Inductees

It’s no wonder Virgil Ward was admired across the country. He never ran out of fishing stories.

How could he? The Amsterdam, Mo., native turned his passion for fishing into a lifelong career and remained humble even as he became a household name across the country.

Fortunately, Ward shared all of his neat tips and tricks with the rest of America. Ward turned a side business into the Bass Buster Lure Company and went on to earn national recognition for “The Virgil Ward Championship Fishing Show,” a national TV show broadcast weekly.

He rose from humble beginnings as the son of William and Pearl Ward. Born in 1911 in Easton, the cattle-farming family survived the Great Depression, partly because Virgil and his brothers and sisters also worked. When he could, they walked the three miles to attend Amsterdam High School, where Ward played basketball and competed on the track and field team.

Ward and his bride, Cleda, eventually opened a plumbing shop in Amsterdam and sold appliances, with the family living in the back of the shop.

This is where Ward’s rise to fishing began.

It was in the back of the shop where they began the Bass Buster Lure Company, which patented the fiber weedguard that revolutionized the weedless jig. In fact, it is still used today by jig manufacturers.

Ward also created the famous maribou jig and Beetle Spin. The company was later sold to Johnson Wax Company, which owned Johnson Fishing.

Ward went on to win the 1958 Regional Bass Competition, the 1962 World Series of Sport Fishing, the 1964 National Championship of Fresh Water Fishing and 1964 Outdoor Writers and Broadcasters National Fishing Tournament.

Electronic media put Ward on the national map.

Lloyd Presley, who had an outdoor radio show in Springfield and whose family later owned Presley’s Country Jubilee in Branson, brought Ward on numerous times. Soon, Ward wrote columns published in 455 newspapers and his radio show appeared on 200 stations.

“The Virgil Ward National Championship Fishing Show” had its roots on KYTV in Springfield, where Ward also taught a fishing class at then-Southwest Missouri State. The Springfield show was for the Missouri Conservation Commission.

Ward hosted the nationally syndicated TV show for 25 years, 21 of which took the No. 1 rating for fishing shows, according to Nielsen and Arbitron rating services. At one point, the show placed No. 1 among 400 syndicated shows.

In 1975, Missouri Gov. Christopher S. Bond proclaimed Oct. 19 as Virgil Ward Day. “Virgil Ward, through his many efforts, has made an invaluable contribution to Missouri Tourism, and has made millions of Americans aware of the world of fishing.”

Ward also is in the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, the Ozark Fisherman’s Hall of Fame, the International Fishing Hall of Fame and the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.  A PBS documentary, produced by Dan Galusha and Brad Mosier, also was developed.

Among his many accomplishments was the Dolphin Award, the highest honor in sport fishing.