Missouri State

RALPH HARRISON, JR.
Football, Basketball and Golf, 1945-51
Inducted February 23, 1985

A recipient of 10 varsity letters during his illustrious Missouri State athletic career, Ralph "Bogey" Harrison, Jr., is the only five-year letter-winner in MSU grid history, a circumstance occasioned by rules which did not count service during a war year against an athlete's eligibility at that time. A grid letterman for MSU in 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, and 1951, Harrison also lettered four years in basketball and one season in golf. A native of Springfield, Harrison served two years in the United States Navy. He was selected all-MIAA first team quarterback in 1950, a season in which he set an MSU record for single season total offense with 1,736 yards, a standard which lasted for 29 years. Playing for coaches Howard Blair, Tommy O'Boyle and Fred Thomsen, Harrison played for teams which compiled an overall record of 30-14-6. The Bears gained a share of the MIAA championships in both 1948 and 1951 and never finished below second in the conference in Harrison's career. In 1951 he had logged over 350 yards in total offense in the first two games of the campaign before illness interrupted his season. He played for basketball teams coached by Andy McDonald and Bob Vanatta as MSU won MIAA titles in 1949 and 1950 and finished second in the league in 1951. The Bears had a most impressive 74-14 mark during Harrison's MSU seasons. Harrison returned to MSU in 1953 as an assistant coach in football and basketball.