Oral history with Mr. David M. Ferriss

              Oral history with Mr. David M. Ferriss
F341.5 . M57 vol. 748, pt. 1
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Biography
Mr. David M. " Boo" Ferriss was born December 5, 1921, in Shaw, Mississippi, one of two sons and one daughter born to William Douglas Ferriss and Lellie Meadow Ferriss. Mr. Ferriss was graduated from Shaw High School, and went on to be graduated from Mississippi State University. He served in the Army Air Corps in World War II.
Spending forty- four years as a player and coach in professional and college baseball, Mr. Ferriss worked ten years with the Boston Red Sox— five years as a pitcher and five years as a pitching coach. Twice a twenty- game winner, he was Rookie of the Year in 1945 with a 21- 10 record, and in 1946 leading pitcher of the American League with a 25- 6 record, twenty- six complete games, and six shutouts. In the 1946 World Series, Mr. Ferriss pitched a 4- 0 shutout over the St. Louis Cardinals in Fenway Park; he is one of three Red Sox pitchers to pitch a World Series shutout; and he is the holder of several major league pitching records, one being the most consecutive wins in home park— thirteen in 1946.
In 1959 Mr. Ferriss was employed by Delta State University as Assistant to the President and as baseball coach. Spending twenty- six years there, he compiled a record of 639 wins, 387 losses, and eight ties. His teams won four Gulf South conference championships and three teams advanced to the Division II World Series, finishing second once and third twice; he coached twenty All- Americans and twenty- one academic All- Americans. Several of his former players went on to play in the major leagues, and forty of his former players have coached high school and college baseball.
In addition to coaching duties, Mr. Ferriss has served Delta State University at various intervals as Athletic Director and Director of the Delta State University Foundation.
Mr. Ferris and his wife, the former Miriam Izard of New Hebron, Mississippi, presently reside in Cleveland, Mississippi; their children are Dr. David M. Ferriss Jr. of Nashville, Tennessee, and Margaret Ferriss of Madison, Mississippi. Active in civic, community, and church affairs, Mr. Ferris is a member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame, the Delta State University Sports Hall of Fame, the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Mississippi Semi- Pro Baseball Hall of Fame. mus- coh. ferrisd. doc Page 1 of 16