Inductees

In a community that loved reading about its sports teams in the morning paper, they were the ones who covered the games, wrote features and previews, took calls about area games late into the night and sprinted to beat deadline.

In other words, The Joplin Globe Sports Writers – the late Wendell Redden, Anvil Welch, Jim Henry and Jim Fryar – delivered one of the top-notch sports sections in the state. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the four with the Class of 2025.

They combined for 157 years of experience, with the Redden Era – counting his three key hires – stretching from 1951 to 2021. They kept eyes on nearly 100 high schools in the region, local colleges and youth sports. And their copy? They knocked it out of the park.

“(Wendell) loved the people that were involved in sports,” said Susan Redden, his widow and a former Globe reporter of 40 years. “And he never met a stranger. It might have been some years since he saw someone, but he always remembered their names.”

Wendell, who passed away in 2011, started there in 1951 before graduating from Joplin High School and assumed sports editor duties in 1952. He covered local sports, as well as the Kansas City Athletics’ 1955 home opener, the 1969 Arkansas-Texas football national championship game, Big Eight Conference football games, the 1972 Missouri Southern NAIA National Championship Football Team (MSHOF 2020) and was on the Big Eight Conference Skywriters tour for 10 years.

He later worked for the sports information department at Missouri Southern, coached youth baseball and was tournament director for Golden Gloves, president of the Joplin Boys Club and a founder of the Joplin Sports Authority.

He was so revered that the Joplin Athletic Complex features Wendell Redden Stadium.

“Baseball was his favorite, but he loved all sports,” Susan said. “(Coaches and athletes) would tell him anything because of the way he treated them.”

Welch gave 40 years to sports coverage, 31 with the Globe. A 1964 Eminence High School graduate, he initially worked for the West Plains and Springfield papers.

“When Wendell hired me, he just told me to continue doing what I was doing,” said Welch, who primarily focused on Webb City and Joplin high schools.

Notably, Welch covered the rise of the Webb City Football Program (MSHOF 2015). Best of all, he cared about teams and their fans. And, because his passion was high school sports, he always rushed back to the newsroom after covering games in order to help take phone calls of other games. It would grind his gears if a game didn’t get reported.

“I wanted to have two or three stories in the paper each day I worked,” Welch said. “There were plenty of days I missed that goal.”

A 1971 Boonville High School graduate, Henry has 54 years in newsrooms, including 39 years for the Globe (1978-2003 & 2007-2021). He primarily focused on Parkwood High School and Joplin High School, as well as Missouri Southern.

He covered eight World Series games, a Little League World Series, Missouri Southern’s 1992 National Softball Championship Team (MSHOF 2023), as well as nearby Pittsburg State athletics.

He became the sports editor of the Boonville Daily News right after high school, and even handled hard news, learning from Garet Von Netzer, Wally Lage, Lyn McDaniel and Susan Donley before moving to Waynesville. Welch recommended him to Redden.

“One thing that helped me early in my career was I would look over the proofreader’s shoulder while she was working on my story, and she would explain why she made the changes she did,” Henry said. “That way, I could avoid making the same mistake again.”

A 1966 graduate of Shaw Memorial High School in Kidder and College of the Ozarks, Fryar worked for the Globe from 1975 until 2017.

He primarily covered McAuley Catholic High School, Missouri Southern and high school track & field meets. He also handled most of the page design. Fryar started on the C of O newspaper staff and Branson-area papers.

“Part of the reason for the success of the Globe sports staff was the cooperation of the vast majority of area coaches,” Fryar said. “For years, until newspaper readership began to seriously decline, we would get results from most coaches … win or lose.”

Fryar added this, “We were all self-starters. We worked well together, we liked each other and bonded through the work we did.”