{{short description|Former Mississippi state senator}} {{use mdy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = F. W. "Billy" Mitts | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | state_senate = Mississippi | district = 40th | term_start = 1960 | term_end = 1964 | predecessor = | successor = | prior_term = | pronunciation = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1919 | birth_place = Clarke County, Mississippi, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and given age|1973|04|01|54}}<ref name="obit-ClarkeCountyTribune"/> | death_place = Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = Enterprise Cemetery<br />Enterprise, Mississippi | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = Democratic Party | other_party = <!--For additional political affiliations--> | height = <!-- "X cm", "X m" or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (conversions are automatic) --> | spouse = Lugennia Mitts | relations = | children = | parents = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters --> | mother = <!-- may be used (optionally with father parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) --> | father = F. W. "Buddy" Mitts | relatives = | education = | alma_mater = Mississippi State University | occupation = | profession = | known_for = }} '''Fielden William "Billy" Mitts'''<ref>{{cite news |title=Resolutions Regarding Late F.W. Mitts, Jr. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106982478/resolutions-regarding-late-fw-mitts/ |work=The Clarke County Tribune |volume=64 |issue=50 |via=Newspapers.com |date=1 June 1973 |page=6 |language=en}}</ref> (1919–1973) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician from Mississippi. He served in the Mississippi State Senate from 1960 to 1964.
== Biography == Mitts was born to F. W. "Buddy" Mitts and his wife, and grew up in Clarke County, Mississippi.<ref name="ClarkeReelectionCandidate">{{cite news |title=F.W. (Billy) Mitts Is Candidate for Re-election |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60563021/fw-billy-mitts-is-candidate-for/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Clarke County Tribune |date=22 February 1963 |page=1 |language=en}}</ref> He attended Gulf Coast Military Academy and Mississippi State University, where he was a cheerleader and the student body president.<ref>{{cite news |last1=West |first1=Gary |title=Landmark game had Kentucky connections |url=https://www.bgdailynews.com/community/landmark-game-had-kentucky-connections/article_f04b79d0-3cc0-5249-900f-912f1a568712.html |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=Bowling Green Daily News |date=10 March 2013 |language=en}}</ref> He graduated from Mississippi State in 1942.<ref name="obit-ClarkeCountyTribune"/>
In 1959, he was elected as the state senator for Clarke and Jasper counties.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cooper, Culpepper, Ramsey, Mitts, Meadows Win in County Races |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60562491/cooper-culpepper-ramsey-mitts/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Clarke County Tribune |date=28 August 1959 |page=1 |language=en}}</ref> He ran for re-election in 1963, when the 40th district had been redrawn to include Wayne County in place of Jasper County.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sample Ballot for State Senator, Fortieth District |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60564286/sample-ballot-for-state-senator/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Clarke County Tribune |date=2 August 1963 |page=1 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ClarkeReelectionCandidate"/> He lost in the first round of primary elections to W. Vol "Bill" Jones.<ref>{{cite news |title=Official Returns from Clarke—First Primary |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60563698/official-returns-from-clarkefirst/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Clarke County Tribune |date=9 August 1963 |page=1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=W. Vol (Bill) Jr. |title=To the Citizens of Clarke County |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60565251/to-the-citizens-of-clarke-county-w/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Clarke County Tribune |date=16 August 1963 |page=7 |language=en |type=Advertisement}}</ref>
Mitts was opposed to racial integration of schools in Mississippi.<ref>{{cite news |title=State Senator Unleashes GOP, Demo Battle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60562754/state-senator-unleashes-gop-demo-battle/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Greenwood Commonwealth |agency=Associated Press |date=28 February 1963 |location=Jackson, Mississippi |page=1 |language=en}}</ref> He is known for his role in trying to prevent the 1962–63 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team from playing in the NCAA tournament against the Loyola Ramblers, a team from Chicago which featured four black starting players.<ref name="ClarionAdditional">{{cite news |title=MSU Entry Brings Additional Criticism |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53183349/msu-entry-brings-additional-criticism/ |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=The Clarion-Ledger |via=Newspapers.com |date=5 March 1963 |page=1}}</ref> Mitts and another state senator, B. W. Lawson, obtained a temporary injunction to restrain the team within the state ahead of gameday.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bulldogs Head for Tournament |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53185170/bulldogs-head-for-tournament/ |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=Enterprise-Journal |agency=Associated Press |via=Newspapers.com |date=14 March 1963 |page=9}}</ref> However, this injunction was never served before the team's plane departed for the game, and it was later dissolved for lacking legal basis.<ref name="Lenehan">{{cite book |last=Lenehan |first=Michael |title=Ramblers: Loyola Chicago 1963—The Team That Changed the Color of College Basketball |date=2013 |publisher=Agate Publishing |isbn=978-1572841406 |language=en |pages=211–214}}</ref> The game between the Bulldogs and the Ramblers thus went on as planned, and is now known as the Game of Change.
Mitts died on April 1, 1973, in Meridian Hospital. His funeral was held on April 3, and he was buried in Enterprise Cemetery in Enterprise, Mississippi.<ref name="obit-ClarkeCountyTribune">{{cite news |title=F. W. (Billy) Mitts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106982354/f-w-billy-mitts-obituary/ |work=The Clarke County Tribune |volume=64 |issue=42 |via=Newspapers.com |date=6 April 1973 |page=2 |language=en |type=Obituary}}</ref>
== Personal life == He married Lugennia White from Macon, Georgia.<ref name="ClarkeReelectionCandidate"/> He had one son and three daughters, including Chandler Mitts, who ran for the Mississippi House of Representatives twice in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hammons |first1=Randall |title=Meridian area residents tickled to attend Trump inauguration |url=https://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/meridian-area-residents-tickled-to-attend-trump-inauguration/article_dd402a3b-7102-5cac-83ce-5fcd1ca589c7.html |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Meridian Star |date=Jan 16, 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="obit-ClarkeCountyTribune"/>
== References == {{reflist}}
== See also == * Russell Fox (politician), a state representative who also opposed NCAA tournament participation * Walter Hester, a state representative who also opposed NCAA tournament participation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitts, Billy}} Category:People from Clarke County, Mississippi Category:Mississippi state senators Category:1919 births Category:1973 deaths Category:Mississippi State University alumni Category:20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature
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