Inductees

It’s almost as if an author dreamed up one of the most compelling American sports stories, grabbed a notepad and, lo and behold, produced a New York Times best-seller.

After all, how else to explain Tony Armstrong’s coaching career? He was the kid who once shot hoops in a southwest Missouri armory and years later, self-described as stubborn and rough around the edges, coached teams to hundreds of wins and helping them hoist state championship banners. And all after – get this — his career almost never happened.

You see, in 1979, all of 21 and still very much green to coaching, Armstrong was among several candidates for the Marionville High School boys basketball job and was told a decision would be announced after the school board meeting. But the call never came that day … or the next or the next after that. A full week went by before it finally did.

“I was lucky,” said Armstrong, who became one of the most successful coaches in state history, which is the reason why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Armstrong with the Class of 2018.

Armstrong coached 32 seasons, including 30 for Missouri high schools. In fact, he compiled a 525-314 record in stops at Marionville, West Plains, Aurora, Lamar, Stockton, Blue Springs, Odessa and Springfield Catholic high schools.

Five teams reached the Final Four, and four won it all – the 1982 Marionville boys and the 2001, 2003 and 2004 Stockton girls. His 2002 Stockton girls placed third.

He also led teams to eight district championships and 10 conference championships (eight undefeated), and four times was the Missouri State Coach of the Year and, in 2004, was a nominee for the National Federation of High School’s High School Coach of the Year.

Even better, he did it his way, demanding an old-fashioned work ethic of players and accepting no excuses. That’s why he’s still good friends with former assistants Dan Evans, Kenny Shipps, Jeff Harden and Frank Gallant.

“Those guys were so helpful and not just from an Xs and Os standpoint but for their loyalty,” Armstrong said. “I made a few people upset but that’s what happens when you try to change culture.”

He had cut his teeth on the tough lessons of high school coach Dewey Pennell, who turned Armstrong into a two-time All-State and Big 8 Conference guard who scored 1,192 career points. Often, he was in the local armory shooting hoops.

Eventually, Armstrong played four seasons for Missouri State University, earning the 1979 Andy McDonald Award, before Marionville gave him his first shot.

“I walked in there and I had kids … that job was easy,” Armstrong said of Marionville. “They showed up on time. They took instruction and they enjoyed being coached.”

The 1982 team featured Ted Young and Preston Estes, and its state championship run included a key victory against Alton in the state quarterfinals at Hammons Student Center. That night, Armstrong scrapped Marionville’s season-long, man-to-man defense and turned to a zone in the second half in a come-from-behind victory.

Eventually, he spent 10 years in Lamar, coaching boys basketball for six seasons. One of his teams – with four seniors who had won only a few games in middle school — became Lamar’s first varsity basketball team in school history to win conference and district titles in the same season.

“They were persistent,” Armstrong said. “They showed up every day.”

At Stockton, his girls teams were 160-20 from 1999 to 2004, and basketball folks were surprised he took the job in the first place. The Lady Tigers had won only one conference and district title, both in 1981.

“I was pretty demanding and I’m sure people were thinking, ‘Tony coaching girls?’” Armstrong said. “But I thought, ‘The girls have brothers who play on the football team, so they’ve got to hard-nosed kids. And they were.”

In four seasons at Blue Springs High School, Armstrong guided the program to two conference titles and 26- and 27-win seasons his final two years, helping many players earn college basketball scholarships.

What a journey it’s been, and made possible by the support of his wife, Terre, and their basketball-playing children, Jenna and Sean, as well as every community.

“The parents – they would tell their kids to go work hard and do what he’s telling you to do,” Armstrong said. “I have to thank 2,000 people for whatever I accomplished. And I have to thank players who accepted me coaching them.”