Missouri State lost one of the historic pillars of its football program over the weekend with the passing of “Wrecker” Ray Haley.
Haley, who resided in Elgin, Illinois, passed away at the age of 92 on June 18. He was one of the Bears most prolific ball carriers of the post-World War II era and earned all-conference honors three times between 1947 and 1951. He was inducted into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1977 and is one of just four Bears ever to have his football jersey retired.
Born in St. Louis, Haley became a multi-sport standout at Springfield Senior High (now Central High) before making an immediate impact down the street at Missouri State University. He was promptly selected to the MIAA all-conference second team at fullback in his first season and then was chosen for the 1948 All-MIAA squad as the league’s most valuable back. The Bears were 16-4-1 under coach Tommy O’Boyle in Haley’s first two campaigns with the Bears as he rushed for 716 yards on 111 carries with eight touchdowns for an average of 6.45 yards a carry in his second year. MSU outscored its opponents by a 233-66 margin in 1948 and earned a share of the MIAA league title. Haley scored two touchdowns against Emporia State in the Mo-Kan Bowl on Dec. 4, 1948 in the program’s first-ever postseason football appearance.
Football wasn’t the only place where Haley stood out. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 16 and played minor league baseball in the Cardinals and Yankees organizations. At the height of his football popularity at Missouri State, he had to step back from the sport due to a league ban on professional baseball players in other intercollegiate sports. But when the ban was lifted in 1951, he returned to the gridiron at MSU and teamed up with backfield mate John Batten to lead the Bears that fall. With just a week to prepare for his senior season, Haley finished the year with five touchdowns and was selected to the All-MIAA second team while guiding the Bears to a 4-0-1 conference record and their second MIAA title in four years.
Haley later served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and went on to earn his Master’s degree from LSU. He then settled down in Illinois. He taught and coached football at East Aurora High School where he met and married his wife, Donna. Then he became part of the team that opened Larkin High School in Elgin in 1962 as the school’s first head football coach. He eventually became athletic director there until his retirement in 1990, positively impacting the lives of thousands of young people in suburban Chicago.
Haley’s family, including his three daughters — Jennifer, Jane and Kris — will never forget their patriarch and the ways he influenced so many. But the Missouri State family also lost a vital contributor to its athletic legacy. Though Ray Haley’s glory days in Springfield were nearly 70 years removed, he remained an active alum and stayed involved with homecoming events and activities in Springfield well into his retired years. Once a Bear, always a Bear.
A celebration of his life will be held on July 10 at the First United Methodist Church in Elgin. Burial will be private at the National Cemetery here in Springfield.
