Former Kansas City Chiefs standout wide receiver Eddie Kennison, a favorite target of quarterback Trent Green in the early- to mid-2000s when the franchise earned two AFC playoff berths, soon will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. The Hall also will induct Rich Johanningmeier, a former Missouri State University All-American football lineman and coach, and former Carrollton High School football coach Stan Kee.
The honorees highlight the NFL Kickoff Sports Enthusiasts Luncheon presented by Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center, President and Executive Director Jerald Andrews announced Wednesday.
The 11 a.m. ceremony also will recognize the second annual Elite 11, a group of former high school and college standouts. The group will be announced in the coming days.
An individual ticket is $40. Tables of eight are $400 and includes associate sponsorship recognition in the printed program. Head table tickets are $100. For tickets, call the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame at 417-889-3100.
“We are proud to honor these individuals who have given so much to football in the NFL, college and high school levels,” Andrews said. “Eddie Kennison was one of the Chiefs’ best receivers, and Rich Johanningmeier made memorable contributions to what was known as Southwest Missouri State in the 1960s and years later as head coach. Stan Kee carved out a terrific career in 22 years at Carrollton.”
Eddie Kennison
Kennison emerged as one of the NFL’s most prolific receivers while with the Chiefs from 2001 to 2007. When he retired, he ranked No. 7 on the Chiefs’ all-time yards receiving list (5,230 yards) and No. 7 in Chiefs career receptions (321). He also had 17 100-yard receiving games in his Chiefs tenure, the fourth-most in franchise history when he retired.
Kennison’s 57.5 yards receiving per game also is fifth on the Chiefs’ all-time list and just ahead of Otis Taylor’s 56.6 yards per catch. Overall, he was targeted 554 times and hauled in 321 catches, scoring 25 touchdowns.
Kennison’s arrival to the Chiefs in 2001 dovetailed with the Chiefs’ prolific offenses that would become standard under coach Dick Vermeil. Kennison averaged more than 961 yards receiving between 2002 and 2006, including a 1,086-yard season in 2004 followed by a 1,102-yard season. In his time in Kansas City, the Chiefs won the 2003 AFC West in finishing 13-3, won 10 more games in 2005 and also reached the 2006 playoffs.
Kennison’s career began with the St. Louis Rams in 1996 and also played for the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos before reaching Kansas City. Overall, he finished his NFL career with 8,345 yards receiving and 42 touchdowns.
Rich Johanningmeier
The St. Louis native was a Southwest Missouri State standout as a player (1960-1963) and coach (1976-1985), becoming an All-American lineman and later becoming the second-winningest coach in school history. He was a three-year starter for the Bears at both offensive and defensive tackle, gaining Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association all-conference recognition as a junior and senior. He was a first team All-American as a senior and received the Virgil Cheek Athletic Achievement Award when we graduated from SMS in 1964. Playing for coach Orville Pottenger, Johanningmeier was a standout on the 9-0 SMS team in 1963, when the Bears won the MIAA and the Mineral Water Bowl. After graduation, he played professional football briefly before beginning a 10-year run as an assistant coach (American International, Vermont and Connecticut) and then returned to his alma mater. Johanningmeier was 58-44-5 in his 10 seasons at Missouri State, trailing only A.W. Briggs in all-time victories, and enjoyed seven winning seasons. Johanningmeier, who went on to work for the NCAA, is retired and a Bears season-ticket holder.
Stan Kee
Longtime football coach Stan Kee was 175-88-2 overall at three high schools, including 153-67-1 in 22 seasons (1977 to 1998) at Carrollton High School in northern Missouri. His Carrollton teams reached the state semifinals in 1987 and 1997 as part of six playoff berths. They also won four Missouri River Valley Conference championships (1978, 1987, 1991, 1997), four district championships (1987, 1991, 1997, 1998) and nine times was district runner-up. Kee, a 1967 graduate of Oregon (Mo.) High School and 1971 graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, previously coached at South Holt and Gallatin high schools.
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Missouri Sports Hall of Fame’s
NFL Kickoff Sports Enthusiasts Luncheon presented by Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper
When: 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28
Where: University Plaza Convention Center, Springfield
What: Induction of former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison; former Missouri State University football All-American and coach Rich Johanningmeier; and former Carrollton High School coach Stan Kee. Elite 11, group of former high school and college standouts, also to be recognized.
Tickets: $40 for individual seat; $400 for a table of eight, with associate sponsorship recognition in the printed program. $100 for seat at head table.
Contact: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, 417-889-3100.