Where Are They Now: The Dees Brothers

NOTE: The Where Are They Now feature on the Dees brothers first appeared in the Memphis Football GameDay program Oct. 19 when the Tigers hosted Tulane.

In the history of the University of Memphis football program, there has been an abundance of memorable moments.

There was the 0-0 tie with second-ranked Ole Miss in 1963 and the 21-17 victory over No. 6 Tennessee in 1996. Some recall the 2003 New Orleans Bowl, the game that snapped a 32-year bowl drought. Others are fond of the 2014 Miami Beach Bowl, which the Tigers won in dramatic fashion, 55-48 in overtime, against BYU.

The Dees brothers – Alex and Bobby – have their own selection: the program's first victory over Ole Miss, a 27-17 upset to open the 1967 season.

Of course, the Dees are biased. They participated in the game and, more than 50 years later, they can recall, and relive, the moment with clarity and emotion.

Alex and Bobby, from Philadelphia, Miss., were defensive ends for head coach Billy Murphy's 1967 team, which went 5-1 to start the season and finished 6-3. The program's first win over Ole Miss was a seminal moment, a validation of what Murphy had built and a victory in the series after 20 consecutive losses (and that 1963 tie).

"I was a junior," Alex said. "They won the stats, but we won the scoreboard. I'll take the W any day.

"It was just wild when we won. It had never happened before. There had been close calls. There had been a tie. To win, it helped everybody's morale."

Bobby recalls, at the time, the win being "the greatest thing that ever happened."

"I remember a lot of Ole Miss people left the stadium late in the game," Bobby said. "I guess they thought they were going to run all over us."

Members of that team were honored before the 2019 season opener against Ole Miss. Alex, a member of the M Club Hall of Fame, said it was a special reunion.

"Last time I was on that field was when I got in the Hall of Fame," he said. "This time was even better because I was on the field with guys I hadn't seen in a while."

Even though it's been 51 years since the 1968 game, Alex and Bobby still remember vividly the disappointment they felt when they couldn't string together back-to-back wins over the Rebels. Ole Miss won 21-7 in a game also played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

"We were up 7-0 at the half," Alex said. "I guess we just ran out of gas in the second half."

Playing on the same college defense as his brother was a highlight of his career.

"(Bobby) had a lot of good offers, but he said he was coming to Memphis with me," Alex said. "That just made it that much better.

"Of course, everyone always said half the tackles that were given to me were because of him making them. They just (credited) the wrong Dees."

Alex led the team in tackles his junior and senior seasons and when Bobby, who is a year younger, led the team in tackles his senior season (after Alex had graduated), Alex said: "Maybe those people were right. Maybe Bobby did make all those tackles my (junior and senior seasons)."

Bobby admits if it hadn't been for his brother opting to play for the Tigers, he probably "wouldn't have gone up there."

"We had some good times at Memphis," Bobby said. Both earned All-Missouri Valley Conference recognition in their careers.

The brothers remain close and, in fact, are neighbors in Philadelphia. Alex, 72, said they live about "500 yards apart" or the length of five football fields.

When Alex returned to Philadelphia, he worked with the U.S. Postal Service, a job he held for 33 years. Bobby, 70, also remained in Mississippi and worked with Mitchell Distributing. He spent 36 years at Mitchell, which distributed beer.

"I think the reason he went with them was because I drank (beer)," Alex said. "I think he needed to have good sales. I was a steady buyer."

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