Inductees

It’s often said that the wife of a high school football coach knows the coach the best.

So when looking back at the career of the late Geary Labuary, his widow, Stephanie, has the stories – some that explain why so many folks in the central Missouri town of California still revere the coach to this day.

“He could see the entire field,” Stephanie said. And while she was referring exactly to the field, she just as well could have meant the entire field of life, for Coach Labuary not only won a ton of games but rescued a lot of teens along the way.

That’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Coach Labuary with the Class of 2022, on a night when the Hall of Fame also inducted his brother, Dale, the former Monroe City High School football coach.

Geary retired with 307 career victories, coaching his final 15 seasons at California High School. He guided the Pintos to a 14-0 mark in 1997 and the Class 3 state championship. The Pintos also finished as state runners-up in 1998 and 1999. He later returned as defensive coordinator, helping the program to state semifinal berths in 2013 and 2014.

He passed away in 2017 after a battle with cancer.

“We started dating in 1968 in high school,” Stephanie said. “He told me when he we were juniors that, in seventh grade, he knew he wanted to be a football coach. Back then, he also played on neighborhood teams and everybody knew he was going to be a football coach. He drew up all the plays.”

A graduate of Festus High School, Labuary went on to play on a football scholarship at Northwest Missouri State University. He coached his first seven seasons at Windsor High School in Imperial, spent a season in Clinton, Ill., then in Albany in northwest Missouri before heading to the far northwestern Kansas community of Beloit.

However, two tornadoes in different weeks in summer 1991 destroyed parts of the Labuary home, and so the family looked to move back to Missouri.

Folks in California soon learned that Labuary could set up their football program – and young men – for success. Upon his arrival in 1993, Labuary instituted a weightlifting program and, in short order, there were winning seasons and playoff runs.

“He could have run for mayor,” Stephanie said with a laugh. “It was neat. We were very welcomed when we came here. They knew he had had a winning record.”

Labuary also had a track record of rescuing teenagers and setting them on the right path.

At his first job, he had welcomed a 17-year-old boy who needed a safe environment and arrived with only a pair of blue jeans, socks and underwear.

That story seemed to repeat with every stop, with one California teen being welcomed with open arms after his parents had left town overnight. The teen had slept in his car for four days.

“Dale and Geary were teddy bears in grizzly bear suits,” Stephanie said. “Their whole goal was to help boys and to win football games.”

It could be argued that Labuary’s good deeds were rewarded by the football gods.

The 1997 team finished 14-0 after scoring a 36-19 victory against MICDS, or Mary Institute Country Day School. The Pintos advanced to the state championship game each of the next two seasons, falling only 33-22 to Boonville and 7-0 to Aurora, respectively.

“He radiated an aura of, ‘We’re going to win at all times,’” said Daniel Williams, a lineman of the 1997 and 1998 teams. “That’s something the community of California certainly got behind. And that’s unforgettable for those players from those 1997 to 1999 teams playing in the TWA Dome, because there would be 5,000 Pinto fans cheering us on.”

Among the notable stats was that four freshmen started on varsity in Labuary’s tenure. In other words, the best players played, not any favorites. Additionally, Labuary was always quick to defend players.

“He would tell fans, ‘Coaching high school boys is different than what you see in the NFL on Sundays and college on Saturdays,” Stephanie said.

That’s not to say Labuary didn’t elevate players’ talent. He also was there for his family, for son Tony and daughter Katie. Geary also served on MSHSAA’s board

“You could have been an average player, and he made you good,” Stephanie said. “And if you were talented, he would make you All-District. He just loved the game of football.”