By Mark H. Stowers

MDCC Hall of Fame Inductee Bedear "Bee" Paul Petro Jr.

Leland native, Bedear "Bee" Paul Petro Jr. was a member of both the Mississippi Delta Junior College baseball and football teams. The 1971 Leland Academy graduate was a Trojan in 1972 and 1973.

Petro was a third baseman and outfielder for Head Coach Jimmy Bellipanni and was a defensive back for Head Football Coach Jim Randall.

"Our freshman year, we won the North Half then got beat by Gulf Coast for the state," Petro said. "I enjoyed Coach Randall and Coach Bellipanni and Coach Grubb and Coach Vickers. We just called him Coach Jimmy (Bellipanni.) As long as you did your job, you didn't have to worry about him getting on you."

On the baseball field, Petro "was part of a good team."

"I enjoyed those two years of my college life more than anything," Petro said of his time at Moorhead. "Those college years were the best two years of my life."

The football team won the state championship in his sophomore season. The baseball team sported a 10-3 overall record. When Petro got the call that he was being inducted, he was honored to join.

"I said, 'Good lord, have mercy.' I was excited about it. To be honored with this and join former teammates is a true honor. We had a good football team with Doe Signa and Mack Gower and plenty others."

After Moorhead, Petro spent a semester at Mississippi State University and one semester at Delta State University before going to Oxford to get into pharmacy. He attended Ole Miss Pharmacy School graduating cum laude in 1977. After pharmacy school, Petro worked for Greenwood Leflore County Hospital, Chaney's Pharmacy and Walmart Pharmacy.

"The education I got at Moorhead along with the help from my family helped pursue my pharmacy degree. Most of my career was at Walmart Pharmacy and Chaney's. I retired but still have my license," he said. "There weren't any pharmacists in the family but my brother just retired as a surgeon. I have a sister who was a nurse."