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The Courting of Marcus Dupree
At the time of Marcus Dupree's birth, when Deep South racism was about to crest and shatter against the Civil Rights Movement, Willie Morris journeyed north in a circular transit peculiar to southern writers. His memoir of those years, North Toward Home , became a modern classic. In The Courting of Marcus Dupree he turned again home to Mississippi to write about the small town of Philadelphia and its favorite son, a black high-school quarterback. In Marcus Dupree, Morris found a living emblem of that baroque strain in the American character called "southern."
Beginning on the summer practice fields, Morris follows Marcus Dupree through each game of his senior varsity year. He talks with the Dupree family, the college recruiters, the coach and the school principal, some of the teachers and townspeople, and, of course, with the young man himself. As the season progresses and the seventeen-year-old Dupree attracts a degree of national attention to Philadelphia neither known nor endured since "the Troubles" of the early sixties, these conversations take on a wider significance. Willie Morris has created more than a spectator's journal. He writes here of his repatriation to a land and a people who have recovered something that fear and misdirected loyalties had once eclipsed. The result is a fascinating, unusual, and even topical work that tells a story richer than its apparent subject, for it brings the whole of the eighties South, with all its distinctive resonances, to life.
Beginning on the summer practice fields, Morris follows Marcus Dupree through each game of his senior varsity year. He talks with the Dupree family, the college recruiters, the coach and the school principal, some of the teachers and townspeople, and, of course, with the young man himself. As the season progresses and the seventeen-year-old Dupree attracts a degree of national attention to Philadelphia neither known nor endured since "the Troubles" of the early sixties, these conversations take on a wider significance. Willie Morris has created more than a spectator's journal. He writes here of his repatriation to a land and a people who have recovered something that fear and misdirected loyalties had once eclipsed. The result is a fascinating, unusual, and even topical work that tells a story richer than its apparent subject, for it brings the whole of the eighties South, with all its distinctive resonances, to life.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
19 people are currently reading
385 people want to read
About the author
Willie Morris
76 books72 followersWilliam Weaks "Willie" Morris (November 29, 1934 — August 2, 1999), was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi, though his family later moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, which he immortalized in his works of prose. Morris' trademark was his lyrical prose style and reflections on the American South, particularly the Mississippi Delta. In 1967 he became the youngest editor of Harper's Magazine. He wrote several works of fiction and non-fiction, including his seminal book North Toward Home, as well as My Dog Skip.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 27, 2019
This book was everything to me. It taught me, soothed me, and thrilled me, it enlarged my heart six sizes only so it could shatter it into more pieces. It shattered my too-large heart only so I could pick up thousands of brand new ones. Morris' book is quintessential Willie--he elaborates fully and tangentially on everything, leaving nothing to anyone's imagination but his own. Through the legendary story of the legendary Marcus Dupree, a Philadelphia MS football icon who was as Herculean as any has ever been, Morris reflects upon the cultural, moral, and social landscape of 20th Century America in the wake of the saltatory changes that began in the 50s. He reflects deeply upon the murders of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney in 1964 and uses "the troubles" (as they are known in this book and in their hometown), and how Philadelphia responded to them, as a harrowing parallel for his narrative of a football titan's impossible task. Morris is reckless in his epic vision the way that geniuses are; he is perfect in his execution the way that legends are. Like his titular subject, Morris' Courting of Marcus Dupree exceeds any form of expectation, often replacing them in favor of something else entirely, and certainly of its own creation.
February 11, 2023
Excellent book and honestly a must read if you are a college football fan (but, do not be fooled, this is so much more than a book on football.) Very unique blend of sport and socioeconomic history that gives life to the town of Philadelphia, MS and speaks vividly to a certain point in time. Colors the atmosphere of the late ‘70s and ‘80s beautifully. Knowing the outcome of the Dupree’s story makes the book a bit of a tragedy in hindsight, at least from a sporting aspect, but reading it helps give you insight on the ways Dupree affected his community outside the gridiron. Extrapolating from that, one can see the effect that star athletes have (even still, to the day) on small towns and American culture (without, granted, some of the unique and extraordinary racial connotations that surrounded Dupree and this era in the Deep South.) Would actually give the book 4.5 stars (sections about Pete the dog were a bit superfluous and Morris’ writing could feel redundant at times) but with no half stars to give, I’ll round up and throw it a full 5.
June 17, 2019
In 1980, writer and former magazine editor Willie Morris returned to his native Mississippi after a long sojourn in the North and abroad. Casting about for a story into which he could inject his thoughts on the South and the changes it had undergone since his youth, Morris settled on the unlikely subject of high school superstar football player Marcus Dupree.
In 1981, Marcus Dupree was widely regarded as the best-ever high school football player in the State of Mississippi and one of the best, if not the best, from any state. He had it all: 6-3, 230 pounds, the God-given ability to run 40 yards in under 4.3 seconds, and, most importantly, the fluidity needed to avoid tacklers and "run to daylight." Every major football-playing college in the country wanted him for its team.
To Morris, the happenstance of Dupree's birth was even more compelling. Dupree had been born in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964, the year three civil rights workers were murdered there in one of the most highly publicized events of the 1960s. (This crime later became the basis for the Willem Dafoe film Mississippi Burning.) Although Dupree obviously had no recollection of these events, he attended school with the children of the townspeople from that time, and, in an ironic turn of history, one of his friends on the football team was the son of a sheriff's deputy who had been convicted of complicity in the killings.
Disappointingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the book is more about Willie Morris than Marcus Dupree. As Morris drives around the state attending Dupree's games, he ruminates about his obsessions: race, the Old (i.e. Jim Crow) South, the civil rights era, and the changes it wrought. What emerges is a picture of a dinosaur: a 1960s liberal-leftist who retained his affection for his home state but was obsessed with the subject of race, and perhaps a little too ready to attribute racist motives to those around him.
By the early 1980s, Morris, who died in 1999, was a dinosaur. The society he had grown up in was gone, segregation was history, and the political concerns which had been so important to him were largely irrelevant to what actually was going on around him. It would be interesting to know whether Morris realized how archaic he had become, but no such revelation is included in this book.
The injustice of the book's title. of course, lies in the relatively minor position to which it relegates Dupree and his exploits. Dupree's story is the subject of legend and filled with pathos. Unlike many high school stars, Dupree's schoolboy exploits were only the opening act of what made him a permanent sporting legend. After graduating from Philadelphia High School, Dupree matriculated at the University of Oklahoma as a highly touted running back. Legendary coach Barry Switzer junked his equally-legendary wishbone offense midway through the season so he could feature Dupree as an I-formation tailback, and Dupree ended the season by rushing for 249 yards against Arizona State, which had the nation's top-ranked run defense, in the Fiesta Bowl even though he only played half the game. The following season, Dupree left Oklahoma, where he apparently was not happy, and signed a multi-million dollar contract with the upstart United States Football League at age 19. Less than one full season later, Dupree suffered a serious knee injury which robbed him of his scintillating ability. In 1990, after sitting out for several years, Dupree managed to make a brief comeback with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, but by that time he was just a plowhorse running back who couldn't break away from anyone, much less the entire opposing defense as he regularly had done before his injury. When ESPN produced a documentary on Dupree around 2015, it chose the highly evocative and apt title The Best There Never Was.
Near the beginning of Morris' book, he quotes a townsman saying that if Dupree suffered a serious injury, he would be just another colored kid in a small Mississippi town. It was a rhetorical comment; neither Morris nor the speaker anticipated it would apply to Dupree's life. How Dupree dealt with that unfortunate fate probably would make a much more interesting story than the one Morris told, but it is not the story of this book.
In 1981, Marcus Dupree was widely regarded as the best-ever high school football player in the State of Mississippi and one of the best, if not the best, from any state. He had it all: 6-3, 230 pounds, the God-given ability to run 40 yards in under 4.3 seconds, and, most importantly, the fluidity needed to avoid tacklers and "run to daylight." Every major football-playing college in the country wanted him for its team.
To Morris, the happenstance of Dupree's birth was even more compelling. Dupree had been born in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964, the year three civil rights workers were murdered there in one of the most highly publicized events of the 1960s. (This crime later became the basis for the Willem Dafoe film Mississippi Burning.) Although Dupree obviously had no recollection of these events, he attended school with the children of the townspeople from that time, and, in an ironic turn of history, one of his friends on the football team was the son of a sheriff's deputy who had been convicted of complicity in the killings.
Disappointingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the book is more about Willie Morris than Marcus Dupree. As Morris drives around the state attending Dupree's games, he ruminates about his obsessions: race, the Old (i.e. Jim Crow) South, the civil rights era, and the changes it wrought. What emerges is a picture of a dinosaur: a 1960s liberal-leftist who retained his affection for his home state but was obsessed with the subject of race, and perhaps a little too ready to attribute racist motives to those around him.
By the early 1980s, Morris, who died in 1999, was a dinosaur. The society he had grown up in was gone, segregation was history, and the political concerns which had been so important to him were largely irrelevant to what actually was going on around him. It would be interesting to know whether Morris realized how archaic he had become, but no such revelation is included in this book.
The injustice of the book's title. of course, lies in the relatively minor position to which it relegates Dupree and his exploits. Dupree's story is the subject of legend and filled with pathos. Unlike many high school stars, Dupree's schoolboy exploits were only the opening act of what made him a permanent sporting legend. After graduating from Philadelphia High School, Dupree matriculated at the University of Oklahoma as a highly touted running back. Legendary coach Barry Switzer junked his equally-legendary wishbone offense midway through the season so he could feature Dupree as an I-formation tailback, and Dupree ended the season by rushing for 249 yards against Arizona State, which had the nation's top-ranked run defense, in the Fiesta Bowl even though he only played half the game. The following season, Dupree left Oklahoma, where he apparently was not happy, and signed a multi-million dollar contract with the upstart United States Football League at age 19. Less than one full season later, Dupree suffered a serious knee injury which robbed him of his scintillating ability. In 1990, after sitting out for several years, Dupree managed to make a brief comeback with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, but by that time he was just a plowhorse running back who couldn't break away from anyone, much less the entire opposing defense as he regularly had done before his injury. When ESPN produced a documentary on Dupree around 2015, it chose the highly evocative and apt title The Best There Never Was.
Near the beginning of Morris' book, he quotes a townsman saying that if Dupree suffered a serious injury, he would be just another colored kid in a small Mississippi town. It was a rhetorical comment; neither Morris nor the speaker anticipated it would apply to Dupree's life. How Dupree dealt with that unfortunate fate probably would make a much more interesting story than the one Morris told, but it is not the story of this book.
June 12, 2025
The Courting of Marcus Dupree is probably the best sports book I've ever read (not that I've read all that many), but it's so much more: what it means to live in Mississippi, particularly Philadelphia, Mississippi, with its troubled past that seems to forever plague the state. I knew going in that Willie Morris was a tremendous writer and voice from the South, but I had no idea this book worked so well on so many levels.
July 16, 2023
Fascinating read. A book for anyone. A great perspective on life in the old and new south. A walk back into the difficult times of the civil rights movement. A interesting perspective from someone who has been born in the south and migrated to the north only to return as the south resettled after integration. Football almost become a side note to the societal changes that took place. Dupree’s story is fascinating as it has continued to repeat itself throughout the years as interlopers inject themselves into young football stars life’s and use them for personal gain. If you enjoyed the ESPN special “The Greatest That Never was” regarding Dupree, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. Morris is a another in the long line of prolific writers from Mississippi. Great readZ
February 1, 2023
Not at all what I came in expecting; a genuinely moving book. I planned to read a tale of college football recruiting in just barely post-integration Mississippi, I read instead a beautiful in media res reflection on the South. The author stayed with the #1 college football recruit from a tiny town in Mississippi for his senior football season and becomes a part of the town and its history. This book is as much politics and culture--the genuinely real, human kind--as it is football, if not more. An unbelievable and gripping commentary, especially as a Northerner. A window into a history more recent and a world closer than I ever knew.
December 5, 2025
This book was like a walk down memory lane. Much of the action takes place in Oxford, MS during my freshman year in college at Ole Miss. The following quote describes what Oxford was like during that time:
“From what other state university town in the nation could you drive a little over a mile into the countryside and find a road colloquially called Dead Pecker Hollow, so named because the people who lived there never had any children?”
Marcus Dupree and the hoopla surrounding him was intense. He was an immensely talented athlete and also a nice young man. He was treated as a commodity instead of a person by recruiters. I’d like an update on his life.
“From what other state university town in the nation could you drive a little over a mile into the countryside and find a road colloquially called Dead Pecker Hollow, so named because the people who lived there never had any children?”
Marcus Dupree and the hoopla surrounding him was intense. He was an immensely talented athlete and also a nice young man. He was treated as a commodity instead of a person by recruiters. I’d like an update on his life.
October 6, 2023
WOW, what a book! From the murders of the three young men in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964 to the recruiting of young football prodigy Marcus Dupree this book is absolutely amazing. So much history and context provided and so much to think about. The mark of a good book is one that stands the test of time and this is one of those. Still really relevant and so relevatory about the South and the US.
February 24, 2025
What a remarkable book. The writing style is outstanding and just flows. The themes Mr. Morris ties together are much the same as one might read about college football or society today and he presented a remarkable treatise on sports, racism, history, society, scandal....you name it. Thoroughly enjoyable especially if you're of a certain age and grew up loving college football.
October 8, 2021
If you like football, you might think this is Morris’ best book. Even if you aren’t a football fan, it’s excellent. I read it a long time ago but I just finished a biography about Morris so I though I should rate this book.
October 16, 2023
Great story. Great Author. Awesome subject. Morris' descriptions of his drives down Mississippi highways are excellent. Marcus Dupree was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Everybody wanted him. Willie Morris brings to to life this great era.
July 22, 2022
The best
Marcus Dupree was the greatest high school football player of all times. I wish he had stayed at Oklahoma he best running back at Oklahoma we will never know.
Marcus Dupree was the greatest high school football player of all times. I wish he had stayed at Oklahoma he best running back at Oklahoma we will never know.
Read
February 20, 2023Longer than it needs to be, but it's an interesting portrait of the rural south in the late 70s and early 80s, just before Reagan changed everything.
Read
April 8, 2025Had to eject on this for now. Beautifully written but meandering and dense. Need a week at the beach to knock this out.
January 14, 2023
An astonishing piece of writing - much like Dupree’s running, it is a treat to watch Morris ply his craft. Dupree’s flameout is even more heartbreaking when viewed through a modern lens: college football was in its adolescence in these years, and only beginning to put in guardrails to protect the student athlete and nourish a career. He missed out on the modern comforts of a full support staff at Oklahoma, a top of the line surgery for his knee, and NCAA eligibility rules that were not shrewdly and pointlessly punitive. Texas assistant coach Tommy Reaux states that “Dupree is only guilty of being a teenager;” he is wrong — he was also guilty of being born about twenty years early.
Of course, Morris holds little back in unwinding the violence done unto Black men and women and those who would fight for their rights in Neshoba County 20 years prior to this tale. Dupree is a comet: born late enough to avoid “The Troubles” and become a star at newly-integrated Philadelphia HS, but born too soon to avoid falling through the cracks of the churning lies of amateur football in America.
Of course, Morris holds little back in unwinding the violence done unto Black men and women and those who would fight for their rights in Neshoba County 20 years prior to this tale. Dupree is a comet: born late enough to avoid “The Troubles” and become a star at newly-integrated Philadelphia HS, but born too soon to avoid falling through the cracks of the churning lies of amateur football in America.
March 23, 2025
“As with many Southern writers, I believe that the special quality of the land itself indelibly shapes the people who dwell upon it.” -Page 20
“One of my friends pointed out that the most didactic football people , in his experience, often turned to intensive Bible studies in their mid fifties. ‘And the recruiting, you see, is just like leadin’ your people into the Promised Land’”. - Page 100
“In Mississippi, as I have suggested, everything leads to everything else.” - Page 282
“Some people are good human beings and not good athletes. Some are good athletes and not good human beings. Marcus is both.” - Page 417
“One of my friends pointed out that the most didactic football people , in his experience, often turned to intensive Bible studies in their mid fifties. ‘And the recruiting, you see, is just like leadin’ your people into the Promised Land’”. - Page 100
“In Mississippi, as I have suggested, everything leads to everything else.” - Page 282
“Some people are good human beings and not good athletes. Some are good athletes and not good human beings. Marcus is both.” - Page 417
Want to read
June 4, 2013Marcus Dupree was an athlete you would see only once in a lifetime. Willie Morris followed the life of the highly touted athlete in Mississippi from the beginning of his young career. Morris takes on a journey as if you were walking in Dupree's shoes step for step. It all started in the 1970's. In youth football. Dupree played flag football as an 8th grader and he was extraordinary. His local high school team was in need of talent, and lucky for him, there was a local star that had plenty of it. Coach went looking for Dupree and eventually convinced Dupree's mother that he was ready to play high school football, as an 8th grader. The way the author described the scene of the head coach and some of Dupree's older friends trying to convince his mother he was ready was amazing. I was thinking, this exchange right here started a career that would definitely be remembered, but for better of worse? After his high school career packed with physical feats (A 4.4 forty yard dash, 405lb bench press, 6'2 230lb specimen) and athletic achievements, it was time for Dupree to choose from his dozens of college scholarship offers and decide where he would play college football. After the drama between Texas and Oklahoma settled, Dupree chose Oklahoma. Morris takes the reader on a stressful and hectic roller coaster during Duprees recruitment. College was rough for Dupree, he was used to being the best player in the State in high school, and now he was sitting on the bench in college? He didn't like the idea of that, but after loosing the first 4 games, Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer came to his senses and put Dupree in. They started winning right away, and Dupree was in Heisman contention. After a "Sophomore Slump" Dupree faced some injury. Some say he was faint hearted and didnt't want to overcome his injuries, but would he prevail or snap under pressure? That is for you to find out. Willie Morris wrote a captivating story that got me especially interested because of my passion for football and intrigue about athletes. I would recommend this novel to anyone going through the recruiting process or is fascinated with tremendous athletes.
January 31, 2017
I got this book for my son who is a sportsman because it had appeared on a list of classic sports-themed books for kids like mine. I decided to read it myself given the praise I had read about it, and to be sure it would be appropriate for a young teen. (It is.) I thoroughly enjoyed it, though it took me a bit longer to get through than is my usual. What Morris has done is drive a link between unfortunate (indeed grisly) events in Neshoba County, MS with the rising star of the eponymous title character. While I might not have drawn such a parallel or influence-casting role between the two events, ultimately I let them work for me. The sports "stuff" was fine, but thankfully that was only a part of what is discussed in the book. It has much to say about race relations in the southern US and the price paid by all US citizens because of our slave history. Most captivating for me personally was mention (over 2 pages) of a United Methodist pastor, Lovett Weems, whom I met after he came on the faculty of the theological school where I studied (roughly the same time period as that covered in the book). Morris also explored his relationship with his dog, which I felt was a little superfluous, but again I decided to let it work for the overall story. Morris also takes some time to explore his own life in sport and his family, both of which I think might deserve some fleshing-out in a separate volume (he may have already done so; I haven't checked his various works). This would be a good book for anyone interested in sports, especially youngsters involved in football, and most especially those young football players to have visions of themselves as stars. Dupree is a good model of the balance between drive and humility we parents would hope to instill in our child-sportspersons. His ultimate demise, whether because of personal failure or the cost of fame, reads as a worthy warning for those same young readers. I enjoyed the book despite the overall sports thing going on. The interwoven reflection on race was most compelling, worthy of perusal by any American citizen.
August 25, 2013
Willie Morris (of "My Dog Skip" fame) offers an overlong and, at least at points, beautifully written account of the recruiting of Mississippi schoolboy legend Marcus Dupree. Viewed as the second coming (or perhaps the improved version) of Georgia star Herschel Walker, the massive Dupree (who weighed anywhere between 220 and 240 during his playing days) was a bowling-ball running back with astonishing speed and a questionable work ethic. Morris hints at the coming tragedy--as yet unrealized--of the Dupree story with a beautiful passage near the end in which he asks how Dupree how will handle failure, how he'll proceed after "they figure out I'm me." But quite a lot of this material is labored and unduly stretched out, with useful background information about Philadelphia, MS (where Dupree played high school ball) bookended around innumerable shaggy-dog stories about "my dog Pete." In fact, it is the death of Pete, not anything related to Dupree, that concludes the book and, absent a postscript by sportswriter Billy Watkins, leaves one wondering who this book was really about (ha ha ha, just kidding: it's obvious that the book is about WILLIE MORRIS AND HIS DOG PETE FOLLOWING THE MARCUS DUPREE STORY, a fact that would be fine if Morris was "Dr. Gonzo" or some other interesting figure). At any rate, much of this was old news for me--I had watched ESPN's excellent The Best That Never Was documentary prior to reading The Courting of Marcus Dupree, and thus knew how the story ended--and so I wished to speed through it as quickly as possible. While part of me is glad that Morris, who obviously viewed himself as a "dean of Southern letters," took the time to relate this story, another part of me wishes that someone with a better understanding of football (e.g., Paul Zimmerman, Rick Telander) had tackled it. But many of you will enjoy Morris' long digressions about magnolia trees, red clay, and a man's honest and unimpeachable love for his dog, so have at it.
December 28, 2015
The Courting of Marcus Dupree by Willie Morris (Doubleday & Co. 1983) (Biography). I found a reference to this book in a Clay Travis or Sports Illustrated website article - the article's author calls it the best book ever on college football. Willie Morris, the author of the book, is a quintessential Southern writer from the Faulkner school and is the author of My Dog Skip. This book is about a recruit from a tiny town in Mississippi (Philadelphia) who in 1983 was regarded as the "next Herschel Walker." Marcus Dupree wound up at the University of Oklahoma. This book tells how and why. My rating: 7/10, finished 9/1/2010.
July 28, 2009
I was assigned to read this for a history class and I ended up enjoying it! ha who would've thought? Marcus Dupree was more than an incredible high school football player in the early 1980s. He represented a broader racial struggle that was very prevalent in the post-civil rights Southern town of Philadelphia, Mississippi. The book was written about 25-30 years after the lynching of three civil rights workers. Great Read. Would've given it 5 stars, but the author (Willie Morris) is incredibly Narcissistic and focused too much on his own life struggles.
December 9, 2012
a very sad book. willie morris sets out to write a book about mississippi and does. the titular figure fades into the background as morris sets forth innumerable mississippi plateaux, dogs drinking muddy water and boots stained with red clay &c&c. in the end, we learn that black in mississippi is the same as it always was, so even if you succeed, a white writer won't be able to imagine you as a person. recommend, in spite of its failures.
July 23, 2011
This is perhaps the best sports book ever written. I was living in Mississippi when this came out and had the opportunity to interview Morris at the time. A very affable man who was a great interview which was no surprise. My autographed first edition is among the prized positions in my antique bookcase that houses my signed books.
November 25, 2016
I only give 5 stars for truly great books like To Kill a Mockingbird or Color Purple, but I would give this book 4.3 stars if I had the option. Maybe it is because I currently live in Philadelphia, MS, though I am not from here and have only lived here for a year and a half, but I found the multiple layers of the story and Willie's beautifully simple way of writing quite compatible. .
November 1, 2024
I had a very specific relationship with this book. I read it when I started working for the Neshoba Democrat In Philadelphia, Mississippi where this book takes place. it was extremely rewarding to read Morris' deep dive into the history and feel of a place I learned to love and appreciate that was not my home.
August 16, 2011
Interesting look at recruiting in college football from around the time of my birth. Not surprising to see that recruiters were up to a bunch of shenanigans back then as well, and it's sad that Dupree never reached his full potential.
November 28, 2007
saying this book is about high school football is like saying "Moby Dick" was about fishing. Stunning.
May 11, 2012
Wonderful book. I still hate Barry Switzer because of the way he treated Marcus.
June 14, 2013
I love reading Willie Morris and this book does not disappoint!
September 3, 2013
ESPN Films 30 for 30 "The Best that Never Was" produced by Johnathan Hock in 2010 is better than this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews