Dr. J. O. Manning was a longtime Jackson physician who was presented an honorary MAC HOF membership. A native of Jackson, Dr. Manning was born in 1929 and graduated from Central High where he was a member of the football and track squads. He received his college degree from Ole Miss in 1951 and entered the U.S. Air Force upon graduation where he served as First Lieutenant. He entered real estate business from 1953 through 1955 before taking a pre-med course at Millsaps from 1955-56. He graduated from Tulane medical school in 1959 and served his internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans from 1959 to 196. Dr. Manning worked at Tulane and two hospitals in Shreveport, LA, while specializing in orthopedics. He began his medical practice in Shreveport at the Highland Clinic from 1964 to 1965 and returned to Jackson at the Central Orthopedic Clinic where he worked until 1984. Along with Drs. Gene Barrett and Walter Shelton, he helped founded the famous Mississippi Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Clinic, one of the finest clinics designed for treatment of athletic injuries in the nation. He retired in 1988 as a loyal fan to athletics and a dedicated friend to coaches, players, fans, and administrators through the years. He received the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Contributions to Amateur Athletics Award in 1996. He served as president of the Hinds County Ole Miss Alumni chapter, the River Hills Club, Jackson Prep, the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Medical Association, Chief of Staff of the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, Chairman of the Board of Deacons of the First Presbyterian Church, and a consultant in orthopedics to Jackson State.