MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME TO ENSHRINE FIFTEEN
IN SPECIAL AREA CEREMONY
A total of thirteen individuals and two American Legion baseball teams will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies on Thursday November 6, 2014, at the St. Charles Convention Center in St. Charles, MO. In addition, the Hall will name its prestigious President’s Award recipient and announce a very deserving Special Award winner. Mercy is the title sponsor of the special event.
The Enshrinement events will kick off with a 5:00 reception with the banquet and Enshrinement Ceremonies getting underway at 6:00 p.m. All festivities conclude around 9:00 p.m.
Tickets for the Enshrinement are $125 each with Tables of Ten starting at $1,250. Tickets are on sale now and available by calling (417) 889-3100. Seating is limited, so reserve yours today. All proceeds will benefit the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. For more information visit www.mosportshalloffame.com
Those being inducted are:
Pete Weber – Bowling Weber was named the PBA Rookie of the Year in 1980 and won his first PBA event in 1982. He became the youngest player to win 10 PBA events at 24 years old. At age 26, he won the PBA National Championship, giving him all three jewels of the PBA’s “triple crown” (achieved by winning the U.S. Open, Tournament of Champions and PBA National Championship). Overall, he has won 37 PBA events, including 10 major titles. Pete and his father, Dick, were the first ever father-son combo to win a PBA event. Weber is a member of the PBA Hall of Fame and the US Bowling Congress Hall of Fame.
Ernie McMillan – Football McMillan was a four-time Pro-Bowl selection for the St. Louis Cardinals football team during a 14 year span with the team. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 1961 NFL Draft out of Illinois. He started 161 straight games at right tackle without missing a contest. Ernie was the constant force on a Cardinals offensive line and his four Pro Bowls are the second most by any tackle in Cardinals history, and just two behind Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf. It is also the third most by any blocker in franchise history.
Rick Horton – Baseball / Broadcasting Drafted by the Cardinals in 1980 out of the University of Virginia, Horton pitched parts of 6 seasons with St. Louis. He won 32 games in his career, including a career best 9 during his rookie season in 1984. Rick pitched for the Cardinals in the 1985 and 1987 World Series and was an integral part of the Dodgers team which captured the World Series championship in 1988. He is currently a color commentator and play-by-play man for the Cardinals on Fox Sports Midwest and fills in on KMOX radio broadcasts.
Jim Holtgrieve – Amateur Golf A graduate of Webster Groves High School in St. Louis, Holtgrieve is one of the most decorated amateur golfers from the state of Missouri. In 1981, Jim won the U.S. Mid-Amateur title and was the runner up in the 1983 British Amateur. He played on three winning Walker Cup teams (1979, 1981, and 1983) and captained the U.S. team in 2011and 2013. Holtgrieve played on the winning U.S. team that captured the Eisenhower Trophy in 1980 and 1982.
The Plager Brothers – Hockey The most famous family in St. Louis Blues history, brothers Bill, Barclay and Bob played together during from 1968 to 1972. The “Battling Brothers” helped lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive seasons. On ice, the Plagers’ impact has been described as “Gang Warfare,” a bruising brand of hockey that had its roots in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, where the boys first laced on skates. Bill finished his NHL career with Atlanta, while Bob would go on to briefly coach the Blues before taking a job in the front office. Barclay played his entire career with the Blues, coached the team and had his #8 jersey retired by the organization. Barclay passed away on Feb. 6th, 1988.
Neil Rackers – Football A graduate of Aquinas-Mercy High School in St. Louis, Neil kicked professionally from 2000 to 2011 for the Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans. A 2005 Pro-Bowler and All-Pro Selection, he led the league in field goal attempts in 2005 and 2006. He also holds the record for most 50+ yard field goals in a game with three. Rackers is a radio announcer on 101 ESPN in St. Louis and is the special teams/linebackers coach at John Burroughs High School in St. Louis.
Kelly Chase – Hockey Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Blues in 1988, Chase played 12 seasons in the NHL, 7 with the Blues. A bruising defender, he racked up more than 2,000 penalty minutes in his career. Highly active in the St. Louis community, in 1998, he received the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. This award is given for charity work with the Gateway Special Hockey Program, a program started by Chase in the early 1990s to help those with developmental disabilities participate in organized hockey. Chase now serves as a color commentator for Blues radio broadcasts on KMOX. In 2008, he was honored with the Jack Buck award for his enthusiasm and dedication to sports in St. Louis.
Nancy Fahey – Basketball Coach As the head coach at Washington University in Saint Louis, she has led the Bears to five NCAA Division III National Championships including back-to-back undefeated national championships in 1999 and 2000. In both 2000 and 2011, she was named the WBCA D-III Coach of the Year. Fahey has reached the Final Four 10 times (out of 23 tournament appearances), and has led the Bears to the second-longest winning streak in NCAA women’s basketball history at 81 games in a row.
Gerry Davis – Umpire St. Louis native, Gerry Davis started umpiring Major League Baseball in 1982 and is the 3rd most senior umpire in the league. He has umpired five World Series, nine League Championship Series and eleven League Division Series. He has also worked in the All-Star Game four times. With his assignment to the 2014 A.L. Wild card game, Davis set an officiating record for most postseason games umpired in Major League history with 123. He was also on the umpire crew for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Davis owns a company, Gerry Davis Sports, which specializes in umpiring equipment and clothing.
Ron Holtman – Football Coach Holtman patrolled the sidelines as head coach at Country Day/MICDS for 39 years. He coached his football teams to seven Missouri Class 3 championships, another three appearances in the state semifinals and a total of 16 appearances in the Missouri playoffs. The MICDS athletic field complex was named for him in 2001, and with an overall record of 382-101-8 during 50 years of coaching, he ranks second among the all-time winningest coaches in Missouri high school history. Ron was elected to the Missouri Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1992. Holtman is still the golf coach at MICDS and has captured 6 state championships during his tenure.
Maureen McVey – Soccer Coach Of all the female soccer coaches in the state, Maureen McVey has carded more wins in girls soccer than anyone else. She reached the 500-win plateau in May when her St. Joseph’s Academy Angels topped Incarnate Word in overtime of the Missouri Class 3 quarterfinals. Her teams have won four state titles, reached 12 final fours and her 2002 team at St. Joe went 26-0-1 and was the mythical U.S. champion, according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of American rankings at the end of the season. McVey was the first woman ever inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame.
Rich Grawer – Basketball Coach Grawer led the DeSmet Jesuit basketball program to three state titles in the 1970’s, and set a record for consecutive wins among large schools in the state of Missouri with 63. He would later become the head coach at Saint Louis University and, in 1985, began a streak of six consecutive winning seasons, culminating it with a then-school record 27 wins in 1988-89. Rich finished with 159 wins, the 2nd most in SLU basketball history.
Bob Lesslie – Amateur Baseball A multi-year all-star for Lutheran South High School, Lesslie and his team won the league championships in both 1968 and 1969. He would Lesslie attended St. Louis Community College-Meramac, leading his squad to the JUCO national tournament in 1970 and 1971. Lesslie was an All-Conference selection both seasons and was selected to the Junior College Sectional All-Star team in ’71. Later that year, he was drafted in the 22nd round of 1971 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lesslie, instead opted to attend Kansas State. After one year at K-State, where the pitcher was 6-3 with 70 strikeouts in 60 innings and a 1st team All-Big Eight Conference selection, Lesslie was the 1st overall pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1972 MLB Draft. He would spend six years in the minor leagues, amassing a 56-56 overall record. He is now the CEO of Lesslie Consulting, Inc.
Teams
1956 Fred W. Stockham Post 245- American Legion National Champions – Team Induction Coached by Al Grosch, the team defeated Fellowship Post 341 playing out of New Orleans, at the National Championship in Bismarck, ND to receive the Howard P. Savage National Champion Trophy. The pitching staff was anchored by future St. Louis Cardinal Bob Miller.
1962 Anheuser-Busch Post 299- American Legion National Champions – Team Induction Coached by Don Seifert, this 1962 St. Louis team also traveled to Bismarck, where they defeated Honolulu Post 11 to capture the Howard P. Savage National Champion Trophy. Bill Matan, who would later play for the NFL’s New York Giants, received the George Rulon Trophy for Legion Player of the Year.
Special Awards:
Greg Marecek – President’s Award A Webster Grove native,Greg Marecek has long been a fixture in the St. Louis media arena. Greg has been involved in broadcasting, sports writing, production and even station ownership. The author of several books, Marecek was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame President’s Award is given to an individual who shows outstanding contributions to the Hall. These contributions can come in the form of leadership, service, or financial assistance.
Pat Anthony – Special Achievement Award In some shape or formPat Anthony was been affiliated with the great Stan Musial for the last 70 years. Beginning as a baby sitter to Stan and Lil’s children, Pat later became an employee of Stan and Biggie’s Restaurant in St. Louis, until it closed. For the past 35 years, she has been an integral part of Stan The Man, Inc. serving as a liaison to the St. Louis Cardinals and the general public. This award is to honor Pat’s years of dedication to Missouri’s greatest sports legend.
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