This weekend former Grambling State University baseball great, Ralph Garr, gets the well deserved honor of having his jersey retired and it will be during a home stand against Southern University, the Tigers biggest baseball rival.
Black College Nines has long been a huge fan of Mr. Garr and featured him twice in stories that we hope you’ll take a few moments to read.
The initial story appeared in the early days of blackcollegenines.com in 2009 entitled Ralph Garr of Grambling – More than a “Face in the Crowd”. Then, ten years later in 2019, our Doug Malan penned an interview with Garr entitled Living HBCU Baseball History with The Legends – Ralph Garr of Grambling.
Between those website posts, I had the honor of nominating Ralph Garr for membership into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. Two years prior, the College Baseball Foundation established a Black College Legends and Pioneers Committee and Mr. Garr was our fourth individual inducted. You can watch his induction video here.
Ralph Garr graciously autographing a trading card we created for an interview that appeared in 2019 on blackcollegenines.com
Thank you for sharing and highlighting Mr. Garr. I am a Grambling State University alum and former GSU Baseball player. In 1976 I remember attending a Chicago White Sox baseball game. This is when I became a big fan of Mr. Garr. They called him the roadrunner because he could run and hit with the best of them. In 1981 I received a baseball scholarship to attend Grambling. When I arrived on campus the first thing I asked our Hall of Fame Coach Wilbert Ellis was could he contact Mr. Garr and invite him to come and visit with us. Every year of my playing eligibility Mr. Garr visited us several times doing the seasons to work with us and help develop our skills. Thank you again for supporting Grambling State University and all the HBCU Baseball Programs. Juan McWilliams