Inductees

In the southwest corner of Southwest Missouri lies one of the best basketball stories you’ve likely never heard of.

Back in the winter of 1963, the Exeter High School Boys Basketball team authored one of the most impressive – and unlikely – undefeated state championship seasons in the history of the Show-Me State.

It is, to this day, the only state championship in the history of Exeter High School.

The Tigers went 35-0 in 1963, defeating South Iron in the Class S state championship game in Springfield. Some 60 years later, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the Exeter High School Boys Basketball state champions from 1963 as part of its Class of 2022.

Exeter’s undefeated season sparked a run to a state record. Coach Tom Hewgley’s Tigers also won the first 17 games of the 1963-1964 as well, setting a then-Missouri record by winning 52 consecutive games. That number still ranks fifth in state annals all these years later.

Hewgley, who was just 27 when the Tigers won the state title, was the unquestioned leader of the team. After all, he’d been coaching that particular group of seniors for quite a while.

“Coach Hewgley was our coach from about seventh grade on,” said former Tiger Byron Tucker. “That helped a lot because he was a pretty young coach and we liked that. It meant a lot to us that we played the same type of basketball for about six years.”

It wasn’t much of a secret as to how Exeter won all of those games. Opponents knew what was coming, and they were powerless to stop it.

“They used to say we started pressing when we got off the bus,” said Gary Hopkins, “and didn’t stop until we got back on it.”

After losing in regionals to close out the 1962 season, the Tigers began the next campaign by winning a squeaker against Crane, 43-42, in the season opener. But the wins kept coming. Milestone victories included wins against Pearce City (57-53) for the Spring Valley Conference Tournament title, and a rout of Midway (63-38) to capture the Ozark 8 Conference championship.

Exeter didn’t have any stars. The Tigers won as a team.

“We were teammates,” Hopkins said. “It wasn’t five individuals trying to see who the best player was. It was a team effort.”

Here’s how Hewgley described that 1963 season – and team — to local newspaper reporters shortly after winning the state title.

“I think the secret to this team’s success is teamwork,” he said. “These boys are the finest I have coached. They are a great bunch to work with and good students.”

Even though it’s been nearly 60 years, the Exeter community still reveres that 1963 team.

“The Exeter community has always admired this group of young men,” Fly said. “They were honored in 2013 for the 50th anniversary of the state championship at a home basketball game. Some of the team members still come to Exeter events regularly to support the Tigers. This honor of the 1962-1963 team has created a renewed excitement for future, current, and past Exeter Tigers.”

Members of the 1962-63 Exeter Tigers team included: Byron Tucker, senior; Jim Cowherd, senior; John Edie, senior; the late Jim Cox, senior; Gary Hopkins, junior; the late Johnny Beattie Jr., junior; the late Tim Mattingly, junior; John McNabb, junior; Jerry Swearingen, junior; the late Terry Moore, junior; Allen Moudy, junior; Sherrell Cassity, sophomore; managers Perry Epperly and Clyde Brown; and the late coach, Tom Hewgley.