Inductees

It was a memorable spring of 1990 for Billings High School, its baseball team and those who called the Christian County community home. The Wildcats enjoyed an unblemished start to their baseball season and stood on the brink of a historic accomplishment heading into the Class 1 state tournament finale at Simmons Field in Columbia.

But what happened next to close that dream season for Billings—a Hollywood ending if ever there was one—was so unbelievable that it continues to leave the players and coaches who lived it still shaking their heads in disbelief more than three decades later. It’s also why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the undefeated Wildcats’ 1990 State Championship team as part of the Class of 2022.

Led by head coach Howard Quigley (MSHOF 2020), Billings was accustomed to dominating the opposition thanks to an overpowering offense and a talented group of hurlers. The Wildcats lost just one game the previous season—an extra-inning loss in the district final—and cruised to victories in their first 19 games of the 1990 season, before ultimately winning 48 of 49 games over a two-year stretch.

“The team chemistry was really strong,” Gary Ebert said. “Being a small school, we all had known each other for years. The seniors had played sports together since elementary school, most of us from kindergarten on. Same with most of the underclassmen.”

Quigley, who went 110-12 in five seasons at Billings and posted 456 coaching wins over the course of his 31-year career, played a key role in that success, instilling the winning mentality his highly skilled group needed to get over the hump. Several players pointed to the former Missouri State University team captain’s confidence and approach to the game as critical ingredients to their run of dominance.

“We were on a roll,” Mike Fenske said. “The whole team was locked in, from top to bottom, that year. The best way to describe it is that the entire team had confidence that we could compete against anyone, and we never felt like we were out of the game. Coming from a small school, we always had a chip on our shoulder and wanted to prove something.”

But it was the Wildcats’ closing act in Columbia that left the biggest impression. They did it with pitching and defense in the semifinal round, as the duo of Fenske and Chris Gold combined on a no-hitter — one of just 14 in the history of the Missouri Final Four — in a 10-0 win over Leeton.

Then, in the championship game against Holcomb, the Wildcats used their offense to mount an epic comeback. Shrugging off a five-run deficit going into the contest’s final frame, Billings scored six times with two out in the inning to pull out an unbelievable 8-7 decision — and the school’s first state title.

In addition to the heroics of Fenske, who tossed four more no-hit innings in the title game, Quigley and assistant coach Randy Robertson received contributions from a deep roster that included Ebert, Chris and Scott Gold, Chris Bos, Jason Salchow, Pat McMillan, Eric Herd, Danny Young, Joe Vermule, Lyndell Plowman, Allan Stolte, Jon Nielbock, Terry Russell, Craig Harter and Matt Chastain.

“Winning the state championship, especially in the way we did it, meant more than we ever knew at the time,” Ebert said. “We were all overwhelmed at the response from the town, amazed at the amount of people that made the trip to watch the game and the number of people who were in town waiting on us to arrive back in Billings late that night.”

Billings added a third-place finish at the 1991 state championship after extending its win streak to 30-straight games early in the season.

It was a storybook ending to a magical season— a perfect 21-0 campaign, punctuated by two of the more remarkable performances on a diamond in Missouri prep postseason history. Memories that, for those who made it all possible, still inspire smiles and warm recollections.

“Several of us still live in Billings and we spend a lot of nights in lawn chairs watching our kids play together, Ebert said. “Hardly a game goes by where someone doesn’t bring up our season from 1990, or something comes up about what Coach Quigley would say about this or that, or what he may have done in a situation.”

Memories that, for others, still inspire awe and bewilderment.

“It was unbelievable,” Fenske said. “Truly amazing.”