Bowling Green State University Athletics
Ford Murray: 2005 BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
October 06, 2005 | General
Oct. 6, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University Athletics Hall of Fame will welcome six new members tomorrow evening (Oct. 7). The official induction ceremony will take place in the grand ballroom of BGSU's Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m., with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. and the program starting shortly thereafter.
In addition, the class will be introduced at halftime of Saturday's (Oct. 8) BGSU-Ohio football game at Doyt Perry Stadium. The game begins at 6:00 p.m., and is designated as Hall of Fame Night.
Tickets for the Oct. 7 dinner are $35 ($30 for Varsity BG members), and advanced reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Falcon Club office at (419) 372-7063. Football game tickets can be purchased through the ticket office by phone, at 1-877-BGSUTICKET, or on the web at www.BGSUFalcons.com.
The public is invited to attend the induction dinner.
The following is the fifth in a six-part series that takes a look at this year's class of inductees...
FORD MURRAY (baseball, basketball, football, track; 1931-34)
Murray, a graduate of Liberty Center H.S., earned a total of nine letters in the sports of track (1931), football (1931-32-33), basketball (1932-33-34) and baseball (1933-34). He helped the BG track team to the Northwestern Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association title, running the dashes (100, 220, 400) and the mile relay.
Murray spent his sophomore season in football as a running back in a backfield that featured Doyt Perry as the quarterback. He moved into the quarterback slot as a junior, earning team MVP and third-team All-Ohio honors, and also punted for the Falcons.
He also earned monograms as a member of the Falcon basketball team as well as in a relief pitching role in baseball. Away from the field/court/diamond/track, Murray served as class president during his sophomore year, and was also vice-president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
After graduation, he served as terminal manager for Interstate Motor Freight Systems in Toledo. Following military duty, he worked for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, then began a 21-year relationship with Muskegon Business College and Baker College in Flint, Mich. During his tenure at the colleges, Murray served as an instructor, placement director, counselor, admissions officer and Dean of the Business Administration department.
From 1966 until his retirement in 1976, Murray served on the Board of Directors and was the Vice-President at Baker. He received a Master's degree from Western Michigan in 1966. Upon retirement, he and his wife, Virginia, relocated to Naples, Fla. Murray passed away in November of 1995.
