Inductees

In 1977, after five seasons coaching junior varsity football at Lutheran North High School, Mike Russell got quite the shock.

There he was, meeting with the principal and a longtime assistant coach, when the news dropped. The guy hired to be the new varsity football coach had backed out.

“So (the AD) asked which one of us two was going to be the new head coach,” Russell said. “The other assistant had been the head coach in the late 1960s, and quickly pointed in my direction. I was head coach by default.”

And with that, a coach who did not play football in high school and college was suddenly leading the program.

You can say it worked out well, and his success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Russell with the Class of 2021.

Russell coached Lutheran North football over the next 24 seasons, with his teams earning a 185-74 record and 20 winning seasons. Four teams won state titles in Class 3 (1981, 1988, 1989, 1990), while 15 others won district titles and seven earned ABC League championships.

Those teams earned him Coach of the Year awards from The Sporting News, Associated Press and the National Federation High School Association. Eight of his football players reached the National Football League, including the Broncos’ Steve Atwater, recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Additionally, Russell coached the baseball team for 39 seasons, with his teams compiling a 528-372 record.

The secret to his success?

“Love for the game, love for coaching, love for the students, discipline, organization, emphasis on fundamentals and conditioning,” Russell said. “And most of all, by far, great kids.”

Russell wrestled and played baseball at Berkeley High School and, after attending a wrestling clinic at Southeast Missouri State, decided to follow his mentor, Berkeley wrestling coach Paul Ziebol.

However, when seeking a teaching and wrestling coaching job, Russell was turned down by every school but one – Lutheran North, which didn’t have a wrestling team.

That was in 1972. And with football practices already under way, it turned out that the staff was short-handed. And so Russell became the JV coach.

Over the next few years, three head varsity football coaches – Jim Manion, Carl Holschen and Al Polich – departed for other jobs.

What few may not have known was that Russell hadn’t played football in high school or college. Yet the varsity football coaches set up Russell for success.

“I learned a lot about football, coaching, working with parents and administering a team from all three,” Russell said. “They were all excellent coaches – math teachers and well-organized.”

Lutheran North was in the ABC League, which between 1975 and 1991 accounted for 15 state football championships either in Class 2 or Class 3. The titles were won by Country Day School, John Burroughs and Lutheran North.

In his second season, the Crusaders qualified for the state playoffs. A year later, they beat tradition-rich Country Day School to advance.

The 1981 team (12-1) beat Marshall 14-6 to win Class 3. The 1988 team (12-1) beat Chillicothe 34-0 in the state championship. The 1989 team (12-1) beat Branson 28-26, scoring 12 points in the final 87 seconds.

In 1990, Lutheran North (13-1) beat Oak Grove 37-13 in the finals. The 1993 team finished as state runner-up in a 13-12 loss to Warsaw.

“We had a solid offseason weight program, especially for those days,” Russell said. “The seniors from each team passed on the culture and expectations to the underclassmen. We also had continuity in coaching staff freshman team through varsity level.”

Russell coached baseball, having worked as an assistant on the freshman team and then serving as the JV coach before taking over in 1975.

“It was a different intensity and mindset, but it was still about fundamentals and putting an athlete in a position to be successful,” said Russell, whose teams didn’t take much batting practice.

Overall, Russell thanks many others for his success: SEMO wrestling coach Ken Tillman, Lutheran North administrators Rich Wallace and Ed Reitz, as well as Lutheran North coaches Carl Holschen, Rich Langefeld, Mark Meschke, Jim Manion, Mark Marting, Kirk Mueller, Ken Weiting, Mike Prange, Bill Schiller, Trevor Thornton, John Kersten, Troy Fehrs, Aaron Mueller, & Jon Mueller, as well as John Burroughs coach Jim Lemen (MSHOF 2016), MICDS coach Ron Holtman (MSHOF 2014), and baseball coaches Roy Plund and Billy Marston.

More importantly, he had the support of his wife, Bonnie, and their children, Stephanie, Ben, Neal and Evan.

“I feel very fortunate for the support, challenges, encouragement, and opportunities I had growing up and growing as a coach,” Russell said.