The blue-collar teens from a farming community just north of the Missouri River arrived at the ballpark every day in the spring toting along their ball gloves, bats and dreams. Well, that and a collective fearless attitude because, despite representing a Class 1 school, they were often matched opposite Class 5 teams. As one former… Read more »
He used to act as a broadcaster on his buddies’ Strat-O-Matic games, even practiced in the basement of his parents’ home and, one day, walked into the radio station in his hometown of Marshall. Before long, Art Hains made his radio debut at – get this – age 17. “I’ve always said that I was… Read more »
Tucked into a hillside in Warrensburg sits one of the most impressive baseball facilities in the country – complete with synthetic turf, four rows of chair-back seats between the dugouts, a grandstand of chair-back seats and dugout heaters. Oh, and see that Morton building nearby? It houses indoor batting cages, a weight room and the… Read more »
Back in 1981, when David Fairchild was first hired to coach the football team at Penney High School, the weight room was down in the basement and next to the boiler. In other words, no frills. That was a good thing, in the eyes of the new young coach. After all, why not start from… Read more »
In 1976, in his third season on the professional bass fishing circuit, Rick Clunn would cast out his line and hope for the best, for anything really – a nibble even. After all, he was running out of fishing stories. And time. “In the reality of it, I wanted something to break pretty quickly,” Clunn… Read more »
Years ago, George Hayward officiated intramural football games for fellow students at Missouri Western University and, on the weekends, would ref the local youth Pop Warner League for $2 a game. It’s a great memory for the St. Joseph native, because those thankless roles led to the big-time in the National Football League, where Hayward… Read more »
Back in her tucked-away office hangs a display that reads, “I learned to win by learning to lose – that means not being afraid of losing.” For Missouri State volleyball coach Melissa Stokes, it’s a reminder of her third season on campus. Of her 21 seasons at MSU, that was the only time the Bears… Read more »
When Rod Staggs coached high school track and field athletes, he tried to avoid calling them “kids” or even boys and girls. “If they did my workload and put up with me, they were men and women,” Staggs said, and later added this: “If you could handle my workouts, you could be in the Marines.”… Read more »
He could have relocated long ago to a seaside cottage, kicked back under palm trees and focused only on his corner of the world. Instead, after retiring in 1994, Leon Combs not only moved back home to the Ozarks but he also opened up his heart – and wallet – to numerous charitable causes. This… Read more »
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday — December 23 to December 26 — as our staff celebrates the holidays with their families. The Hall of Fame museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 27) through Saturday (Dec. 31) but will be closed on… Read more »
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday proudly inducted Jerry Armstrong, part of Texas Western’s 1966 national championship team and a longtime Missouri high school basketball coach, as well as Malta Bend and Mizzou standout Charlie Henke, Drury University’s Nate Quinn, Missouri State Lady Bear Jeanette Tendai and the 1990 Raytown South High School… Read more »
In early January 1990, the difficult news could have rattled an already talented Raytown South boys basketball team. There in the living room of coach Bud Lathrop, they learned that their star center who had committed to the Kansas Jayhawks, Chris Lindley, had a foot severed in a train accident and could no longer play.… Read more »
The Christmas holiday break back in 1976 came at just the right time. For Nate Quinn, a freshman basketball player and yet-to-be standout, his first semester at Drury University had been the School of Hard Knocks. So upon returning home, his dad — a longtime high school basketball coach in Oklahoma — took him to… Read more »
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame will soon induct former St. Louis Cardinals speedster Vince Coleman and a pair of past Kansas City standouts in Royals outfielder Amos Otis and Chiefs quarterback Bill Kenney, plus 13 other individuals, a college baseball program and a high school baseball program and its late coach. Jack Henry &… Read more »
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame would like to congratulate Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder on his 200th career victory, earned Saturday in a 34-19 victory against Kansas. Snyder, a St. Joseph native and a 2006 inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, was hoisted on his players’ shoulders and carried off the… Read more »
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame soon will recognize 10 former Missouri basketball standouts with Filbert Five awards, President and Executive Director Jerald Andrews announced Tuesday. The recognitions are among highlights of the Basketball Luncheon presented by Mercy, set for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Oasis Convention Center… Read more »
