Inductees
Buford Goddard
At the confluence of the James and Finley rivers stands an old general store. In the back of the general store is a single bedroom where in 1934 Buford Goddard was born.
The general store, owned by Goddard’s grandparents, also served as a post office for the unincorporated community of Jamesville, located in Stone County, about 20 miles from the edge of Springfield.
Goddard didn’t let humble beginnings keep him from a date with destiny. After a stint in the Army, and a chance encounter with a basketball legend, Goddard went on to author an impressive career as a high school and college referee and official, gaining particular notice for his skill in officiating basketball games. All those reasons together make the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Buford Goddard with the Class of 2022.
Sports were always at the forefront of Goddard’s life. As a youngster in the Nixa area, it seemed as if Goddard was at every game played in the tiny town. He spent so much time hanging around Nixa’s “A” basketball team as a child, that they eventually gave him a uniform and allowed him to be a part of the team photo.
A graduate of Ozark High School in 1952, Goddard was a member of the 1950 Class B state championship team, coached by Missouri Sports Hall of Famer Denny Burrows. Goddard began officiating upon graduation from Ozark High, officiating mostly high school games in the area. But when he was drafted into the Army in the mid-50s, his fortunes changed.
After boot camp, Goddard was assigned to the 5th Army where he shared a bunk with future Basketball Hall of Fame member K.C. Jones.
Jones, who went on to fame as both a player and coach in the NBA, learned quickly that Goddard was an aspiring referee and former high school basketball player. So, Jones showed Goddard a thing or two about how to officiate a game properly. Those lessons stuck with Goddard, and he carried them with him over the next 20 years.
And the following two decades were impressive, Goddard refereed five high school state championship games, playing a key role in one of the most famous games in Missouri history. Goddard was on the court for the 1966 state championship between Kansas City Central and the legendary Jolly Green Giants (MSHOF 2015) of Springfield Parkview.
Goddard was also on the whistle for a pair of 5th Army championship games, two NCAA Regionals, and a total of over 400 major college contests. His final basketball game – fittingly – came in 1977 at the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, N.C.
On average, Goddard officiated 30 to 35 college basketball games per year, most of them in the Big 8.
Along the way, Goddard made quite an impression on one of college basketball’s biggest names.
A former standout for Kansas State on the hardwood and later one of college basketball’s premier coaches, Lon Kruger recalls Goddard’s days officiating Wildcats games in the Big 8.
“I can assure you that whenever Coach (Jack) Hartman saw Buford assigned to our games he was pleased,” Kruger said. “Buford was always a man of great integrity and always gave a great effort. Buford always had a great relationship with the players and the coaches.”
Goddard didn’t limit himself to the basketball court. He spent 15 years umpiring baseball on both the high school and American Legion levels. He nearly made baseball umpiring his vocation after he was extended an invitation to the George Barr Umpire School in Florida, but his Army draft status got in the way.
One of the baseball umpiring friends he made along the way was Lake St. Louis resident and 2004 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dave Phillips.
“Buford was an outstanding official and a professional in every respect,” Phillips said. “I always enjoyed working with him.”
When he wasn’t officiating basketball or umpiring baseball, Goddard worked full-time as a sporting goods salesman for Lumpe-Virdon Sporting Goods, owned in part by Missouri Sports Legend and Hall of Fame member Class of 1983 Bill Virdon.
Goddard also spent time in the investment banking industry, working for Green Investments, a Bank Holding Company with offices in Springfield, Joplin, Lee’s Summit and Kansas City.
Overall, Goddard will be the 21st sports official or referee inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
