HARRISONBURG, Va. – Standing at an intimidating 7-foot-4, one could say that Ralph Sampson is “larger than life.” In many ways, the shifty and agile center from Harrisonburg was exactly that, revolutionizing and dominating the sport of basketball in the 1980s.
Sampson was born on July 7, 1960, in Harrisonburg, just a stone’s throw away from James Madison University. Sampson seemed destined to be a basketball player standing at 6-foot-7 in ninth grade. For comparison, Sampson was the same height as current NBA superstar Luka Dončić as a teenager.