Sometimes, life pulls the string on your coaching whistle and leads you on a path you never envisioned – and for the better.
Jim Lemen had never heard of The John Burroughs School in St. Louis until he was well into a master’s degree program at Harvard University in 1963. At the time, John Burroughs used its connections to seek a history teacher who could also serve as an assistant football and basketball coach.
“I said, ‘I don’t think so,’” Lemen said. “I thought I’d want to go to a big public high school. Once I saw the school and met faculty and students and met legendary football coach Tom McConnell, I was convinced it was the right place for me.”
Lemen took the role for three seasons and left for Cornell. But McConnell’s untimely death led to his return in 1970, and Lemen carved out quite a career. He’s now a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016, to be inducted as part of the Enshrinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction on Sunday, January 31 in Springfield. (For tickets, call 417-889-3100 and see below for specific details.)
Lemen spent 44 years at The John Burroughs School, including 35 seasons as the head football coach (1970-2004) and 25 years as athletic director. As a football coach, Lemen compiled a 238-123-4 record (.658) and played for 10 state championships. His teams won eight state titles (1975, 1980, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2001) and were runners-up twice. His wins are 16th all-time in Missouri high school football history.
Lemen also was the head baseball coach on two different occasions, first from 1973-1974 and then from 1987-1999. He reached the baseball state semifinals four times and won a state championship in 1991. He also coached the girls and boys basketball teams, the softball team as well as seventh- and eighth-grade athletics.
This at a private school where athletics was emphasized as a way to build academic success and life skills. Or, as Lemen described it, “It’s a school where sports are co-curricular instead of extra-curricular.”
“I always thought Burroughs did things the right way,” Lemen said. “At the same time, the administration was always supportive. They evaluated me on how well I did with whatever group of kids I had, and they thought it was important how you won, not whether or not you won.”
Lemen had played football since his childhood and for coaches and programs that kept sports in perspective – first at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio; and then at Dartmouth College, an Ivy League institution. In this time period, college rules required players to play both ways, and Lemen was a fullback and linebacker. In his senior year, he was elected captain of the football team.
“There were a lot of things I loved about the time period when I played football,” Lemen once told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It was certainly a lot more fun. In essence, you felt a much more team factor involved than you do with a single platoon where there’s always that opportunity for the defense to say to the offense, ‘If you would have scored more points, we would have won the game.”
Lemen eventually earned a master’s in education from Harvard University before his initial stint at John Burroughs. He then returned to the Ivy League, at Cornell University, to serve as an assistant football coach until McConnell’s passing’s changed the direction of his life’s journey. The John Burroughs School competed mostly in Class 2 in Missouri until moving to Class 3.
“Burroughs is just the right size. I think everybody can find a niche in athletics or academics,” Lemen said. “It’s been truly unbelievable as far as the people who have gone to Burroughs and achieved great things in life after Burroughs. … I had the opportunity to coach my own children and grandchildren. I know some people who wouldn’t like that, but I really did.”
Lemen looked at his role at The John Burroughs School as a labor of love. In many ways, he is the living example of constructing a career that never felt like work when he left the house every morning.
Just look at the program now. Between 1975, when the school began competing in the Missouri high school playoffs, and 2015, the Bombers compiled a playoff record of 61-11-2. His 1980 and 1995 teams were co-state championships – there were no overtimes back then – and played for state championships in 1976 and 1988, placing second.
Lemen’s success wasn’t a solo endeavor. His bride of 53 years, Carole, and their children Cathy, Scott, Brad, Jenny, and Haliday Douglas threw their support behind Lemen every step of the way. The couple has eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“I’ve often said that you’re so fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” Lemen said. “For me, I was in the right place.”
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Enshrinement Ceremonies 2016 presented by Killian Construction
What: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement
When: 11 a.m. reception presented by Meeks The Builder’s Choice at the Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive; 4 p.m. reception & 5 p.m. dinner & event on Jan. 31
Where: University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center
Associate Sponsors: Advertising Plus; Hiland Dairy; Hillyard, Inc.; White River Valley Electric Cooperative
Missouri Sports Legend: University of Central Missouri athletic director Jerry Hughes
Class of 2016: Mizzou Tigers football coach Gary Pinkel; former big-league pitcher Jerry Reuss, longtime NFL coach Gregg Williams, Springfield native and retired PBR bull rider L.J. Jenkins, Kansas City Chiefs center Tim Grunhard, St. Joseph native and Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Terin Humphrey, Kansas City native and St. Louis Cardinals linebacker Eric Williams, longtime Kansas City Royals scouting director Art Stewart, Evangel University men’s basketball coach Steve Jenkins, West Plains native and former Texas Christian University baseball coach Lance Brown, former University of Missouri and Olympic track and field standout Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Missouri Southern men’s basketball coach Robert Corn, St. Louis University High School racquetball coach Joe Koestner, Missouri State University sports information director Mark Stillwell, John Burroughs High School football coach Jim Lemen, The John Burroughs School football program and the Mizzou Tigers’ 1966 Sugar Bowl team. The John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award will go to Med-Pay, Inc., owned by Gordon and Marshall Kinne, and Ken Meyer of Meyer Communications is the recipient of the President’s Award.
Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. Individual tickets are $150. Tables of 10 are $1,500 and include associate sponsor recognition in the printed program and autographed prints. Sponsorship opportunities such as congratulatory ads also are available.
