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By Jim Freeman
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Johnny Majors. Adolph Rupp. Earl Weaver. Majors coached the Pitt Panthers to a national football championship in 1976. Rupp won multiple NCAA basketball titles at Kentucky. Weaver managed the Baltimore Orioles to the 1970 World Series crown. The late former La Follette Owl Coach and two-sport star for LHS, Ron Murray, worked with all three of the legendary coaches during his time in college athletics and in minor league baseball. Murray died Thursday night after a lengthy illness.
Murray’s career is perhaps best summed up in the story Russell Rice, longtime sports information director for the University of Kentucky, wrote about him in a 2002 edition of The Cats’ Pause. I had the pleasure of arranging Rice’s interview with Coach Murray. Rice has since passed away. He died at age 90 in 2015.
12/16/2002 FOOTBALL
RICE: Former trainer recalls days at Kentucky
Russell Rice
Publisher
Ron Murray was born in the same Harlan neighborhood as Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones. He was four years old when his family moved to LaFollete, Tenn. After starring in basketball and football at LaFollete High, Murray wrote coach Adolph Rupp, requesting a tryout. “Come on up,” Rupp replied.
“They put me up at the Phoenix Hotel for a week,” Murray said. “The most disappointment I had in my life was when I saw Alumni Gym; however, nobody in the SEC had it any better.”
The Wildcats were preparing for the 1950 Sugar Bowl Basketball Tournament when Murray arrived on the scene. Rupp immediately matched him against Bobby Watson and Skippy Whitaker in scrimmages.
Kentucky was loaded with guards, all taller than Murray. Rupp said he would like to find something for the 5-foot-8 guard to do, but basketball was not one of them.
Murray played freshman basketball and football at East Tennessee State before serving three years in the Army. He played both sports with the 82nd Airborne Division before a knee injury received in a parachute jump ended his playing career.
Al Rotella was coaching at Tennessee when Murray completed his military service. Rotella introduced Murray to Mickey O”Brien and told the UT trainer than Murray needed a job in order to finish school.
Murray served as an assistant trainer at Tennessee from 1954-57. He worked mostly with basketball and the other “minor” sports.
“I remember Kentucky well,” he said. “They beat the hell out of us.” Kentucky had moved from Alumni Gym to Memorial Coliseum. “Coach Rupp made fun of our gym,” Murray said. “He said he was going to get some coal miners” caps so they would be able to see in there.”
When Kentucky and Tennessee played conference games on the road, they traveled the same route, stayed in the same hotels. Kentucky would be playing LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday while Tennessee played Tulane in New Orleans. Their paths would cross on Sunday as they changed foes for games on Monday.
During one of those trips to Louisiana, the Wildcat and Volunteer coaching and training staffs relaxed together at Pat O”Brien’s in New Orleans.
“Out of the blue, Rupp asked me if I would like to come to Kentucky,” Murray said. “Of course, I said I”d like it more than anything in the world.”
Murray cleared the matter with Wildcat trainer Rusty Payne, but first he had to fill commitments to work spring training with Earl Weaver”s Baltimore Orioles and the baseball season with the Knoxville Smokies.
Payne assigned Murray to basketball and other sports. Rupp welcomed Murray at a time when the Wildcats were preparing for the 1957-58 season, which would end with a national championship.
Murray recalled that with Rupp under the goal at one end of the court and Harry Lancaster at the other goal, “there was no peace anywhere.”
He said Rupp continually berated the team, telling them how sorry they were. Other members of the staff and the players thought they had the makings of a pretty good team, even after Rupp called them “Fiddlers.”
Rupp asked if the Smokies had any black players on their team. When Murray said yes, Rupp wanted to know how they were treated.
Murray said they hated to go on the road because you couldn’t protect the black players. They couldn’t stay at the same motels, eat at the same establishments. The team sometimes traveled all night and once stopped at a gas station at two o’clock in the morning, where the blacks were denied use of the rest room.
“They wouldn’t let them stop the bus, or go out in the field to relieve themselves,” he said.
Rupp said he wouldn’t subject any of his players to that kind of treatment. He wanted the best, first class for his boys, and he was tired of basketball making money and football spending it. One of Rupp’s instructions to Murray was “no foolishness in training room.”
He didn’t want the players coming out with smiles on their faces, Murray said. It was a serious business.
Murray left UK that year for LaFollette, where he coached the high school basketball team 10 years. He worked 17 years as probation counselor for the Tennessee Department of Corrections before complications from his old Army injuries caused an early retirement.
He now lives with the old injuries and memories at LaFollette, Tenn., not far from the Kentucky border. “Anybody traveling I-75, please call LaFollette,” he said “I’d be glad to see them.”
Russell Rice is the former sports information director for the University of Kentucky.
(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/21/2022-1:30PM)
RIP Mr. Murray. You had such an interesting life. I loved every minute of this story.
Coach was a great man. He was a tremendous coach, in baseball, football, and, of course basketball. I always said that he was “ the second best” basketball coach in the history of the county. Len Pierce, who I said was the best, would disagree; he said Coach was the best. Tip of the glass to him. RIP to Coach Murray. Yea