Inductees

Robert “Bob” Murrey was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His family moved to Waynesville, Missouri when he was 14 years old. There, he attended high school, graduating in 1946. As a high school student, he led the Waynesville High School basketball team to a third-place finish in the one-class Missouri State High School Basketball Tournament and was named to the All-State Team.

After graduation, Murrey tried out for the St. Louis Browns baseball team but left to serve in the Army. After one year, he received a sports scholarship to the University of Missouri, where he pursued his degree while completing another year of military duty. He received his B.S. in Physical Education in 1952, then his M.A.  in Secondary Education. He received three letters in basketball as an undergrad and two letters in baseball.

Murrey coached high school basketball for 13 years, first at Troy High School, and then at Hickman High School. In 1965, he became the director of health and physical education for the Clayton School District.

In 1967, Meramec Community College in St. Louis hired Murrey as their first Director of Athletics. Under his leadership, the athletic program developed national recognition and into one whose teams regularly won and competed for national championships. In 1984, after 32 years in the Missouri Public School Education System, he retired.

In addition to his career as a coach and sports administrator, Murrey was well-known for his basketball clinics that he ran in partnership with sports personalities such as Coach John Wooden of UCLA, St. Louis University coach John Bennington, and former Boston Celtic/St. Louis Hawks all-star Ed Macauley.

He also conducted many other sports clinics as well over the years for coaches and athletes alike. Murrey also served as a high school and college basketball official for 24 years through 1974 and officiated games for the Big 8 and Missouri Valley Conferences, as well as the Missouri Junior College Athletic Conference. He also founded the Basketball Officials Opportunities (BOO) camp to help young officials improve and work up the ladder in the college ranks.

Murrey has received numerous awards and inductions in honor of his many years of service to young athletes, new coaches, and high and college athletics.