Inductees

When Sonny Lloyd Stringer strapped on a leather helmet and took the field for the first team in Willow Springs High School in 1925, it would have been hard to imagine the impact he was making on southwest Missouri football.

A full century later, the Stringer family is synonymous with standout football after Sonny Lloyd’s sons, Sonny Lee and Bill; grandsons, Kent, Kirk, Preston, Rip, Matt; and Mark Eddlemon; and great-grandsons, Paden, Brody and Taylor have posted successful gridiron careers in the southwest corner of the state and beyond.

“Stringers grew up watching other Stringers play football,” Bill said. “It was easier to watch because they were all good. If you were a Stringer, you played football.”

The family’s success and dedication to growing the sports in their small communities were why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the Stringers with the Class of 2025.

After playing on that first Willow Springs team, Sonny Lloyd went to Truman State University – then Northeast Missouri State Teachers College – where he played tight end for coach Don Faurot and also lettered in basketball.

“I can remember him talking about specific games and plays,” Bill said. “He would tell me about his teammates and their nicknames and the positions they played. He kept in touch with them his entire life.”

Bill was All-State in football, and also earned varsity letters in basketball, track and baseball in his four years at Central High School. He played guard for Missouri State, where he helped the Bears win MIAA titles in his freshman and senior seasons. As a senior, he served as team co-captain and earned Associated Press First Team Little All-America honors. He then went into coaching, compiling a 96-54 record over 15 seasons at Willow Springs, Cabool, Kirksville, Sullivan and Central.

Sonny Lee “Buck,” was an All-State halfback and four-year letterman (1949-1952) at Willow Springs and then earned three letters at the University of Missouri, where he also played for Faurot. He helped the Bears to 37 consecutive wins, three South Central Association titles and two Ozark Bowls. Against Central, he threw for 353 yards and ran for 158 yards. He also set records in track and was as basketball standout.

Sonny later coached high school football in Hannibal, Fredricktown and Glendale, and was head coach at Parkview.

Sonny Lee’s sons – Kent, Kirk and Preston – all played quarterback for Kickapoo High School. Kent and Preston both played at Missouri State. Kent played three seasons at Glendale High School before joining Kickapoo’s inaugural 1971 team. He’s an inductee of the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame and owned most of the Bears’ career passing marks when he graduated.

Kirk was a three-year letterman and All-Ozark selection and later founded the Republic Youth Football program and coached in the Greater Midwest Football League. Preston was a 1983 letterman at Missouri State who later coached at Ozark High School.

Bill’s sons – Rip and Matt – both played at Cabool High and then played college football. Rip was All-State at Cabool before playing at Missouri S&T. Matt lettered in football at Cabool and Central, helping Central qualify for the playoffs as an all-district player, before playing on Evangel’s 1988 NAIA national semifinal team. He later coached at Nixa and Evangel.

Eddlemon, Bill’s nephew, earned football letters at Parkview and Kickapoo and was an All-Ozarks and all-conference player. He is the son of late sportswriter Mary Eddlemon (MSHOF 1989).

Paden, Kirk’s son, played quarterback at Republic, earning All-State, all-district and all-conference honors before playing two years in the GMFL. Matt’s son, Brody, was an all-conference and all-district player on Niza’s state runner-up team in 2014. Rip’s son, Taylor, was a first-team all-conference offensive tackle at Katy High School in Texas, helping the team to a 2009 state title.

All of that football history, much of it taking place in small communities across southwest Missouri, got its start in Willow Springs.

“Football is a great game,” Bill said. “It takes a special mindset to play. Much can be learned about yourself and your teammates. Dad once said that the Stringers got more from the game than football got from them.”

The success on the field turned into success in life after football, something the Stringer family is rightly proud of.

“My dad valued education,” Bill said. “His sons and grandsons went to college with football helping the cost. His sons became coaches and school administrators. His grandsons became coaches, a veterinarian, a medical doctor, an engineer, and a college professor.”