Inductees

It’s often said that coaches are the sum of each of their most influential coaches. For longtime Hallsville High School baseball coach Barry Koeneke, that would be Warren Turner, Hi Simmons and Gene McArtor.

In order, they are former Joplin Memorial High School and Missouri Southern State University’s coach (852 wins), the University of Missouri coach from 1937 to 1973 (481 wins) and Mizzou’s coach from 1974-1994 (733 wins). And all are inductees of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

And because Koeneke (pronounced Ken-uh-kee) pushed many of the right buttons, too, in piloting the Hallsville High School Baseball Program, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Koeneke with the Class of 2019.

Next spring, he will enter his 45^th season as the head coach of the Hallsville High School Baseball Program and does so with 1,157 games coached and a 684-473 record. His teams advanced to eight Final Fours (1983, 1984, 1987, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2018), winning state championships three times – 1987, 2004 and 2005. His teams also captured 15 district titles.

“I like to use the game of baseball as a vehicle, and I want to teach young men how to grow up,” Koeneke said. “You can teach that in practice and how to approach a game. And I’m doing the same thing I did in 1975 as I am in 2000-and-whatever.”

Baseball has long been in his life.

Koeneke grew up in Joplin, which has a rich baseball tradition. For decades, it was a farm team for numerous big-league clubs, including the New York Yankees, who assigned the great Mickey Mantle there in 1950 with their Class C Western Association club.

“The first 10 years I lived in Joplin, I lived across the street from a small youth baseball field,” Koeneke said. “Next door lived a boy four years older and plenty of other older boys in the neighborhood that let me play.”

He graduated in 1970 from Joplin Memorial High School, where he was All-State under Turner (MSHOF 2014). That season, he led Memorial to the Final Four and a fourth-place finish.

Koeneke considered John Brown University, Missouri Southern and Crowder College, but KFRU sportscaster Chris Lincoln saw him in the state tournament and passed his name to McArtor (MSHOF 2007).

In college, Koeneke pitched for Mizzou, earning varsity letters in 1973 and 1974. He combined for 13 wins those seasons and led the staff in games started both years. As a senior, he had staff-bests in complete games (9) and earned run average (2.74).

At the time, he was enrolled in Mizzou’s physical education department and figured he would go into coaching if a pro baseball career didn’t materialize.

Which is what happened, despite Koeneke playing in the Ban Johnson League as well as a semipro circuit in Columbia, plus a season in the Central Illinois Collegiate League.

Soon, he had a job offer from the Hallsville School District. Not that Koeneke knew the town’s whereabouts.

“I didn’t know Hallsville existed at the time,” Koeneke said.

Fortunately, it was only a short drive from Columbia. He also joined his new wife, Sara, there.

“Personally, I have a little bit of pride in not only have I coached this long, but it’s all been at the same place,” Koeneke once told The Missourian newspaper. “I didn’t have any plans to go someplace else.”

The secrets to Koeneke’s success include the obvious, such as sound fundamentals, but also a caring heart. Believe it or not, but he has never cut a player from the team.

“I don’t think I could bring myself to cut a player if he is willing to work,” Koeneke once told the Columbia Tribune.

His district championships cover the years 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018.

“I truly love what I’ve done all these years,” Koeneke said. “I had the honor of coaching our son, Zack, for four years, and it was a great experience. We made it to the Final Four (2008) with him as our utility guy, pitching and playing the infield corners.”

Will Year 45 be his last?

“I don’t have a number of years or a number of games or a number of wins (in mind to reach). It’s as long as I feel like I’m being effective,” Koeneke was once quoted as saying. “I know it won’t continue forever, but I’m not going to say when.”