Dr. E. Larry "Doc" Harrington (1986) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Dr. E. Larry "Doc" Harrington

Induction:
1986

Doc Harrington is a name that is synonymous with the University of Southern Mississippi and throughout his 38-year career with the school has worn more hats than anyone ever associated with the institution.
   Harrington’s involvement with the Southern Miss athletic department dates back to his days as a student. He actually had begun his collegiate years at Tulane University on an athletic scholarship, where he hoped to play football after a successful athletic career at Hattiesburg (Miss.) High School, where he played football and basketball.
   But after a brief stay at Tulane he returned to his hometown to begin a lifetime association with Southern Miss.
   As a student at Southern Miss he spent time as a trainer/manager and proudly remembers that he was with the team during some of its biggest victories in the early 1950s including the 1953 team that beat Alabama and Georgia and went to the Sun Bowl.
   After graduating from Southern in 1954 he spent several years in the United States Army, where among other things he served as post trainer and equipment manager for all sports at Fort Benning, Georgia.
   Harrington returned to the University in 1958 and received his Masters degree before joining the athletic staff fulltime in August of 1958.
   Through his illustrious career at Southern Miss, Harrington has been an instructor in the Department of Coaching and Sports Administration, a certified trainer (NATA), a registered physical therapist and a corrective therapist. In 1974 he received his Ed.D. from Southern Miss.
   School officials and members of the community honored him in 1978 for his contributions to the field of athletics at Southern Miss and the Hattiesburg area. Again in 1986 being presented the Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award by the South Mississippi Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame honored him. But still his greatest honor came when his peers into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame voted him.
   In addition to serving as the head athletic trainer for the Golden Eagles, Harrington served as the school’s tennis coach beginning in 1961 and continued until 1987 and produced some of the school’s most outstanding tennis players during that time.
   Harrington also served for a number of years as the equipment manager for Southern Miss sports.
   His son Larry, Jr. was an outstanding tight end for the Golden Eagles from 1976-78 and is also a member of the Sports Hall of Fame.
   Several generations of Southern Miss athletes have been taken care of by Harrington and it has been because of his dedication and loyalty to the athletic department that the school has been able to accomplish so much. His contributions will always be remembered by thousands of Golden Eagle coaches, players and fans.