Bennie Purcell (1969) - Hall of Fame - Murray State University Athletics

Bennie Purcell

Induction:
1969

Bennie Purcell – Basketball, 1949-1952 (Deceased)

Murray State lost a Racer Great on Feb. 12, 2016 when Bennie Purcell passed at the age of 87.
A native of Mount Vernon, Ill., Purcell proudly carried the Murray State University banner and was often called Mr. MSU.
His legend was well known in collegiate basketball and tennis circles as a coach and outstanding player that started from his days of playing basketball for the Racers in the late 1940's.
Purcell came to Murray State in the fall of 1948 and was one of its best ambassadors.
When the Ohio Valley Conference was formed in 1948, Purcell became one of the league’s superstars and helped the Racers win their first OVC basketball championship in 1951. He was a two-time All-OVC pick and in 1952, was named the most valuable player in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Basketball Tournament (NAIA). In addition, Purcell was an All-America by Converse, United Press International and Associated Press.
Purcell was the first Racer to reach 1,000 career points and was named to the OVC’s 40th anniversary basketball team in 1988.
His No. 21 jersey was retired in 1952 and hangs in the rafters of Murray State’s CFSB Center.
After his college career, Purcell toured with the Harlem Globetrotters before returning to Murray to serve as assistant basketball coach under Cal Luther and later became MSU’s tennis coach in 1969.
Purcell was the right coach for the Racer Tennis program when he became head coach in the 1969-70 season.
His teams won the OVC for the first time in the spring of 1980.
That OVC title started something that is usually unheard of in collegiate sports as the Racers swept an entire decade by winning 10-straight OVC men’s tennis championships in the 1980's.
Purcell was named OVC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year eight times.
Purcell's MSU teams posted a record of 459-202, which put him in the Top-5 on the collegiate tennis coaches’ list for career wins.
Under Purcell, the Racers posted fourteen 20-win seasons and two 30-win campaigns.
At one point, the Racers won an NCAA record 59-straight conference matches during the 1980s.
Up to his death, Bennie was still very active in all things Murray State. He was always ready to share his experiences and memories of his time with the Racers.
Purcell often wore his trademark navy blue blazer to many MSU banquets and gatherings.
He was one of the speakers at the first Racer Hoopalooza, the men’s basketball reunion in 2013.
Two months before his death, Purcell was on the court with Jeffery Moss, as the first Racer to make 1,000 points presented a trophy ball to the 43^rd member of the MSU 1000-Point Club.
Purcell was a six-time hall of fame selection including: National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) (1969), Murray State Athletics (1969), Ohio Valley Conference (1990), Kentucky USTA (1994), Intercollegiate Tennis Association (1999) and Mount Vernon High School (2011).
One of the premier basketball players in the fledgling Ohio Valley Conference, Purcell was named all-conference twice while guiding the Racers to the league title in 1951. This was the first year that Murray State won an OVC Championship.
In 1952, he was named the most valuable player in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Basketball Tournament and an All-America player by the Converse, United Press International and Associate Press.
At one time he held the records for scoring for a season and a career at Murray State.
He played in every game for four years with the Racers.
He was the first to score 600 points in one season, accomplishing the feat in 1952.
After two years of service in the U.S. Army and five years of professional basketball experience, Purcell spent six years as a high school basketball coach before returning to MSU to teach in 1963, when he also took on the duties of assistant basketball coach, a role he served in until 1971.
During the five seasons he spent playing professional basketball, he played for the Washington Generals among other teams. “When I played with Washington,” recalls Purcell, “we basically played against the Harlem Globetrotters. I traveled to 46 different countries and throughout the United States.”
Purcell was named to the OVC 40^th Anniversary all-time basketball team.
Purcell received his bachelor’s degree from Murray State in 1952, followed by a master’s degree in 1961.