Former Mississippi State athlete, Korean War veteran and founder of Howard Industries Billy Howard Sr. died at the age of 99, his company announced on Wednesday.
“Mr. Howard was the very definition of a Bulldog,” Athletic Director Zac Selmon said in a statement on social media. “He earned his degree in electrical engineering in just three years while lettering in football, basketball and track. His legacy as Mississippi State’s original ‘Iron Man’ speaks to his resilience as an athlete and his strength of character throughout his life.”
Howard, an MSU Hall of Famer and Mississippi Business Hall of Famer was born on January 26, 1927, in Louisville, Mississippi. He lettered in football, basketball and track and field at Mississippi State from 1944 to 1946, earning a degree in electrical engineering.
Howard was nicknamed the “Iron Man” by head coach Allyn McKeen after playing nearly every minute of every game for the football team during his three years on the squad.
He would go on to join the U.S. Air Force, serving as a first lieutenant in the Korean War, before entering the workforce as an engineer with General Electric. He left his role with the company in 1968 to start his own venture, Howard Industries, in Laurel, Mississippi, which would grow into a billion-dollar company with multiple divisions and become one of the country’s leading manufacturers of electrical transformers.
Howard continued his devotion to his alma mater after his playing days, serving as a donor and making a significant contribution toward a new indoor football practice facility at the Leo Seal Complex last year. The 110,000 square-foot training facility will be named the “Billy W. Howard Sr. Indoor Practice Facility” in his honor, and is expected to open ahead of the 2028 season.
Plans for the facility include renovations and expansion plans for the current Seal complex building, which will be completed in 2029.
“Mr. Howard believed deeply in Mississippi State and in the power of education to change lives,” Selmon added. “His generosity, humility and pride in this institution have helped shape the future of our program and will impact generations of student-athletes to come. On behalf of Mississippi State Athletics, we extend our deepest condolences to the Howard family and all who knew him. He will always be remembered as one of Mississippi State’s very best.”
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