims and Coach Vaught generated over the years continued to grow. Vaught routinely came to Vicksburg for a turkey hunt or just to talk football.

&#8220When he recruited, he just wasn’t recruiting players, but recruiting family,” Johnny Mims said.

Johnny Mims played baseball at Ole Miss, and the late Crawford Mims Jr., known to most as &#8220Bubba,” played football for the Rebels. Johnny’s son, John Morgan Mims, is currently on the Ole Miss baseball team.

The family’s relationship with Vaught even included a very special Christmas present given each year to his namesake.

&#8220Every year he gave me a black Angus cow,” Johnny Mims recalled. &#8220One time I looked up and had about 15 cows from Coach Vaught.”