Family and friends gathered to remember and honor Murray State legendary coach Cal Luther on Sunday, May 16, 2021 at J.H Churchill Funeral Home in Murray, Ky.
Coach Luther, one of the icons in the history of Racer Athletics died May 8, 2021 at his home in Martin, Tenn. \
Was was hired at MSU after a successful stint at DePauw, he began coaching the Racers in the 1958-59 seasons.
His 16 seasons came to an end with the 1973-74 season...set the MSU record that still stands today in 2021 of coaching in 395 games.
Luther won three Ohio Valley Conference regular season championships and a pair of OVC Coach of the Year awards.
His MSU teams made the program's first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1964 and 1969.
Was inducted to the MSU Hall of Fame in 1986, to the OVC Hall of Fame in 2000 and to the UT Martin Hall of Fame in 2017.
Also coached at Longwood (1981-90), UT Martin (1991-99) and Bethel (1999-00).
Won a combined 500 games in 40 seasons.
At MSU Luther coached 17 players that were honored as All-OVC 28 times, including three that were named OVC Player of the Year a combined four times: Jim Jennings (1964), Claude Virden (1969), Les Taylor (1972 & 1973), all are in the Murray State Hall of Fame.
Dale Alexander, Steve Barrett, Dick Cunningham, Herb McPherson, Stewart Johnson, Jimmy Young gave Coach Luther nine players that are enshrined in the MSU Hall of Fame.
Luther's 1963-64 team became Murray State's first squad to play in the NCAA Tournament. He led the Racers back to the NCAA's at the end of the 1968-69 season.
Coach Luther and Murray State were also one of the first universities to desegregate. Stewart Johnson was one of the first African-American student-athletes to play at Murray State, arriving from Pittsburgh to play for Coach Luther.
In the time of OVC history when the Racers were in constant battles with Western Kentucky, Luther's Racers consistently played at a high level and had one five-season run from 1967-71 in which they either won the OVC title or finished second.
In the Luther era, Racer fans camped out days before a game just to get a seat at Racer Arena which was a new building having opened only four years before he arrived. From November 27, 1968, to February 21, 1970, Luther's teams set the arena home winning streak of 27 in a row, while winning 80 percent of the time.
Became athletics director in 1967 and guided the program until 1978.
In his tenure, won OVC All-Sports Trophy in 1973 and finishing in the top three in All-Sports competition in eight of Luther's eleven years. During that span, MSU claimed nine conference championships in various sports.
Luther was AD when Murray State opened Roy Stewart Stadium in 1973."
Class of 1986
Jim Moore, Fred Sowerby, Dick Cunningham, Cal Luther & Tony Fioravanti
