Inductees

Decades ago, he was the photographer for President Harry S. Truman in Independence and, in 1964 after a press conference, was invited on stage by John Lennon for the only Beatles concert in Kansas City.

However, Ken White’s calling was the outdoors, and he always loved to write about it.

“I got interested in both hunting and fishing back when I was in grade school in Carrollton,” White said. “My dad and brother both hunted and fished, so I came by it naturally. My dad never owned a rod and reel and never used lures. He dug worms and seined local creeks for minnows and crayfish. I was the one who carried the minnow bucket.”

Years later, White penned weekly columns that included fishing and hunting expeditions across the state, with a background that gave him instant credibility and a style which captivated readers. That’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted White with the Class of 2022.

White’s columns initially appeared in the Independence Examiner. He eventually moved to Stockton and wrote weekly outdoor columns for newspapers in Springfield, Branson, Nevada, Stockton, Kimberling City, Humansville, Osceola, Appleton City, Windsor, Cole Camp, Lincoln and many more.

He also was an outdoor writer for the Missouri Tourism Commission in the early 1970s and later was the executive director of the Missouri American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.

Overall, White brought the outdoors to life through wonderful and enjoyable stories that even connected with non-outdoors folks, and he earned more than a dozen Missouri Press Association awards for photography.

However, his journey to outdoors newspaper writing was not at all planned.

A 1947 graduate of Carrollton High School, White spent four years in the Navy during the Korean War, where he was an aerial photographer. When President Truman visited the base, White, the only Missourian photographer on the staff, was naturally assigned the scoop. When White returned home, Truman told him that the Independence paper needed a photographer.

“Right away I saw the need for an outdoor column,” White said. “I started out using picture pages of wildlife and how to enjoy the outdoors. My first column appeared back in the early 1960s, and I have never stopped.”

After nine years at The Examiner, he worked for Hallmark Cards in its photo department before starting an outdoor TV show called “Ken White, Outdoorsman” in Kansas City.

He had instant credibility.

White won 17 major fishing tournaments over the years. Among them was the 1962 Trail of Lakes, which consisted of one day each at Lake of the Ozarks, Pomme de Terre, Bull Shoals and Table Rock. He also won the World Series of Freshwater Fishing in 1963, a three-day event at Bull Shoals Lake, Table Rock Lake and Lake Taneycomo.

White won Missouri State Championships in 1967, 1968 and 1970, and captured the U.S. Open championships those same years. During one of his Missouri tournaments, he caught a limit of trout – including an eight-pounder – and a limit of crappie and white bass, plus a 3-pound walleye.

“Bull Shoals was my favorite lake until I moved to Stockton in 1989,” White said. “Today, I catch my share of crappie, walleye and bass on Stockton Lake, but I also hit Truman, Pomme de Terre, Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock and Taneycomo every chance I get.”

Additionally, White hunted in Missouri’s first spring turkey season in 1960, when only 14 Ozarks counties were open for three days, and has hunted every season (fall and spring) since. This spring will mark the 105^th season for him and represents more than a ton of harvested turkeys.

Eventually, the Missouri Tourism Commission came calling, and its director told White that President Truman had called him, “a solid Missourian.”

“While in Tourism, I helped with copy for the annual guide publication and also worked sport shows across the country and Canada, promoting the state’s attractions, especially hunting and fishing opportunities,” White said.

White thanks many for his success, including his first wife of 32 years, Mary Grace McCoy, now deceased, and his second wife of 32 years, Donna Lackey, who passed away in 2019. White has eight children, four step-children and many grandchildren – most of whom also enjoy fishing.

“It has been a lot of fun over the years, and I especially enjoy watching youngsters catch their first fish and know they are hooked for life,” White said. “I enjoy putting on programs at schools and sharing the riches of our great Missouri outdoors with the next generation.”