Inductees

When it comes to Missouri high school sports dynasties, it would be hard to top the track and field dynasty built by Kansas City’s Central High School in the 1960s and early 1970s.

For eight years, the Blue Eagles were untouchable, compiling one of the best track and field stories in state history.

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly honored that run of excellence by inducting the Central High School Boys Track and Field Era 1964-1972 into the Class of 2025.

The team dominated in the state’s large-school class, the biggest of three classes, winning eight straight state championships after a state runner-up finish in 1964.

“I believe it started with the remarkable and talented athletes who attended Central during the early 60s and 70s. But it was the coaches — Harry Slaymaker, Harvey Greer, and Charlie Lee — who harnessed and cultivated that talent into something truly special,” said Kenny Randle, who won five individual state titles during the run and later played football at Southern Cal and for the NFL’s Browns and Cowboys. “They created a culture of excellence and a winning mindset that made you proud to be a Central Blue Eagle. The athletes who came before my era set the bar high and mentored those who followed, passing down that standard of greatness.”

Greer coached the team through 1969, and then Lee took over. The 1964 team was a runner-up, and then the Blue Eagles won state championships the next eight seasons. The 1965 team edged three second-place teams by 5.25 points. The next year? The Blue Eagles beat Beaumont by just one point, and then the two shared the title in 1967. The next season saw Central cruise to victory, winning by 22 points. The 1969 season ended with a five-point victory against Southeast Kansas City. Lee’s first team in 1970 won by 1.5 points but had some breathing room in 1971 and 1972, winning by nine points each season.

“The best way I can describe the philosophies of Coach Greer and Coach Lee is that both were driven by excellence and execution — anything less was not an option,” Randle said.

Greer was the architect – detailed, focused and pragmatic, with a deep understanding of every running and field event. Lee emphasized hard work, teamwork and discipline. Ken Curry was co-head coach from 1970 to 1972.

“To be on the varsity track team at Central was like being the king of the hill in high school,” said Aaron A. Ward, a 1967 graduate who was on the mile relay four years. “We were always trying to break records.”

Along the way, Central saw 11 individuals win state titles, and three relays win it all.

They were: Phil Cosey (100-yard dash, 200-yard dash in 1966), Marvin Foster (240-yard dash in 1968, 420-yard dash in 1968), Randle (won state three consecutive individual titles in the 440 yard dash; in 1970, 1971, and 1972, and two consecutive 220-yard individual titles in 1971, and 1972 ), George Byers (120-yard high hurdles in 1964 & 1965, 180-yard low hurdles in 1964), Reggie Watson (180-yard low hurdles in 1969), Rousell Williams (180-yard low hurdles in 1971), Larry Fultz (180-yard low hurdles in 1972), Norris White (broad jump in 1966), 4×220 relay (1968), Mile relay (1970), two-mile relay (1968), James Bowman (pole vault in 1969), Walter Gibbs (high jump in 1968) and Fred Cason (high jump in 1970). The 1971 relay set a state record.

That individual success only brought the team together even more, Randle said.

“We saw ourselves not just as individuals, but as a team — with every person striving to do their very best to improve on the records and results,” Randle said.

Fred Murrell III, a member of the 1971 state-record relay team, remembers being in the seventh grade attending an assembly where Greer showed short films of sprinters and quarter-milers.

“I knew right then and there I wanted to be a Blue Eagle,” Murrell said. “The way he spoke to us, his motivational was actually recruiting us. … Technically, we had already developed a culture by the time I got there. The brotherhood, the closeness we developed, it’s tradition. It came with the territory.”

Byers was one of the early greats as a hurdler, graduating in 1965. He remembers being upset about the state runner-up finish in 1964.

“We hated to lose,” Byers said. “We wanted it real bad (in 1965). We worked hard for it. Competed and came out and practiced every day. We always had each other. We always encouraged each other.”