Hattiesburg mayor ‘pays up’ week ahead of Lil’ Brown Jug game
PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - City of Laurel employees got quite a shock Thursday.
The surprise... Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker washing Laurel Mayor Johnny Magee’s vehicle?
This act of kindness, however, was actually the Hub City mayor’s way of paying up after losing a friendly wager with the mayor of The City Beautiful over last year’s “Battle of the Lil’ Brown Jug.”
For those who do not know, the Battle of the Lil’ Brown Jug is a rivalry football game against the Hattiesburg and Laurel high schools. The game has been going on reportedly since 1922 and is said to be the state’s longest continuously-played high school game.
Last year, for the 100th edition of the series, Barker offered to build a museum for the Little Brown Jug in Hattiesburg. He even offered to let Laurel’s hometown celebrities, Erin and Ben Napier from HGTV’s “Home Town,” design it.
Magee declined the offer and made a counteroffer that Laurel annex Hattiesburg and name it South Laurel.
The two went on to place bets on the outcome of last year’s game.
Both mayors agreed to the following terms: If Laurel won, Barker would wash Magee’s car. If Hattiesburg won, Magee would make a toast to Hattiesburg at Laurel’s New Year’s Eve Party.
Laurel went on to win the game 50-0. The victory marked the largest margin of victory in the state’s longest continuously-played high school game.
On Thursday, Oct. 27, Barker made good on his promise and gave Magee’s vehicle a nice cleaning. This comes a week ahead of this year’s game, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 5.
In a post on Facebook, Barker said he fulfilled an obligation from Laurel’s win in the 2021 edition of the Lil’ Brown Jug game.
In a photo, Magee even helped Barker wash off his own car.
In his post, Barker said he looks forward to a different outcome next Saturday when the Lil’ Brown Jug game returns to Hattiesburg.
Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Copyright 2022 WDAM. All rights reserved.
