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Later he coached and managed in the Yankee organization but has called Oxford home since he retired from the Yankees after a decade with the team.

Former teammates and friends often look him up when they come to town, and he played a lot of golf over the years. Mostly, he just enjoyed being retired in one of the most pleasant places.

He is often interviewed about the 1959 Ole Miss-LSU game in Baton Rouge. On a damp and misty night, Halloween, Cannon returned a Gibbs punt 89 yards for a touchdown in one of the most celebrated touchdowns in SEC history. ` ThatTDwasbigfor the Georgia football team although nobody had the thought that the Bulldogs would wind up being a great beneficiary of Ole Miss’ defeat.

As the season played out, Georgia finished undefeated and claimed the title. The next weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. LSU was upset by the Volunteers when Cannon on a two point conversion attempt was stopped by Tennessee’s opportunistic defense.

Two of the three powerhouse teams had lost a game, and when Georgia upset Auburn in Athens the week before Thanksgiving, the Bulldogs became conference champions.

Ole Miss got revenge in the Sugar Bowl by defeating LSU 21-0. The Rebels were declared national champions in a few polls, but it remained a bittersweet circumstance for the Rebels, owning to the bitter disappointment brought about by Cannon’s legendary punt return.

Most of Jake Gibbs’ memories are good ones, and he is often asked about his memorable career as he moves about a town where his legend is as widely known almost as much as that of author William Faulkner.,