Day #7 of our ‘100 Days of 100 Years of Murray State Basketball’ series belongs to the legendary Bennie Purcell. The first 1,000-point scorer in Racer history had his #21 retired in 1952. After returning to Murray State to work under Cal Luther, Purcell stepped away from basketball to take over the Racer tennis program — which he turned into an Ohio Valley Conference juggernaut. While the second act of his professional career was centered on tennis, basketball was always his one true sporting love.
Today, I talked with Bennie’s son, Mel, about Bennie’s early life, his love for Murray State, and how a sprained ankle in 1947 may very well have changed the trajectory of Murray State athletics for decades to come.
