Inductees

The worn and now-yellowish newspaper clippings from the late 1950s paint the picture of an incredible athlete.

“Rogers Showing Impresses Missouri University Coaches,” read one. “Rogers sets Torrid Pace In State Meet,” a narrow headline boasts. “Rogers Leads Fairfax to C Title” … “Rogers Sets 4 New Marks” and, then there is one that was a banner headline across the sports page: “Rogers Shatters Sate Pole Vault Mark at Tarkio” it read.

Talk to folks who remember those days – or the kids whose dad shared those stories – and it’s as if the Show-Me State had its own Bob Jackson or Shohie Ohtahni.

The man’s name? Melvin Rogers, a multi-sport star at Fairfax High School and Missouri Valley College who was one of the most interesting athletes to walk across the sports page. His success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct him with the Class of 2025.

As he put it, “Where else in the world can you ever do this? Only in America you can come from a town of 630 people and get a chance.”

A 1957 graduate and 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete of Fairfax High School, he earned All-State in football, All-State in basketball and then was part of a two-man track & field team that led Fairfax to the Class C Indoor state championship.

Rogers won four events, totaling 32 points himself, or 5 ½ more than the state runner-up team. He also shattered the state pole vault mark (12 feet, 7 ¼) in a regular-season meet.

Despite drawing interest from football coaches at the University of Missouri and the University of Oklahoma, Rogers enrolled at Missouri Valley College in Marshall.

Unthinkable and improbable in the modern age, he competed in three sports – football, basketball and track – and lettered in all three.

In football, he was part of the team that reached the Tangerine Bowl in 1958 and scored the Vikings’ only touchdown. A knee injury cut short his football and basketball careers, but he still competed in track and was hoping to get a shot to compete in the 1960 Olympics – thanks to the U.S. giving him access to high-profile college at the time.

All this from a kid who attended grade school in the small community of Craig back when one-room school houses still dotted the land. It where a coach told Rogers that he’d win him a state title one day.

He did, only just up Highway 59 in Fairfax, where coach Glen Bergman became a mentor.

“My class was wild,” Rogers said. “Sports kind of kept us in line.”

His senior year became a whirlwind. At one point, legendary Oklahoma Sooners football coach Bud Wilkinson visited him in Fairfax. The catch? The coach needed him to sign by Aug. 15 – with the scholarship good if he committed only to football. He also was recruited by the Navy, delighting his dad, a military veteran.

That summer, he won the high school decathlon, fueling a desire to be a multi-sport athlete in college. The victory led to Rogers being able to train with national coaches in hopes of qualifying for the 1960 Olympics.

But …

“I knew I had a terrible temper,” Rogers said. “If I would have sold myself a bill of goods that I wouldn’t get uncoiled, I probably would have gone to the Naval Academy.”

Missouri Valley became the best choice.

“I got a liberal education, and I loved it,” Rogers said. “I learned about philosophy and other cultures and got out of my comfort zone.”

Rogers graduated in 1961 and earned a pharmaceutical degree from Missouri-Kansas City before launching Rogers Inc., a pharmacy that helped the athletic departments of Missouri Western State and Northwest Missouri State.

He has since been inducted into the Missouri Valley College Athletics Hall of Fame and recognized by the State Board of Pharmacy for 50 years in the profession.

Additionally, he has served as an adviser on the Auxiliary Board of the Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy. He also ha served as a member and officer for numerous community organizations, has been involved in youth sports, active with Meals on Wheels, 2^nd Harvest and the Food Resource Bank.

Rogers and his wife of 63 years, Karen, are parents to Leigh Ann, Ryan, Benne and have 10 grandkids and nine great grand-kids.

“I always thought it was important to give back what was given to me – a chance,” Rogers said. “I hope I helped others.”