Grady Cathey came to SAU in 1949 as a 140-pound halfback from Smackover. Mulerider head coach Elmer Smith would not give Cathey a uniform at first, fearing he would get hurt. Cathey persisted, following the coach around, begging for a chance. Smith finally gave in to Cathey, who was never lacking in confidence. The rest is history.

In Smith’s autobiography, This Really Happened, the coach described Cathey as “a genuine jackrabbit with unbelievable moves, supported by enough confidence for three his size. He started the first game, and every one thereafter, for four years. He was one of the quickest backs I have ever been associated with in football.” Smith saw many quality running backs in his many years as the assistant head coach at Texas A&M under the legendary Bear Bryant, all the way through Gene Stallings.

Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) football statistics were inconsistently kept in Cathey’s playing days (for example, non-conference games were ignored), and some of the other records were either lost, or destroyed. A check of newspaper accounts, however, strongly suggests that Cathey rushed for a career total of approximately 2,400 yards. This is not a remarkable number in college football today, but it was surely a school record in an era before sensational tailbacks dotted the “I”, or ran through gaping holes out of today’s west coast offense that spreads the defense.

SAU went through the AIC unbeaten in 1951, losing only to now NCAA Division I McNeese State in Lake Charles, La. The Muleriders repeated in 1952 as AIC champion, losing only to now Division I Arkansas State in Jonesboro.

Even with free substitution, Cathey played both ways, tailback on offense, and halfback on defense. He rarely came out of a game that had not been decided. A reporter once asked Smith if Cathey would not be fresher, and more effective, if he played only offense, Smith replied, “He might, but I’ll never know.”

Cathey also played baseball three years at SAU as a catcher and outfielder. He was a .300 hitter, and was twice an All-AIC baseball choice (1953 and 1954). He played for two AIC baseball championship teams, as well as two AIC football championship teams, twice making All-Conference in both sports.