Inductees

Talk about having a destiny to coach. As a teen, Howard Quigley kept books on ways to play baseball, football and basketball – and you could find his nose buried in them just before the start of every season.

Eventually, as a baseball player at Missouri State University, Quigley realized the obvious, that the game was over for him. Well, as a player anyway. Yet, maybe he could start a new chapter, in coaching.

“At some point in your college career, you have to pursue something you’re going to be passionate about,” Quigley said. “I enjoyed sports, so it was easy for me.”

He spent 31 years leading high school teams in the Ozarks – using fundamentals learned from those books and beyond – and his success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Quigley with the Class of 2020.

In his three decades, Quigley earned 458 wins combined at Billings, Aurora and Republic high schools.

At Billings, his baseball teams (1987-1991) were 110-12, winning a state championship in 1990 as well as four district championships. At Aurora in five seasons, he was 118-41 and led the Houn’ Dawgs to a number of firsts: a state quarterfinal berth and three district titles. In 19 seasons at Republic, he had 222 wins, with district titles in 2005 and 2006 and a Central Ozark Conference championship.

More than 100 of his players earned college baseball scholarships.

“I treated the kids like I wanted someone to treat me,” Quigley said. “I expected every kid who came out there to play as hard as they could. And my expectation was to get the most out of each player as I possibly could.”

Baseball had long been in his DNA, so to speak. In Paducah, Ky., Quigley played for St. Mary High School. As a senior, he led a 19-win Vikings team to the state semifinals, batting .423 with four home runs, 11 doubles, 22 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

Quigley signed with Murray State University and then played for Paducah Community College before playing for Missouri State (1983-1985), then coached by a young Keith Guttin (MSHOF 2015). Quigley was a team captain in 1985.

Influenced by the football mentality of his high school coach, Richie Durbin, and the intense Guttin, Quigley had a similar style.

“Most of the time, I coached out of the fear of losing,” Quigley said. “I had to practice everything. We worked on bunt coverages., everything. If you screwed up or we weren’t prepared for a situation, I always felt that was my fault.”

When he took over Billings baseball after two seasons coaching softball, Quigley enhanced the field and then beefed up the schedule as Class 1 Billings took on Central Ozark Conference teams. At times, tennis courts and parking lots were practice infields on rainy spring days.

The 1990 Billings team beat Holcomb 8-7 in the state championship game after scoring six runs with two outs in the last inning.

That team included Gary Ebert, Mike Fenske, Chris Gold, Chris Bos, Jason Salchow, Pat McMillan, Randy Robertson, Eric Herd, Danny Young, Joe Vermale, Scott Geld, Lyndell Plowman, Allan Stolte, Jon Nielebock, Terry Russell, Craig Harter and Matt Chastain. Fenske threw 10 no-hit innings – six in the semifinal, four in the final.

Billings’ 1991 team placed third.

Aurora had only one returning starter when he took over in 1992. Years later, some of his Aurora players on those teams had sons on Aurora’s 2017 and 2018 state championship teams, and the coach was one of his former players, too.

Quigley’s Republic teams often finished in the COC’s top half, quite a feat considering the conference’s overall strength. One player symbolized many of those teams.

“(Harrison Waters) and his dad would go to the ball field, and his dad would hit him fly balls forever,” Quigley said. “Next thing you knew, three or four more (players) would be out there. We were very competitive.”

Quigley credits his parents, Jerry and Christine, along with brothers Gaylerd, Robert and Dennis – all college athletes – for readying him for college and beyond. And he cannot say enough about the support of his wife of 35 years, Ann, and their daughters, Morgan and Allison.

Assistant coaches were instrumental: Billings’ Randy Robertson, Aurora’s Steve Turnbull, Brandon McGinnis and Corey Roy, and Republic’s Brandon Weldy, Curt Plotner, James Hoffman and Denny McHenry.

“I lived the dream,” Quigley said. “If you can do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. They all made that possible.”