Paul E. Gregory, Sr.

longtime baseball coach

Gregory

Paul Edwin Gregory Sr. ('30) of Tunica, former baseball and basketball coach at Mississippi State, died Sept. 16, 1999. He was 91.

A Choctaw County native and Leland High School graduate, Gregory was a three-sport letterman at Mississippi State.

Gregory went on to a professional baseball career that included two years as a pitcher with the Chicago White Sox. In one memorable game, he retired Babe Ruth five times, once by strikeout. His professional career also included stints with the Southern League's Atlanta Crackers, the Seattle Rainiers, and the Hollywood Stars.

Gregory earned a master's degree from the University of Washington. After serving in the Navy during World War II, his coaching career began at Mississippi State in 1947 when athletic director Dudy Noble asked him to coach the basketball team.

In 1957, Gregory became Mississippi State's baseball coach and over the next 17 years compiled a 328-200-1 record, including four SEC titles and a trip to the College World Series in 1971.

In all, Gregory coached at Mississippi State for 27 years. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1977 and was named Southeastern Conference and District III Coach of the Year several times.

Gregory was an MSU Alumnus of the Year and was inducted into both the MSU Sports Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. He received the Distinguished American Award from the Mississippi State Chapter of the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame.

This World Wide Web version of Alumnus was marked up by Chris Brown <brownc@ur.msstate.edu>.
For information about Mississippi State University, contact msuinfo@ur.msstate.edu.