So, is he going to Disneyland? Maybe doing a dogpile on the mound at, say, Busch Stadium?
Nope. Tom Henke has a better idea after he secured another special victory to go along with his 1992 World Series ring. This time, he didn’t even have to fire in a fastball for strike three.
“Maybe a snow cone,” Henke said of the way he’ll celebrate winning – as a No. 16 seed! — a 64-person tournament bracket challenge recently put on by fellow Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee Rod Smith of KRCG TV in Jefferson City.
His path to victory was impressive, as fans voted the former Toronto Blue Jays closer over, in order, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson, Missouri Tigers basketball coach Norm Stewart and then St. Louis Cardinals Stan “The Man” Musial, Whitey Herzog, Yadier Molina and Ozzie Smith.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Henke, a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee who pitched 14 seasons in the big leagues. “I didn’t even know it was going on at first. Then somebody told me I was a 16 seed. Next thing I know, I beat Len Dawson.”
Rod Smith said he created the bracket following the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament – viewers could vote online – and all 64 names were of the most notable Missouri sports personalities, many of them inductees of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
More than 10,000 folks voted.
However, the company that created the bracket accidently placed all of Smith’s No. 1 seeds in one side of the bracket. That set up quite the scenario, with Henke as a No. 16 seed. In the actual NCAA Tournament, only one No. 16 seed has upset a No. 1 (Maryland-Baltimore County over Virginia in 2018).
Henke turned the trick and then some, though that may not have been a surprise. He’s in the news in Jefferson City anyway, since he lives nearby and does a lot of charitable work in the area.
“Once Henke fans got a hold of this thing,” Smith said. “it was over.”
By the way, Ozzie Smith’s path to the finals was no easy task, either. He won out over Dan Dierdorf, Payne Stewart, Andy Reid, Jack Buck and Bob Gibson.
