Doc Harrington, USM legend, has died at 81
Posted on: October 06,2013
Doc Harrington and Brett Favre celebrate after USM’s victory over Alabama Favre’s senior season.
Larry “Doc” Harrington, the first athletic trainer ever selected for induction into your Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, died Saturday following a long illness. He was 81.
At Southern Miss, folks knew Doc as much more than a guy who taped ankles and eased aches and pains.
Says USM, MSHoF and College Football Hall of Famer Ray Guy, simply, “Doc is a Southern Miss icon.”
Harrington was not only the trainer, he was the equipment manager and a highly successful tennis coach. And as a trainer, he served much more than USM. He also was a trainer on several U.S. Olympic teams and for 25 years in the Senior Bowl.
Doc was from one of Hattiesburg’s first families of sports. His father, Smokie Harrington was an outstanding baseball catcher who later owned Smokie’s Sporting Goods. Smokie Harrington Park, a Hattiesburg landmark and one of Mississippi’s oldest baseball stadiums, is named for Doc’s father.
Doc was an outstanding ballplayer himself at Hattiesburg High, playing all the sports but excelling in football, the sport in which he earned a scholarship to Tulane. After a year at Tulane, he returned to his hometown school where he became a student manager and then the full-time trainer when the trainer left for another job.
From such humble beginnings, Doc went on to become one of the most influential trainers in the nation. He was the driving force behind an athletic trainers certification program at USM.
When Hall of Fame athletic director Reed Green needed a tennis coach, Doc filled that position, as well. Keep in mind he was already the trainer and equipment manager for all USM sports. But his tennis teams compiled a dual match record of 407 victories against only 179 defeats.
Brett Favre, the leading passer in NFL history and a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player credits Harrington for “saving my career.”
Doc Harrington, with his wife Phylis and Brett Favre at his July induction.
Favre was severely injured in a car wreck shortly before his senior season at USM. An emergency operation required the removal of nearly three feet of his small intestine. It is part of the Favre legend that he led USM to victory over Alabama just six weeks later.
Favre says Harrington made that possible. Favre practically lived with the Harringtons when he wasn’t in the hospital. Favre went on to start an NFL record 321 games (including playoffs).
“I have no doubt that I would never have been able to play against Alabama, much less for all those years in the NFL if it had not been for Doc Harrington,” Favre says. “He didn’t coddle me, but he took care of me. I owe him so much.”
Harrington was an integral part of some of the greatest moments in USM sports: small college national championships in football, the rise to Division I and so many bowl games, an NIT Championship in basketball and on and on.
The Harrington legacy at USM continues. Sons Larry and Billy both played football at USM. Grandson Cooper is a wide receiver on the current USM team.
•••
Feel free to post your remembrances of Doc in the comments below.
Doc and two of his grandsons visited the museum last month and he was able to tour the museum and see his exhibits. He was sharp, alert and as thoughtful and kind as ever. My thoughts and prayers to the Harrington family, all of whom have meant so much to Hattiesburg and USM.
Doc was a legend and will always be remembered for paving the way of sports medicine. So glad he was able to attend the HOF ceremony. Condolences to his family and to USM.
“Thanks, Doc.” was a common statement from me. I appreciate him for all the help. He will be missed but not forgotten. Prayers to his family. My heart hurts today.
Doc Harrington was the longtime athletic trainer for the Senior Bowl in Mobile. As a young boy, I used to tag along with my father, Aaron Tesney, who was the longtime photographer for the Senior Bowl. Doc and my dad became friends over the years. Every year following the game Doc would give my dad a Senior Bowl game ball. As the footballs collected, we ran out of room to store them. He ended up giving the balls to charitable groups and to needy children who could play with them. That would not have happened without the generosity of Doc!
My heart goes out to Harrington family.
Coach Harrington was my tennis coach in 1974, I was a bit immature and partied way too much. He was a kind person, but of course, could not change my bad behavior as I was in a string of bad choices. I wish I could have been more responsible and gotten to know Doc better, for he would have been a great influence in my life. I’m sure he is watching down on many deserving and not so deserving folks.
Doc, I thought about you again today and about how you taught my son Sean how to fish, in the lake near your home. In all aspects, you are the GREATEST.
Former 1st Army Friend