Inductees

Born on a frosty Christmas morning of 1946 on his grandpa’s and grandma’s farm south of Nixa, he learned to make do with anything: No electricity but kerosene lanterns. No faucets but water captured from a nearby spring. No nearby grocery store but armed with his grandpa’s old .22 rifle and a bamboo fishing pole.

Larry Whiteley loved it all.

“After I got my chores done, I would roam the woods and fields around the old farm by myself,” Whiteley said. “I fell in love with the outdoors and the nature I discovered. It became part of who I am today.”

Eventually, he championed the outdoors through radio shows and magazine & newspaper columns, first in the Ozarks and then nationally, in what became one of the most improbable success stories in the Show-Me State. And it is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Whiteley with the Class of 2022.

A 1964 graduate of Nixa High School and Navy veteran, Whiteley has voiced more than 15,000 radio shows and penned more than 5,000 columns dating back to 1979, when his family created a media company called The Great Ozarks Outdoors, Inc.

Outdoor radio shows for KTTS AM & FM and an outdoor TV segment on KSPR 33 in Springfield kick-started it all. He became the voice of the award-winning Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World Radio carrying The Great Ozarks Outdoors for 30 years – with the show airing on 1,200 stations, including the American Armed Forces Radio Network.

Additionally, Whiteley was the Corporate Public Relations Manager for Bass Pro Shops for 23 years, and his voice was heard in every every Bass Pro Shops store in America, as it welcomed customers, noted the latest sale and provided outdoor tips. In 2021, eight years after retiring, his first book titled “Seasons: Stories of Family, God and the Great Outdoor” was published.

And it all started on a farm, where he taught himself to hunt and fish – and not for solely for fun.

“I had to make every shot count because we couldn’t afford more bullets,” Whiteley said. “Grandma needed me to bring home game to help feed us.”

“The Great Ozarks Outdoors” was right in his hunting scope, er, wheelhouse. It included shows on KTTS and KSPR and a magazine, in which he wrote all the articles and sold all of the advertising.

Whiteley worked in sales for KTTS, where then-general manager Curt Brown talked him into taking over the fishing report. Whiteley made it his own, right down to adding fishing tips. It expanded to AM and FM daily, with hunting, camping, hiking and everything else outdoors-related. Soon, KSPR requested Whiteley to create an outdoors TV segment.

Among the listeners was Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris (MSHOF 1997. He also spotted a cover of The Great Ozarks Outdoors magazine, which featured a kid wearing a Bass Pro hat.

Initially, Morris asked for a monthly company newsletter but had bigger ideas: A Bass Pro radio show, and columns for weekly newspapers. The idea? Media outlets could sell advertising around the show or column, with Whiteley mentioning Bass Pro Shops by name.

Whiteley still writes for the Christian County Headliner and Marshfield Mail, Hook & Barrel, Outdoor Guide, ShowMe and Missouri Conservation Federation. Outdoors.com, crappienow.com and 1source.basspro.com also carry his writings.

“You don’t always know how much you are affecting the lives of others when you’re doing it,” Whiteley said, “but, when someone does tell me my spoken or written words got them into the outdoors and it changed their lives in some way, that is very humbling and I thank God again for giving me the gifts to do that.”

Whiteley belongs to the Professional Outdoor Media Association, Association of Great Lakes Outdoors Writers, Southeast Outdoor Press Association and Missouri Outdoor Communicators. He also is the Outdoor Ambassador for the Branson Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Among his numerous honors was induction into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 1999 for his writing and broadcasting.

Whiteley long had the support of many, especially his wife of 52 years, Maryann, the corporation’s bookkeeper. They are parents to Daron and Kelly and grandparents to Hunter, Ty, Sam and Anna.

“As I look back on it now, it has been a blessing to have been able to do all that I have done and do it with my family,” Whiteley said. “I firmly believe that the outdoors helped shape our kids and grandkids into the fine people they are today.”