Four St. Louis sports standouts – the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright, the Rams’ Todd Lyght, the Blues’ Barret Jackman and racing’s Kenny Wallace – headlined the Class of 2023’s induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday at Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis.
The four were part of the Hall of Fame’s Enshrinement in St. Louis presented by Great Southern Bank, as the event drew a crowd of nearly 700 emceed by Byron Shive, CEO & Executive Director of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
“What a great class. Everyone made sports all the better in the state and fun to watch,” Shive said. “We also want to thank Great Southern Bank, table sponsors, individuals who purchased tickets, as well as those who sponsored congratulatory ads. Your support helped us put on a wonderful event.”
The Class of 2023 is as follows:
- Adam Wainwright – St. Louis Cardinals
- Todd Lyght – St. Louis Rams
- Barret Jackman – St. Louis Blues
- Kenny Wallace – Motorsports
- Jay Delsing – Golfer
- Tony Van Zant – Hazelwood Central High School football player
- Kelly Mulvihill Stahlhuth – St. Joseph’s Academy & Indiana University tennis player
- 1959-1974 Saint Louis University Men’s Soccer Era
- Greg Vitello – De Smet High School soccer & baseball coach
- Linda Wells – Softball coach
- Bernie Miklasz – Sports Columnist & Radio Commentator
- Joseph’s Academy Girls Tennis Program
- Doug Smith – St. Joseph’s Academy Girls Tennis Coach
- Lindsay Kennedy Eversmeyer – Soccer player
- Dave Loos – College basketball coach
- 1984-1989 Crystal City High School Girls Track & Field Era
- Dick Cook – Crystal City High School track & field coach
- Khalia Collier – Basketball executive
- Mark Mullin – Missouri S&T Athletic Director
- Randy Albrecht – St. Louis Community College-Meramec basketball coach
- Tom Smith – Missouri Baptist University Athletic Director
- Harry Weber – Sculptor
- 1973 Washington High School State Championship Football Team
Adam Wainwright – St. Louis Cardinals
Wainwright has pitched his entire 18 seasons in the big leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals, debuting in 2005 and continuing into 2023. During his tenure, the Cardinals won the 2006 and 2011 World Series, and won the National League pennant in 2013. Through Sept. 9, he had earned 198 wins. Twelve times he earned double digits in wins, including 20-win seasons in 2010 and 2014. He led the National League with 19 wins, starts (34) and innings pitched (233, 241.2) in both 2009 and 2013, and was a 17-game winner in 2021. The right-hander was a rookie in 2006 when he took over the closer’s role, striking out Carlos Beltran in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series to send the Cardinals on to the World Series. He has finished in the top seven of Cy Young Award voting five times, won two Gold Gloves and was selected to three All-Star Games. He also has finished among the top 20 in MVP voting four times. Overall, he has pitched more than 2,600 innings, striking out 2,196 batters. He appeared in 16 postseason series, including five NLCS, seven NL Division Series and two NL Wild Cards.
Todd Lyght – St. Louis Rams
After a stellar career at the University of Notre Dame, Lyght played in the National Football League for 12 seasons (1991-2002), finishing with 37 interceptions and four touchdowns. He played for the Rams from his rookie season through 2000 after they made Lyght their first-round draft pick, or fifth overall of the entire draft. He was the second cornerback drafted. His best year as a pro came during the 1999 season when the St. Louis Rams won it all. That season, he had six interceptions for 112 yards and one touchdown. He also was named to the 1999 All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams. By then, he had earned his way, having started the last eight games of his rookie season after battling early season injuries. Overall, he had 835 combined tackles, including 589 solos in 175 career games. When the Rams moved to St. Louis, he started 16 games at left cornerback and finished second on the team with a then-career high four interceptions. He later played two seasons for the Detroit Lions and has given back to the game as a high school and college assistant coach.
Barret Jackman – St. Louis Blues
Jackman played in the National Hockey League from 1999 to 2016, with his first 16 seasons spent with the St. Louis Blues. The Canadian was the 17th overall selection of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and played three of the next four seasons with Regina of the Western Hockey League – he was the youngest captain ever I the team’s history – one with Worcester of the AHL before officially joining the Blues. He later won the Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) in 2003 after finishing with a plus-23 rating. In his NHL career covering 14 seasons, he averaged 20-plus minutes a game, a sign of a reliable defenseman. And Blues fans came to respect him for his physical style of play and fighting abilities. Overall, he had 181 points, or 28 goals and 153 assists. In 2006-2007, he set career highs in assists (24) and points (28). In his time in St. Louis, the Blues reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs seven times. He finished his career in 2016 after playing for the Nashville Predators, with Jackman playing in all of the team’s 14 postseason games that season.
Kenny Wallace – Motorsports
A St. Louis native who has championed the sport of car racing, Wallace has been a successful racer as well as a popular broadcaster. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988, when he drove for Dale Earnhardt. He competed in 905 races in NASCAR’s top three divisions and what a career. He amassed nine wins and 10 pole positions, 66 top fives and 173 top 10 finishes. That covered 547 Xfinity Series starts. He also had 340 in the NASCAR Cup Series. A graduate of Fox High School in Arnold, Wallace is the son of accomplished Midwestern short-track racer Russ, and brother of NASCAR drivers Rusty (MSHOF 1998) and Mike. Kenny finished runner-up in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in points in 1991 and is one of only four NASCAR drivers to have won the Most Popular Driver award multiple times. This for a competitor who began as a mechanic on his father’s race cars and Rusty’s, too, but who didn’t start racing until he was 22. He was the 1986 American Speed Association (ASA) Rookie of the Year and, two years later, finished seventh at the Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Wallace continues to compete in races.
Jay Delsing – Golf
A 1979 graduate of Saint Louis University High School, Delsing has played in more than 700 PGA TOUR events and has won more than $4 million in earnings. He has seven professional wins to his credit. He tied for second in the 1993 New England Honda Classic and the 1995 FedEx St. Jude Classic. He also has two wins on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour, winning the Fort Smith Classic in 2001 and the Omaha Classic in 2002. He also has played in The Open. Along the way, he has had three third-place finishes and 30 Top 10 finishes. Delsing, who has made 276 cuts on the PGA TOUR, earned the inaugural Dutch Harrison Stroke Average Championship trophy while in high school. That trophy is presented to the junior golfer with the lowest stroke average in the Gateway PGA Junior Program. He had an incredible 70.2 stroke average in the junior tournaments. After two years of being the Golfer of the Year in the Gateway Golfing Association, he went on to play at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) with Corey Pavin, Steve Pate, Ton Pernice, Jr., and Duffy Waldorf. Delsing was a two-time All-American there and, in recent years, he has worked broadcasts for Fox Sports.
Tony Van Zant – Hazelwood Central High School Football Player
One of the greatest high school football players the Show-Me State has ever seen was Van Zant. After his senior season at Hazelwood Central High School in 1985, Parade Magazine named him the National Player of the Year. He also had scholarship offers from Michigan, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Miami, Arkansas, Southern Cal and numerous others before ultimately choosing the University of Missouri. Van Zant rushed for 2,736 yards and 36 touchdowns that season as he led the Hawks to a state championship and 14-0 record. In the playoffs alone, which covered three games, he rushed for more than 900 yards and scored five touchdowns and threw for another. That capped an incredible career in which he rushed for 6,128 yards and a national-record of 91 touchdowns. Van Zant, who injured a knee during an exhibition game before college, underwent two knee surgeries and played the 1990 and 1991 seasons for Mizzou.
Kelly Mulvihill Stahlhuth – Tennis
Stahlhuth was a three-time state champion at St. Joseph’s Academy (1982, 1983, 1984). Years later, she earned induction into the Indiana Hoosiers Athletics Hall of Fame, as she was a four-year letterwinner and served as team captain in 1988 and 1989. Stahlhuth helped the Hoosiers win the Big Ten Conference in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and was All-Big Ten all four years. She also was the Big Ten MVP in 1988 and 1989. In four seasons, she was 138-44 in singles play and 111-29 in doubles. She played in four NCAA Championships in singles and three in doubles, earning All-American honors in doubles in 1987 and 1989. She and Stephanie Reece won doubles at the 1988 All-American Championships and was selected to the 1989 Rolex Collegiate All-Star Team. She later was the Washington University women’s tennis coach from 2005 to 2021. There, her teams were 215-115 (.652) and earned 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including 11 consecutive from 2008 to 2018. Eleven of her players earned 14 All-American honors. Stahlhuth was the 2015 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year by the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). She is now the District Activities Director of the Bayless School.
1959-1974 Saint Louis University Men’s Soccer Era
The Billikens men’s soccer teams from 1959 to 1974 won 10 national titles, with the years covering 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1973. They were national runner-up in 1961, 1971 and 1974. The 1964 team reached the national semifinals, and the 1964 team was a national quarterfinalist. Bob Guelker coached the first five national title teams. The first was 11-1, beating Bridgeport 5-2. The next season’s team (14-1) edged Maryland 3-2. The 1962 team (12-0) scored a 4-3 win against Maryland. The 1963 team (13-1) beat Navy 3-0 to win it all. The 1965 team (14-0) edged Michigan State 1-0. Harry Keough coached the next five national title teams. The 1967 team (8-3-2) was a co-national champion. The 1969 team (13-0) topped San Francisco 4-0. The 1970 team (14-0-1) beat UCLA 1-0. The 1972 team (15-2-3) defeated UCLA 4-2. The 1973 team (15-2-3) beat UCLA 2-1 in overtime. Three players combined to win five Hermann Trophy awards – Al Trost (1969, 1970), Mike Seerey (1971, 1972) and Dan Counce (1973). SLU also filled 27 slots on All-American lists in the era.
Greg Vitello – De Smet High School Soccer & Baseball Coach
Vitello coached the De Smet Jesuit High School boys soccer program for 46 years, and his teams won five state championships (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2011). They also had four other Final Four finishes – a state runner-up in 1992, a third-place finish in 2008 and two fourth-place finishes in 2001 and 2002. His program developed more than 250 collegiate players, including 80 who went on to NCAA Division I programs. In 35 years of coaching baseball, Vitello’s De Smet teams reached five Final Fours. His 2000 team won the Class 4 state championship. The program sent 90 players to college programs, including 35 to Division I teams. Twelve were drafted by Major League Baseball clubs, and two reached the big leagues, including Bill Mueller, who played 10 ½ seasons in Major League Baseball. Vitello has been elected to halls of fame at De Smet, Benedictine College and by the Missouri High School Soccer Coaches, Missouri High School Baseball Coaches, St. Louis Amateur Baseball and St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. In 1990, he was the Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches. Vitello is a 1964 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Niles, Ill., and a 1968 graduate of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan.
Linda Wells – Softball Coach
A graduate of Pacific High School, Wells played summer Khoury League and Women’s Major Fastpitch softball, garnering All-Star and MVP honors while playing for the St. Louis Browns, Kirkwood Chargers and Kutis. She was a five-sport athlete at Southeast Missouri State University and later became of the nation’s best collegiate softball coaches – first at the University of Minnesota and then at Arizona State University. Her 914 career wins at one time ranked in the top 10 in NCAA history. At Minnesota, she coached softball from 1974 to 1989, and also led the women’s basketball and volleyball teams. As a softball coach, she led the Gophers to a 351-264-1 record. The 1978 team finished third in the AIAW College World Series, and her teams won five conference titles (1976, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1988). At Arizona State, her teams were 563-415 over 16 seasons (1990-2005), making Wells the winningest coach in program history. She led the Sun Devils to two Women’s College World Series, in 1999 and 2002, and 12 NCAA Regionals, including seven consecutive from 1997 to 2003. Seven players earned 12 All-American honors. She also was a coach for Team USA in 1985 and 1987, and also was the head coach of the Greek Olympic Team in 2004 and head coach of the Netherlands Olympic Team in 2008. Wells, who coached 75 All-Pac 10 Conference selections, also is an inductee of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Bernie Miklasz – Sports Columnist & Broadcaster
One of the most respected sports journalists in the country, Miklasz worked at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 1985 to 2015, primarily as its lead sports columnist. He provided extensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, the St. Louis Football Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams, as well as local colleges, soccer, world-championship boxing and multiple Olympics. Additionally, he has hosted his own radio show on 590 The Fan KNFS and written columns for “Scoops,” The Athletic, the Dallas Morning News and Baltimore News American. He also has voted on prestigious awards such as the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Cy Young Award and Heisman Trophy. A graduate of Archbishop Spalding in Severn, Md., Miklasz was voted as one of the Top 10 sports columnists in America in multiple years, won the national Eppy Award in 2014 for Best Sports Blog while at STLToday.com, and that was 12 years after being named the St. Louis Media Person of the Year in 2002 by the St. Louis Press Club. At 101 ESPN, he was selected as a Top 10 radio host, nationally, for four consecutive years, including being named No. 1 in the U.S. for best morning-drive sports program for medium-size markets.
St. Joseph’s Academy Girls Tennis Program
The St. Joseph’s Academy Girls Tennis Program has 31 top four finishes in the state meet, including 18 championships. Both numbers are the most in state history. The state title years cover 1976, 1977, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2019, 2021 and 2022. The program finished as a state runner-up eight times, third three times and fourth twice. Rosemary Wellington coached the 1976 and 1977 teams. Kathy Boles coached the state championship teams of 1994-1997, and Doug Smith coached all since 1998. Five players combined for 13 individual state championships. They are: Cindy Brightfield (1976, 1977), Kelly Mulvihill (1982, 1983, 1984), Lauren Guijon (1991, 1993), Kiki Stastny (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) and Michelle Kedzierski (2006, 2008). The program also has had 13 doubles state championships. Those teams consisted of Lynn Fitzsimmons and Tracy Kaemmerlen (1986), Jill Aboussie and Tina Harrison (1993, 1994), Jessica Bickel and Sarah Wood (1995), Julie Bockermann and Katarina Stastny (1996), Carolyn Kramer and Katarina Stasny (1997), Margaret Junker and Julie Schwarz (2005), Erin Jamison and Margaret Junker (2006), Katie Thome and Angie Tracy (2007), Grace Hyde and Taylor Reving (2011), Elizabeth Choate and Alexis Woodman (2018, 2019), Abigail Gaines and Elizabeth Choate (2020) and Emerey Gross and Abigail Gaines (2022).
Doug Smith – St. Joseph’s Academy Tennis Coach
Smith has been the longtime coach of the St. Joseph’s Academy Girls Tennis Program. In his time, the program has won 12 of its 18 state championships. The 12 represent the most in state history and cover the years 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Smith is a 1962 graduate of Aberdeen High School in South Dakota and didn’t play tennis until attending Northern State University, where he was the singles and doubles champion of the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference. During his college years, he spent summers teaching and coaching tennis at USTA tournaments, and a number of his players eventually helped Aberdeen Central High School to three consecutive state titles. Those teams, along with Smith, have since been inducted into the school’s hall of fame. Smith still serves on the Missouri Valley Tennis Hall of Fame selection committee, and among many honors, has been recognized with the Missouri Valley Tennis Association Distinguished Service Award.
Lindsay Kennedy-Eversmeyer – Soccer
Eversmeyer is synonymous with soccer and, in fact, played professionally for the St. Louis Steamers in Major League Soccer, becoming the first female in history to play men’s professional indoor soccer. A 1998 graduate of Alton High School, she was a four-year varsity letter-winner and earned First Team All-State honors – along with All-Metro, all-conference, all-area and all-sectional – in four years. The Telegraph and Post-Dispatch named her the Player of the Year her junior season, when she set the school record for single-season goals (47). In college, she played one season at the University of Kansas and three at Harris-Stowe State University through 2004. At KU, she recorded 19 points, was the Big 12 Player of the Week once and was named to two all-tournament teams. At Harris-Stowe, she set six school records in career goals (61), goals/season (24), assists/season (22), points (144), goals in a game (5) and average goals per game (1.06). She earned numerous postseason accolades, including NAIA All-American honors three times. In 2000, she became the first Harris-Stowe player to earn the American Midwest Conference Player of the Year award. From 2012-2022 she owned/coached a women’s semi-pro team called Fire & Ice Soccer. In 2017, her team won the WPSL national championship. She is now the first and only female head coach of a men’s college soccer team in the NJCAA, at Southwestern Illinois.
Dave Loos – Basketball Coach
A 1965 graduate of Mehlville High School in St. Louis, Loos is the most successful men’s basketball coach in the Ohio Valley Conference. He coached 27 years at Austin Peay University in Tennessee and 30 years overall before retiring in 2017. He was a five-time OVC Coach of the Year, and his teams won nine conference titles, including four OVC tournaments to earn trips to the NCAA Tournament. Overall, he won more than 500 games, including a 420 at Austin Peay. Only 13 other Division I coaches have had longer tenures at one school than Loos, who in 2007 saw the school name its basketball floor Dave Loos Court. He also was the athletic director at Austin Peay from 1997 to 2013. Loos arrived to Clarksville, Tenn., in 1990 after four seasons as the top assistant coach at the University of Memphis, his alma mater. There, he helped the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament berths. He previously coached at Christian Brothers College in Memphis and at Mehlville High School, where he led the team to five winning seasons and a state tournament berth. As an athlete at Mehlville, he set the school scoring record, and started at shortstop and quarterback all four years in baseball and football, respectively.
Crystal City High School Girls Track & Field Era of 1984-1989
Coached by Dick Cook, the Crystal City High School Girls Track & Field Era of 1984-1989 won six consecutive state championships in Class 2. The 1984 team scored 59 points, or 20 more than second-place Maysville. The 1985 team finished with 63 points, which were 23 better than Smithville, the runner-up. The 1986 team reached the podium with 80 points, doubling up the runner-up, Brentwood. The 1987 team scored 75.5 points, well more than second-place North Callaway’s 31. However, the next two seasons saw Crystal City dig deep to win it all. The 1988 team edged Louisiana 41-36. The 1989 team withstood a challenge by Dixon, but finished with 40 points to Dixon’s 36. Overall, the era saw Crystal City win 16 state titles combined in individual events and relays. Angie Lalumondier won five state titles, winning the 100 meters in 1987 and 1998 and the 200 meters in 1986, 1987, and 1988. Amy Cook won the 300-meter low hurdles in 1987 and the 100-meter high hurdles two years later. Kathy Meyer won the 100-meter low hurdles in 1985 and 1986, and the 300-meter low hurdles in 1986. Peggy McFarland won the 100-meter low hurdles in 1984. The 4×100-meter relay teams of 1985, 1986 and 1987 all won state titles, and the 4×200-meter relay won it all in 1986 and 1987.
Dick Cook – Crystal City High School Track & Field Coach
You can certainly talk all things track and field with Cook, and for good reason. He coached the sport at the high school level for 49 years, including 34 years at Crystal City. His 1984 to 1989 girls teams all won state championships in Class 2. In that era, Crystal City saw a combined 16 state championships by individuals and relay teams. The sport meant so much to him that he started an AAU program, the Jefferson County Jets Track Club, in the 1970s. It went on to produce athletes who competed in the Big 8 Conference – with one reaching the Olympics. Cook started his coaching career at Poplar Bluff High School, where he helped the coach there start an AAU track and field program. He also coached a season at Herculaneum and, after his Crystal City coaching tenure, coached the rest of his career at Herculaneum. Cook graduated from Crystal City in 1956 and the University of Missouri in 1960.
Khalia Collier – Basketball
Collier is being honored for her success as a sports executive. She is the owner of a professional basketball team, the St. Louis Surge, and vice president for the St. Louis City SC, a Major League Soccer expansion team. Her ownership of the Surge began a decade ago when she was just 23 years old. Collier played basketball at Fort Zumwalt High School in St. Louis, received numerous college athletic scholarship offers and played collegiately at Columbia College and Missouri Baptist University. In her time as the Surge owner, the team has won two national championships in the Global Women’s Basketball Association. Along the way, she has received numerous honors, including the St. Louis Business Journal’s 30 Under 30 Award, Power 100 award, Glamour’s Missouri Woman of the Year award, the prestigious Jack Buck Award for community impact and many others.
Mark Mullin – Missouri S&T Athletic Director
Mullin worked 40 years in NCAA Division II athletics, including 35 years at the Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla. For 28 years, he was the Director of Athletics there. During his tenure, S&T teams captured 24 conference and divisional championships and had teams reach Division II championship competition 74 times. The athletic department saw 193 individuals and 97 swim relay teams earn All-America honors. In 1991, he was presented with the Certificate of Excellence Award and won multiple Coach of the Year honors in swimming, the sport that brought him to Rolla. He coached swimming for 12 years there and led the Miners to a 96-27 dual meet record and seven regional championships. His final team finished third at the 1998 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships, the highest finish ever at the time for a minor athletic team at an NCAA championship event. He also raised funds that led to facility projects, including Gibson Arena, Allgood Bailey Stadium and the Student Recreation and Fitness Centers. In his final two years, he secured $7 million in gifts and commitments for Miner Athletics. Mullin is a graduate of Danville High School and Eastern Kentucky University, and later earned a degree from Truman State University.
Randy Albrecht – Basketball Coach
Albrecht was one of the state’s most successful basketball coaches at the collegiate level. He worked the St. Louis Community College-Meramec sidelines for 36 years. That covered 28 consecutive winning seasons, including a 20-12 mark in his final year. With 736 career junior college victories, he finished the 2012-2013 season ranked eighth among active National Junior College Athletic Association coaches. Along the way, he was an 11-time Region XVI Coach of the Year and earned induction to the halls of fame for the NJCAA, the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and STLCCC-Meramec. His 1988-1989 team was ranked No. 1 for much of the season. At one point, he was the head coach at Saint Louis University from 1974-1976. All this for a coach who was renowned for his success as a game tactician and his success for maximizing the production from his teams.
Dr. Tom Smith – Missouri Baptist University Athletic Director
Smith was the athletic director of his alma mater, Missouri Baptist, for 22 years (2001-2023) before retiring this past spring. Under his direction, the athletic department won four NAIA national championships – in women’s indoor track & field (2006), women’s outdoor track & field (2006) and women’s volleyball (2020-2021, 2021), two NAIA national invitational titles in men’s volleyball (2015, 2016), an NCA Advanced Small Coed Cheer championship and numerous individual titles in wrestling and track & field. The Spartans won 33 conference tournament championships and 23 regular-season titles. Twice he was recognized by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics as an Under Armour AD of the Year in 2012-2013 and 2019-2020, and four times as the AD of the Year in the American Midwest Conference (2005, 2010, 2013, 2019). Along the way, the former wrestling coach infused more than 400 additional student-athletes on campus by creating 18 new athletic programs as the varsity and junior varsity level, with Missouri Baptist home to 28 varsity sports, six JV programs and 750-plus student-athletes each year. Smith is a 1975 graduate of Parkway West High School who serves as President of the Parkway Alumni Association, which inducted him into its hall of fame.
Harry Weber – Sports Sculptor
A St. Louis native who graduated from Country Day School in 1960 and later graduated from Princeton University in 1964, Weber is one of the most sought-after sculptors in America. He served six years in the U.S. Navy, including a year on a river patrol boat in Vietnam that led to Weber earning a Bronze Star with V for valor and the Presidential Unit Commendation. Some of his drawings from his time there are on display at the Military Museum on the USS Alabama in Mobile. As a sculptor, his body of work includes over 150 large, commissioned sculptures in 19 states, as well as in the Bahamas, China and Africa. His sculptures of famous sports figures are prominent at 15 professional and amateur stadiums, including Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame has the largest collection of his work, with 36 bronze busts on the Legends Walkway and larger-than-life statues of Stan Musial, Norm Stewart, Jackie Stiles, Payne Stewart and Bill Virdon. In Missouri, he has installed work in 40 sites, including the Baseball Cardinals Plaza of Champions, Harriet and Dred Scott, Chuck Berry and two groupings depicting the Journey of Discovery, which have been named National Lewis and Clark sits by the National Park Service.
1973 Washington High School State Championship Football Team
This fall marks the 50th anniversary of the only state football championship team in the history of Washington High School. Located just west of the St. Louis Metro area on the banks of the Missouri River, Washington had all the pieces to win the Class 3 state title. In essence, the Blue Jays took on the personality of their coach, Jim Scanlan, and showed smartness and toughness to win games. The team finished 11-0 after a 14-7 victory against Jefferson City Helias at Rolla High School. What a thrilling finish it was. Ted Stahl, a junior then, returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown with 46 seconds left in the game. Stahl jumped in between four Helias players, grabbed the bouncing ball and raced down the sideline for the winning TD. Dennis Brune scored the two-point conversation. Earlier, quarterback Leroy Eggert scored the team’s first TD on a 1-yard run. The team featured six All-State players in Eggert, Mark Rothschild, Gary Vogel, Brune, Alan Elsenrath and Keith Maune. The season began with a forfeit victory, and then featured victories against Farmington (7-6), Sullivan (18-7), Union (15-7), Pacific (8-6), St. Clair(36-7), Hermann (46-0), St. James (36-0) and Owensville (31-0). The Blue Jays then beat North County of Desloge-Bonne Terre 20-14 in the semifinals.