Missouri State

CORNELIUS PERRY
Football and Track, 1963-66
Inducted September 25, 1976

One of the greatest ball carriers in the history of the MIAA conference, Cornelius Perry came to Missouri State as a sophomore transfer from Iowa State in 1963. The East St. Louis, Illinois product rambled for 885 yards and 13 touchdowns that season as the Bears rolled to an unbeaten 9-0 record and MIAA title. Perry repeated his leadership in league rushing in 1964 with a single season school record of 905 yards and 13 more six-pointers. In his senior campaign, he logged almost 600 yards on the ground and scored nine touchdowns. At the time of his graduation, he owned school records for most carries in a career with 468, and most rushing yards with 2381. His records of 35 touchdowns and 210 points for the Bears have remained on the record books. In his career, he also hauled in 42 passes for an additional 628 yards and he gained all-conference first team selection three years in a row and was an honorable mention Little All-American. Another Perry record still on the MSU books is his single game effort of 238 yards rushing on October 31, 1964 against the Rolla Miners in an afternoon when he scored four MSU touchdowns and the following year against Cape Girardeau he returned a kick off 103 yards for a touchdown for what is still another MSU record. Perry was also a two-year standout in track for the Bears.