There weren’t many opportunities for sports-minded young girls growing up in Missouri in the 1960s. So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn Mary Phyl Dwight couldn’t quite help herself once she arrived on Missouri State University’s campus in the fall of 1970. A graduate of Raytown South High School, Dwight grew up yearning… Read more »
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Category: Coaches
George Edwards
George Edwards truly belonged to the University of Missouri; he played basketball there and then eventually landed as the Tigers’ head basketball coach for 20 seasons. He took over for George Bond and led the Tigers (who were a part of the Missouri Valley Conference for the first two seasons of his tenure) to an… Read more »
Mark Edwards
You can make a case that Mark Edwards and Washington University in St. Louis took a chance on each other and it worked out beautifully. There he was in 1981, 35 years old and already an NCAA Division I assistant coach but being asked by university officials to return home. The mission? Oh, just dust… Read more »
Don Edwards
If not for the influence of one high school coach, Don Edwards might have been a farmer. And while that likely would have been farming’s gain, it would have been a major loss for the sporting world in northwest Missouri. Admittedly, Edwards grew up with the same dreams of every other American boy. He wanted… Read more »
Dale Eshelbrenner
To understand the lasting impact of Dale Eshelbrenner, just listen to those who played for him – or coached with him – in his days leading the Pembroke Hill School tennis programs. “My favorite memories of Dale were watching him be so strict with the team one day,” said Joshua Bortnick, a 2017 graduate. “I… Read more »
Mike Essick
He had long dreamed the dream. Of coaching a high school baseball team. Of teaching teenagers about the game he loved. Of filling out lineup cards and winning games and, well, everything else great about it. Truth is, Mike Essick had to climb from the very bottom to get there. In fact, the journey began… Read more »
Paul Evans
He grew up in a steel-mill town northeast of the Gateway Arch where you’ve got to put in your own work. And he did in baseball, becoming a high school pitching standout and a workhorse for the state’s premier college program – and wasn’t afraid. That is, not afraid to start at the bottom, at… Read more »
Nancy Fahey
As the head coach at Washington University in Saint Louis, Nancy Fahey has led the Bears to five NCAA Division III National Championships including back-to-back undefeated national championships in 1999 and 2000. In both 2000 and 2011, she was named the WBCA D-III Coach of the Year. Fahey has reached the Final Four 10 times… Read more »
Bob Fairchild
Bob Fairchild was born in Chillicothe, MO and graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1950. He competed in football, basketball and track while in high school. His first job, as a history teacher and basketball coach, began in 1959 at Skidmore, Missouri. His success in coaching was immediate as his team won 30 games the… Read more »
Richard Fairchild
Richard Fairchild compiled a .661 winning percentage with a total of 463 wins and 237 losses during his 28-year career as a high school basketball coach. After his first coaching job in Skidmore, Missouri, Fairchild spent a productive six years in Oregon, Missouri, leading that team to win two conference championships, three district titles, and… Read more »
David Fairchild
Back in 1981, when David Fairchild was first hired to coach the football team at Penney High School, the weight room was down in the basement and next to the boiler. In other words, no frills. That was a good thing, in the eyes of the new young coach. After all, why not start from… Read more »
Don Faurot
Born in Mountain Grove, MO, Don Faurot spent 19 years as head football coach and 30 years as Athletic Director for the University of Missouri. Faurot is best known as the inventor of the Split T formation, about which he also wrote a book. He is a past President of the American Football Coaches Association… Read more »
Debbie Fay
The plan post-college graduation was to the Florida panhandle, teach elementary school kids and enjoy the beaches of the Gulf coast. However, Debbie Fay’s life detoured – in a good way. In the summer of 1983, Park Hill High School called seeking a volleyball coach but couldn’t offer a teaching job. Fortunately for her, one… Read more »
Kent Fewell
Some folks don’t choose a career until they’re well into college. For Kent Fewell, he had a pretty good idea even as a grade-schooler. “In elementary school and well into junior high, my favorite subject was P.E.,” Fewell said. “It seemed like the coaches I had and teachers I had I enjoyed. And I said,… Read more »
Gary Filbert
A St. Joseph Benton High School graduate, Gary Filbert lettered in football, basketball, and track. After graduation, he headed to the University of Missouri and played for the freshman basketball squad. Upon returning from a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, Filbert was a three-year varsity basketball letter man for the Tigers. Upon graduation,… Read more »
Lowell “Cotton” Fitzsimmons
Cotton Fitzsimmons, a Missouri native, won 832 games in 21 seasons as a coach in the National Basketball Association, tying him with Phil Jackson for 10th on the career victory list in the 1990s. Fitzsimmons, whose career record was 832-775, was a two-time coach of the year and made 12 postseason appearances with four different… Read more »