The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame soon will honor a strong lineup of former baseball and softball standouts, headlined by former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Brian Jordan, who along with Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders drew eyes as the only Major League Baseball-National Football League athletes of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
President and Executive Director Jerald Andrews announced the honorees Thursday for the upcoming Baseball/Softball Luncheon presented by the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company. It’s set for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22 at the University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in Springfield.
In addition to Jordan, the Hall of Fame will induct the late Joe Medwick, an outfielder during the Cardinals’ Gas House Gang of the 1930s and an inductee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame; Missouri State pitcher Cindy Henderson Snead, late Glendale High School baseball coach Don Provance as well as the Glendale High School Baseball Program and the Webb City High School Softball Program.
The Hall of Fame will recognize its fifth class of Diamond 9 Award honorees. The awards are bestowed on former high school, college or professional players who made positive impacts in their sports, or individuals who made a significant impact on sports in Missouri.
This year’s Diamond 9 are: Nick Admire (Lebanon High School/University of Missouri), Charissa Fuhr (Kickapoo High School/Iowa State University), Hailee Hendricks Fury (Miller High School/Northwest Missouri State University), the Hughes Brothers of Branson High School — Colby Hughes (Meremac Community College/Missouri-St. Louis/Colorado Rockies), Logan Hughes (North Arkansas College/Missouri-St. Louis), Trent Oxenreider (Strafford High School/College of the Ozarks), Joey Rich (A.S.A./USA Softball), Brad Roweton (Bolivar High School/Southwest Baptist University), Jakki Prater Schneider (Nixa High School/University of Central Missouri) and Jim Smith (Collins High School/Missouri State University/New York Yankees).
A sponsorship table of eight is $400 and includes recognition in the printed program as well as a poster autographed by individual inductees. A head table ticket is $100 while an individual ticket is $40 in advance, or $50 at the door. Numerous sponsorships also are available, including congratulatory ads. Call 417-889-3100.
(Bios are following pages)
Brian Jordan, St. Louis Cardinals
Jordan was a rare two-sport professional athlete who played Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2006 and was in the National Football League from 1989 to 1991. A graduate of Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore and a standout at the University of Richmond, he was an outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1988, when he was a first-round draft pick, until 1998. In his seven big-league seasons in St. Louis beginning in 1992, Jordan had 84 home runs, 122 doubles, 24 triples, 367 RBI and stole 86 bases. His best summer with the Cardinals was 1996 when he finished eighth in MVP voting in the National League, as he helped St. Louis reach the postseason for the first time since 1987. That season, Jordan had a career-high 36 doubles, 17 home runs and 104 RBI along with 22 steals. Overall, Jordan was a career .282 hitter with 184 home runs and 821 RBI as he also had stops with the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers. He helped Atlanta win the NL pennant and reach the World Series in 1999 and also helped the Braves to the playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2005.
Joe Medwick, St. Louis Cardinals
Medwick, who will be inducted posthumously, was an outfielder during the St. Louis Cardinals’ Gas House Gang era of the 1930s – part of his 17 seasons in the big leagues. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968. A 10-time All-Star, Medwic was a .324 hitter with 1,383 RBI. He led the National League in RBI and doubles three consecutive years (1936-1938) and twice led the circuit in hits. Overall, he played for the Cardinals (1932-1940, 1947-1948) as well as the St. Louis Browns, New York Giants and Boston Braves. He won the Triple Crown in 1937 and earned Most Valuable Player honors after leading the NL in batting average (.374), home runs (31) and RBI (154). In 14 of his 17 big-league seasons, he batted .300 or better. At one point, he was ranked No. 79 among baseball’s greatest 100 players by The Sporting News. He passed away in 1975.
Glendale High School Baseball Program
Glendale has been one of the state’s most consistent high school baseball programs, with 771 wins and only five head coaches in its history. The Falcons have been led by Don Provance (1964-1992), Mark Stratton (1993-2005), Howard Bell (2006-2012), Mike Snodgrass (2013-2017) and Jim Julian (2018-current). The program won Class 2 state championships in 1976 and 1978 and, overall, has made 12 state playoff appearances in addition to winning 15 conference championships. The 1997 team also won the American Legion state championship, finishing 50-14. Provance won 335 games, while Stratton led the Falcons to 244 wins, Bell compiled 87 victories and Snodgrass had 84 wins before Julian’s first tem won 21 games. The program has hundreds more victories in American Legion baseball.
Don Provance, Glendale Baseball Coach
Provance, who will be inducted posthumously, coached Glendale High School’s baseball program for 29 seasons from 1964 to 1992, compiling a 335-223-1 record – although records are not available for the 1968 season. He led the Falcons to two state championships (1976, 1978) as well as 11 district championships and seven conference titles. Provance’s success and his efforts helping turn Springfield into a baseball powerhouse led to his induction into the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1991. Before Glendale, he coached at Lockwood and Parkview high schools. Provance is a graduate of Aurora High School and Missouri State University. He passed away in 2018.
Cindy Henderson Snead – Missouri State University Softball Pitcher
A 1971 Crocker High School graduate, Henderson Snead was a softball and basketball standout at Missouri State University before graduating in 1975. In softball, she helped the Bears win the 1974 AIAW national championship as she was 10-2 as a pitcher, a year after guiding MSU to a state title and third- place national finish. In basketball, she averaged 17.5 and 19.1 points a game her final two years and once held career records in points (1,104) and rebounds (791) and the single-game scoring (37). She was drafted by the Milwaukee Does of the Women’s Professional Basketball League and also played four seasons in the Women’s Professional Softball League for the Michigan Travelers and the St. Louis Hummers, compiling a 68-39 record. Henderson Snead later coached high school softball at Richland, Worth County and Parkview High School, plus two at Southwest Baptist University. She has been inducted into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame (1981), Crocker High School Sports Hall of Fame (1991), the Springfield Softball ASA Hall of Fame (1994), the St. Louis Softball Hall of Fame (2011), the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame (2015) and the USA Softball-Missouri Hall of Fame (2019).
Webb City High School Softball Program
The Lady Cardinals have been one of the state’s winningest programs since their first season in the fall of 1994. Webb City has advanced to 10 Final Fours, winning it all twice in Class 3 (2004, 2007). Webb City also was state runner-up twice (2000, 2013), third four times (2005, 2008, 2010, 2011) and fourth twice (1997, 2003). Walter Resa coached the team for 21 seasons through 2015, with his teams winning 498 games. In recent years, coach Shauna Friend has also seen continued success with the Lady Cardinals, who won their district and sectional in 2017 and also finished as district runners-up in 2015 and 2018. Numerous players have gone on to play collegiate softball. Among them were two four-time First Team All-State selections in Nicole Hudson and Molly Garst. Hudson was a slugger at the University of Missouri – leading the Tigers to the Women’s College World Series – and earned a spot on Team USA in 2013. Garst set career records for stolen bases and runs scored at Purdue University.
DIAMOND 9
Nick Admire – Lebanon High School & University of Missouri: Admire’s senior year (2002) at Lebanon High School led to Class 4 All-State, All-District and All-Ozark Conference honors as he helped the Yellowjackets place fourth in the state tournament. He hit .436 with eight home runs and was 7-2 as a pitcher with 118 strikeouts and a 1.25 ERA. He also was named Lebanon’s Male Athlete of the Year since he also was all-conference and all-district in football, plus lettered in wrestling. At Mizzou, he pitched 36.2 innings as a freshman, had a team-best 2.12 ERA in 29.2 innings as a sophomore and worked 39.1 innings (24 strikeouts) as a junior. As a senior, he made 11 appearances in a season when Mizzou won an NCAA Regional for the first time in school history.
Charissa Fuhr – Kickapoo High School & Iowa State University: Fuhr finished her Kickapoo High School career with a 22-5 pitching record and 0.26 earned run average in 2005 as the Chiefs had their best season in program history. She earned All-Ozarks, All-District, All-Region and was the MVP of the Missouri All-Star Game. She also played A.S.A., leading KC Extreme to the Kansas state championships and a national runner-up finish. Fuhr was selected to the USSSA National Majors Outstanding Pitcher and to the All-Tournament team. At Iowa State from 2006 to 2009, she was 26-25 with a 3.69 ERA and 191 strikeouts. In 2007, she had nine wins and 91 strikeouts – both were the second-most by a freshman in Iowa State history. Fuhr is now the pitching coach at Drury University.
Hailee Hendricks Fury – Miller High School & Northwest Missouri State University: Fury was a rare four-time, Class 1 First Team All-State selection (shortstop 2004, pitcher 2005-2007) along with earning All-District and all-conference honors for Miller High School. She led the Lady Cardinals to four Final Fours and set nearly every record in program history. At Northwest Missouri State, Fury was a three-time All-MIAA selection, including First Team All-MIAA as a senior second baseman in 2013. On Northwest Missouri’s career lists, she ranks in the top 10 in seven offensive categories, including first in doubles (55). In 2014, she was part of the Oklahoma City Stars who competed for two weeks in Europe.
Hughes Brothers — Colby Hughes, Branson High School, Meremac Community College, University of Missouri-St. Louis & Colorado Rockies: A 2001 Branson High School graduate, Colby was selected as a First Team All-State outfielder by the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association. He was drafted in the 42nd round by the Colorado Rockies that June but chose to play at Meramec Community College in St. Louis followed by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. At UMSL, he was a two-time All-Great Lakes Valley Conference pitcher and infielder and is now a regional representative for The Armamentarium, Inc. in southwest Missouri. Logan Hughes, Branson High School, North Arkansas College & UMSL: A 1999 Branson High School graduate and All-State selection, Logan was a Juco All-American at North Arkansas, where he hit .511 with 15 home runs and had 76 RBI. At UMSL, he was all-conference and all-region as a third baseman and also earned the Richard Scharf Paragon Award from the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2004 – the league’s highest honor and given to the overall student-athlete of the year. Since college, he has been an assistant at UMSL, spent five seasons as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Wayne State (Mich.) and now is in his sixth season at Drury.
Trent Oxenreider – Strafford High School & College of the Ozarks: Oxenreider was a First Team All-State selection in 2007 by the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association and a second team selection by the Missouri Sports Writers and Sportscasters Association. He went on to be a four-year starting catcher for College of the Ozarks and, as a senior, had 38 RBIs and the team’s second-best batting average (.311). As a catcher, he threw out 71 percent of base runners (58 of 142). Oxenreider has given back to the game as a coach, first at Norwood High School and he now leads the Hollister High School baseball program.
Joey Rich – A.S.A./USA Softball: Rich started umpiring A.S.A. softball in 1973 at the age of 17 and climbed the ladder to become Missouri ASA State Commissioner in 2003. He was tournament director for 35 state, six regional, three national and more than 100 invitational tournaments, and assisted his staff in numerous more. He directly ran the Springfield Park Board softball program from 1980 to 1988, and oversaw its operation through 1998. He was Mid America Regional Vice President 1998-2002 and has served on the National Council since 1987. He served as Manager of Operations and Springfield District Commissioner from 1990-2002. He was the Missouri At Large Player Representative from 1987-2002. He entered the ASA National Indicator Fraternity for umpires in 1994; the Missouri ASA Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Springfield ASA Hall of Fame in 2000. He was instrumental in the development of “The Softball Museum” at Killian Sports Complex and became Missouri’s third State Commissioner in 2003. This November, Rich will be enshrined in the USA Softball National Hall of Fame.
Brad Roweton – Bolivar High School & Southwest Baptist University: A 1988 Bolivar High School graduate, Roweton was a three-sport athlete and earned All-Central Ozark Conference in baseball and football. As a senior, he earned All-District after helping the baseball team win its first district title since 1975. He then played three seasons of baseball at Southwest Baptist University. In 24 seasons as a head coach in baseball or softball, Roweton is 321-279, including 100-55 at Bolivar High School. His teams have reached 15 district championship games, winning nine district titles. His 1995 Pleasant Hope team won its first district in 20 years, and his 2002 Buffalo team is the program’s only district champion. Bolivar has won three district titles. His Buffalo softball teams earned 125 wins, including a state quarterfinal appearance, four district titles and a conference title.
Jakki Prater Schneider – Nixa High School & University of Central Missouri: At Nixa, Schneider was a four-year letterwinner, four-time All-Central Ozark Conference and was All-District. She was the 2009 Nixa MVP. As a senior she batted .534 with 47 hits and 36 RBI. At Central Missouri, Schneider holds 28 career and season records, including batting average, runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI. She was a three-time All-MIAA selection, and also earned All-Region as a senior, plus earned the Dr. Peggy Martin Award as the top senior female student-athlete. She helped the Jennies to a 49-16 record as a senior, the MIAA championship, the Central Region title and a trip to the NCAA Division II World Series. She is currently an assistant coach at Missouri Southern State University.
Jim Smith – Collins High School, Missouri State University & New York Yankees: A 1962 Collins High School graduate and longtime Clinton banker, Smith was a baseball and basketball standout who played four seasons in the New York Yankees farm system, finishing 39-29 with a career 2.98 earned run average. As a teenager, he played American Legion baseball for El Dorado Springs, Lowry City, and Pepsi Central in Springfield as a left-handed pitcher and first baseman. In high school, Smith was an Honorable Mention All-State selection in Class S basketball in 1961 and was First Team All-State and First Team All-Ozark a year later, when Collins finished 30-3 – with Smith scoring a career 2,451 points. Offered scholarships by Missouri State University, Arizona State University and the University of Missouri, Smith attended Missouri State for a semester before signing with the Yankees, eventually spending 30 days with the big-league club. A Clinton resident since 1974, he was president for Union State Bank, Hawthorn Bank and, in 2017, joined OakStar Bank as Community Bank President.
