Bennie Purcell

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Bennie Purcell (born 1929) was a Hall of Fame tennis coach at Murray State University, coaching the Racers for 28 years. His teams won 11 Ohio Valley Conference championships, and he was seven times selected OVC Coach of the Year.

Previously, he played basketball at Murray State and was the first player in school history to score more than 1,000 points for his career, finishing with 1,054 points from 1948-52. He was twice selected All-OVC and earned all-America honors after his play at the small college NAIB tournament in Kansas City in 1952. [1]

After his college career, he toured with the Harlem Globetrotters before returning to Murray to serve as assistant basketball coach under Cal Luther before later taking over as head tennis coach.

Purcell is a member of Murray State's athletics hall of fame and his No. 21 is one of eight retired by Murray State for basketball. He was inducted into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 1990, the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Hall of Fame in 1998. Murray State's tennis courts are named in his honor.

His son, former professional tennis player Mel Purcell, succeeded him as head tennis coach at Murray State in 1996.

Ohio Valley Conference Championships: