Inductees

For most athletes, their final game is the end of a great era, but the game goes on. Fortunately, it has a way to welcoming some back with open arms.

And so there Dr. Dave Glover was in the mid-1980s, a former All-State football lineman practicing medicine in Warrensburg, when the call came in.

“My gravitation to sports medicine began with a love of sports and missing the energy of team sports,” Glover recalled. “I was asked if I would like to be on the sidelines for Warrensburg High School by then-athletic director John Culp, mainly because I was young at that time and had played high school sports.”

Soon, the local college – the University of Central Missouri – came calling, too. And talk about making an impact. Dr. Glover served as UCM’s head team physician for 35 years (1989-2024), and his success in sports medicine is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted him with the Class of 2025.

A 1972 graduate of Bolivar High School and later from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Glover was also the head team physician with Warrensburg High School from 1985 to 2009.

Dr. Glover has been a family physician with Central Family and Sports Medicine since 1981, when he joined Western Missouri Medical Center.

He has been a member of the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians since 1978, and the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine since 1992.

He earned his Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in 1993, served on the MSHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee from 1994 to 2020 and was the National Federation of High School Associations’ liaison for AMSSM in 1995 and 1996. Dr. Glover also was a charter member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.

Among his numerous published works is “Sideline Preparedness for the Team Physician: A Consensus Statement.”

All this from a former football lineman who earned All-State in 1971 and turned to medicine on the encouragement of Dr. Kenneth Glover, a family physician in Mount Vernon who suggested a clinical integrated approach at UMKC.

“I really didn’t understand what medicine was,” Glover said, “but I knew my uncle had a wonderful life of helping others.”

Sports medicine did not begin seriously expanding until the mid-to- late 1980s, although UCM had team physicians dating back to 1946.

“When I transitioned to university sports, I felt I needed to increase my knowledge and skills by attending conferences and studying,” Glover said, noting that, in 1992, he joined like-minded sports medicine physicians as a charter member of the AMSSM.

Glover sits back and laughs a little about his journey since. In his early days, athletes had to show a small card showing that they had been medically cleared to play.

As Glover got involved, he realized athletes needed a multitude of marks on their checklists in order to be eligible.

Little did he know that many in the industry, first within the state and then beyond, would look to him for guidance on numerous issues.

Among Glover’s numerous published works was a joint statement titled, “Sideline Preparedness for the Team Physician: A Consensus Statement.”

“This was a group that met representing multiple organizations involved in sports medicine to evaluate essential and preferable requirements for sideline management of sports,” Glover said. “I represented the American Academy of Family Physicians at that meeting. The document provided guidance to those responsible for the care of athletes on the fields of competition. It discussed a number of issues including pre-event evaluations, equipment availability, etc.”

Among his mentors were Dr. Reed Maxson (MSHOF 1985), the UCM head team physician from 1946 to 1991, as well as Dr. Ron VanDam (MSHOF 1988), the head athletic trainer for UCM.

“Working with athletes is great!” Glover said. “They are generally disciplined, hardworking, focused and goal oriented. Their commitment to improvement, whether it is directed at skill acquisition or regaining health, is often exceptional. I have found that when you are honest with athletes, they are honest with you (unless of course that honesty keeps them off the field).”

Fortunately, Glover long had the support of his wife, Jan, and their sons Justin, Cook, Drew and Spencer and their families.

“I am proud of the relationships I have made over the years based on honesty and trust with numerous athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and administers,” Glover said. “I am proud of how we together have been able to promote the health and safety of our athletes.”