Guarding the Warriors: Ralph Walker ’76
As a basketball player himself, Walker put up big numbers for Saint Mary's. Now you'll see this Gael Hall-of-Famer as bodyguard for Steph Curry.
Guarding the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry is a fulltime job—especially off the court. Luckily, a Saint Mary’s alum is on the job. Ralph “The Rocket” Walker ’76, Hall of Fame Gael basketball player, works as Curry’s bodyguard.
He feels blessed to be part of the team, at this time in history. “It’s been an exciting ride; but I’d also like to say that our journey has been very spiritual, too. Draymond Green—he leads prayer before every game,” said Walker, adding that Curry and former Warriors Harrison Barnes and James McAdoo are also “spiritual, religious guys. When they make a basket, they give praise to God that they made the accomplishment.”
In McKeon Pavilion, Walker’s famous jump is captured in a plaque. He put up big numbers for Saint Mary’s including a game against Wisconsin in 1974 where he scored 43 points.
Walker was recruited from Henderson County Community College in Texas by Gaels’ head coach Frank La Porte. With a vertical jump of 41 inches, the Chicago native picked SMC over schools in Arkansas and Missouri for a reason.
“I actually felt that when I came to Saint Mary’s, with the addition of me, that we would be a sleeper in the WCAC Conference,” he said. At 6 foot 3 inches, Walker could dunk like a 7-footer with almost legendary hang time. But his average 20 points and eight rebounds a game didn’t translate to Gael wins. The team finished 3–23 his senior year.
At 6 foot 3 inches, Ralph Walker could dunk like a 7-footer with almost legendary hang time.
“We had a few hiccups along the way,” he said modestly, “but I was still blessed to get drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the fifth round in 1976.” When the NBA, and a short stint with the NFL (Seattle Seahawks) didn’t pan out, he spent 20 years as an Oakland police officer before being hired by the Warriors.
