‘That’s Ralph’: Four Decades Later, Lawn’s Tallest-Ever Resident Still Draws a Crowd

August 8, 2024 • By Andrew Ramspacher, fpa5up@virginia.edu Andrew Ramspacher, fpa5up@virginia.edu

August 8, 2024
UVA Today photographer, Emily Faith Morgan photographs Ralph Sampson in the doorway of his old Lawn room

One thing hasn’t changed in the 42 years since the 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson lived in 6 East Lawn: He still must duck to get inside the front door.

He stopped, did a double take, turned to his daughter and whispered, “That’s Ralph.”

It was a quiet, early August morning on the University of Virginia’s historic Lawn, and activity was limited to a tour for prospective students and a photo shoot inside 6 East Lawn, one of the rooms reserved for the University’s highest-achieving fourth-year students.

The older gentleman, walking in the back of the tour, couldn’t help but notice a familiar, towering figure as the group passed by on the east side of Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village. 

There, in the small space where he once lived, the 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson was posing for a variety of images. It’s been 42 years since Sampson resided on the Lawn during his final year as a UVA basketball superstar, but his aura remains.

When Sampson was chosen as a subject for the University’s historic portrait series, he was intentional about the location. 

“We had brainstormed some other ideas,” UVA Today senior photographer Matt Riley said, “and he said, ‘No, I want to do it in my Lawn room.’”

Riley and his colleague Emily Faith Morgan spent hours arranging Sampson’s old room to feel like 1982 again. The walls were adorned with photos and posters from Sampson’s UVA days. A few of Sampson’s individual trophies sat on shelves. Tunes even played from a boombox.

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Morgan was tasked with Sampson’s portrait shot, while Riley captured the behind-the-scenes imagery. 

Sampson’s life as a Lawnie was unique. Already a two-time national player of the year, he was a full-blown celebrity as he moved into 6 East Lawn ahead of the 1982-83 academic year.

A New York Times story from Sept. 14, 1982, quoted fellow Lawnie Jerry Glover on the most frequent questions posed by visitors: “‘Do you really have to go outside to go to the bathroom?’ That’s the first question,” Glover said. “The second one is, ‘Where does Ralph live?’”

As word spread about his exact residence, Sampson tried to trick outsiders.

“During the football season, everybody would come on the Lawn to see it and they would knock on my door, No. 6,” Sampson said. “So, we turned No. 6 into No. 9 and No. 9 to No. 6. So, they would knock on her door all the time.”

Another adjustment for Sampson was the removal of a closet to accommodate the insertion of a mattress and frame customized to his extraordinary length.

“It made it very comfortable for me to sleep,” he said.

Sampson stayed in his Lawn room for the early parts of the fall semester and the latter stages of the spring. During the basketball season, he said, UVA coach Terry Holland directed Sampson to live in an off-Grounds apartment to avoid distractions.

“I stayed here preseason as much as I could,” Sampson said. “And I would come on Grounds and hang here during the day and go back to the apartment at night. And then the springtime, when basketball was over, I’d just hang out here and party and hang out with classmates.

“There’s nothing like the Lawn, and the prestige of the Lawn and the camaraderie you get with the other classmates.”

UVA Today photographer Emily Faith Morgan meets Sampson ahead of a special shoot inside Sampson’s old Lawn room.
UVA Today photographer Emily Faith Morgan meets Sampson ahead of a special shoot inside Sampson’s old Lawn room.
Cedric Rucker, UVA’s interim senior associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, was a student during the Sampson era on Grounds. Upon learning of the Sampson shoot, he brought an old UVA basketball photo book for Sampson to sign.
Cedric Rucker, UVA’s interim senior associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, was a student during the Sampson era on Grounds. Upon learning of the Sampson shoot, he brought an old UVA basketball photo book for Sampson to sign.
Rucker’s book, “A Pictorial History of UVA Basketball,” features Sampson on the cover. A photo of Rucker himself can be found on page 206. He’s cheering the Cavaliers on from the student section.
Rucker’s book, “A Pictorial History of UVA Basketball,” features Sampson on the cover. A photo of Rucker himself can be found on page 206. He’s cheering the Cavaliers on from the student section.
Sampson signing Rucker's book
“I’m definitely going to get him to sign it,” Rucker said prior to securing Sampson’s autograph. “Are you nuts?”
Writer, Andrew Ramspacher, records interview with Sampson on left. Emily Faith stands next to Ralph Sampson in his Lawn room
UVA Today covered the Sampson shoot from all angles.
Emily Faith elevates herself to get a more level photo of seven-four Sampson
In an effort to simulate photographing a subject of Sampson’s size, Morgan said she brought in 6-5 UVA soccer player Donovan Maryat as a stand-in. “He’s tall for a normal person,” Morgan said, “but Ralph still had a foot on him. So even with that, once Ralph got in the space, it was like, ‘OK, we still have to adjust a few things.’ Seven-four, it sounds tall, but once he’s in front of you, you realize just how tall that is.”
Emily Faith on a ladder documenting borrowed decor
The archive room at John Paul Jones Arena provided much of the décor found on the walls and shelves of Sampson’s old Lawn room.
A low angle shot of Sampson sitting in a chair in his Lawn room
Sampson was intentional about his portrait taking place at 6 East Lawn, the site of some of his fondest memories as a UVA student. Morgan said it was obvious how much he enjoyed being back. “We had a great time,” she said. “I feel like we were laughing, joking around. I feel like we got a lot of photos of him not posing at all for the camera. He’s just talking the whole time.”

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Andrew Ramspacher

University News Associate University Communications

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November 25, 2024

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