Inductees

His name is Marty Prather, but people from around Springfield, the Midwest and across the country know him simply as “The Sign Man.” Born in Evansville and raised in Bellbrook, Ohio, Prather moved to the Ozarks in 1981. An avid St. Louis Cardinals and Southwest Missouri State University fan, he began creating signs during the 1985 World Series, the I-70 series, which featured the cross state foes St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. At first, Prather had planned to do one sign…a one-time thing…to get the crowd more involved in the games. However, after receiving a phone call from his father in Florida telling him that he and his friend were seen dressed in tuxedos holding up his “The Fat Lady Is Singing” sign, the one-time thing got a bit out of control. To date, Prather estimates that he has created approximately 700 signs with over 1,400 clever sayings.