Inductees

Think Larry Holley loved coaching from the start? Get this – his first basketball job was at Harrisburg, where he coached six teams (boys and girls varsity, JV and junior high) without an assistant coach and lived in a mobile home across the street.

“I coached 91 games that year,” Holley said, “and I’m proud to say all six teams had winning records (65-26 overall) – a very enjoyable year.”

Call it the start of a 51-year coaching career – including 48 as a college head coach, his last 40 at William Jewell College.

The 2019 season marked his last, and Holley (MSHOF 2009) rode off into the sunset as the all-time winningest coach among Missouri four-year colleges (918-577). Thus, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to honor Holley with the Pinnacle Award, created in 2019 and presented to an individual for a lifetime of work enhancing sports in the Show-Me State.

A graduate of Jameson High School and William Jewell, Holley was 61-93 in six seasons at Central Methodist and coached two seasons at Northwest Missouri State (26-26) before taking over at Jewell in 1979.

His Jewell teams were 831-458, and 14 teams qualified for the NAIA Tournament. Four reached the NAIA Final Four, and three advanced to the Elite Eight.

Honestly, Holley was destined to coach basketball.

His dad, his first coach, built the first outdoor basketball goal in Jameson and took him to high school and college games, where players seemed almost mythical.

Additionally, one of Holley’s aunts, Bobby Pugh Baumgardner, scored 102 points in a single game at Lock Springs. One of his cousins, Darrell Foster, set the single-game scoring record at Northwest Missouri State. Another, Tom Premer, played in the NAIA Tournament for Culver-Stockton. A third, John Baumgardner, was a teammate of Norm Stewart (MSHOF Legend 2011) at the University of Missouri. Several other cousins – Jim Premer, Lloyd Premer, Byron Foster and Jerry Premer – had successful coaching careers.

As a player, Holley led Jameson to a 33-1 record and a third-place place state tournament finish his senior year (1963). He was the program’s first All-State player, scoring 1,760 career points, and the school has since retired his jersey. He also was a state champion in the indoor mile run.

Holley’s first college coaching job, at Central Methodist, came about after friend Frank McKinzie was hired there and recommended Holley upon being drafted into the Vietnam War. Eventually, Northwest Missouri came calling, and then William Jewell.

At Jewell, Holley lettered four times in each of three sports (cross country, basketball, track & field).  He scored 1,122 points in basketball, earning all-conference, all-district, and was named Jewell’s Athlete of the Year his senior year.

“I dreamed of coaching at Jewell but never knew if I’d have the opportunity. And honestly, I almost didn’t take it because I was really happy at Northwest Missouri State,” Holley said. “But it was the correct decision – I had such an amazing experience at Jewell as a student-athlete, and I couldn’t turn down my alma mater.”

Holley’s teams won 11 Heart of America Athletic Conference crowns. Twenty-five Cardinal teams enjoyed 20-win seasons. Fourteen won 25 or more, and four won at least 30. His players were named to 24 All-American teams.

He considers his 1988 team his best. They were 32-2 and advanced to Holley’s first NAIA Tournament, despite preseason departures of two of his top players and a late-season injury to their All-American center. A national quarterfinalist, the Cardinals sent three players to Australia’s top pro league.

Holley’s 1993 team was the first of four to reach the NAIA Final Four. The others were 1995, 1996 and 1997.

His teams succeeded with various schemes: primarily man-to-man defense with some zones and offenses including the shuffle, the flex and a 1-4 set. His final two teams utilized a five-out offense.

Sadly, he experienced some challenging times. In 2006, his wife, Ann, passed away from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and 19-year assistant, Lee Kariker, succumbed to cancer.

Holley and his daughters Lindsay, Lauren and Lacey received the support of not only each other but the entire William Jewell community. He remarried in 2008.  He and Linda reside in Liberty and enjoy their blended family of five daughters and eight grandchildren.

Said Holley, “It’s been an amazing ‘ride’ – from a small town (10 in my graduating class) to a college of 1,000 students and back at the school on ‘The Hill’ in Liberty to raise our family. It all gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.”