In sports, rare is the athlete who makes people stop what they’re doing – even it’s important – and pause in awe. Sure, in basketball, there are dunkers and shooters and slick passers and what not. But about once a generation along comes somebody who does it all and does it with authority, leaving the… Read more »
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Sport: Basketball
Curtis Perry
Curtis Perry attended Southwest Missouri State University and played at forward before being selected by the San Diego Rockets in the third round of the 1970 NBA Draft and by the Virginia Squires in the 1970 ABA Draft. Perry played for the NBA’s San Diego Rockets/Houston Rockets (1970–71), Milwaukee Bucks (1971–74) and Phoenix Suns (1974–78).… Read more »
Bob Pettit
Considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bob Pettit played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954-1965). He was the first recipient of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times, a feat matched only by Kobe Bryant. He… Read more »
Stephanie Phillips
Under Phillips, the Kickapoo Lady Chiefs were known as one of the top teams in the state of Missouri. She led her team to a 214-38 record in nine seasons, Class 5 state titles in 2003 and 2005 and a third-place finish in the 2009/2010 season. She won two state championships as a player at… Read more »
Patti Phillips
Like most leaders whose positive energy inspires others and creates a self-challenge to do more, Patti Phillips rarely stops to smell the roses. Which is understandable if you think about it. As a former college basketball coach who went on to work for the NCAA and two other major organizations, her efforts are time-consuming. There’s… Read more »
Dan Pippen
Pippen was a farmboy from Waynesville, Missouri, who became an All Big 6 and All American basketball player at the University of Missouri. He later captained the 1952 United States Olympic team that won the gold medal in Helsinki. He played all eight games. After Pippin graduated from the University of Missouri he went to… Read more »
Ben Pitney
Ben Pitney learned the game of basketball early and starred on his high school team at Hannibal, his junior college team at Hannibal-LaGrange (HLG) and then at Northeast Missouri State University. After a stint in the military, Pitney became a high school coach and applied his knowledge of basketball, football and baseball in the state… Read more »
Gerry Pollard
For the better part of 33 years, Gerry Pollard sometimes has been a persona non grata in basketball arenas. How else to describe a person who gets yelled at by fans and coaches, plus draws eye stares from players? All for the thankless job of whistling players for fouls while running up and down a… Read more »
Sanford “Sandy” Pomerantz
Sandy’s basketball career began at the University City Senior High School, where he was a first-team All-American basketball star. Following high school, he went on to play for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and won the 1960 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. After transferring to Washington University in St. Louis, he earned All-American honors. An MVP… Read more »
Arvel Popp
Arvel Popp was Bill Bradley’s basketball coach at Crystal City High School. He worked in virtually all sports at the high school before he retired as a coach in 1975 after 28 years with the Hornets. He was one of the area’s most successful coaches at the time but always was associated with Crystal City’s… Read more »
Otto Porter, Sr.
For every successful athlete, there are those in the shadows who deserve the credit. For Otto Porter, Sr. – one of the best to ever set foot on a basketball court in southeast Missouri – there were many who set him up for success. “I don’t know if you would say I loved the game… Read more »
Purdy High School Girls Basketball 1980-1982 Era
Less than a decade after the passage of federal Title IX legislation led public schools to offer girls sports, Purdy High School’s girls basketball teams of 1980, 1981 and 1982 made history. These teams defined an era, setting a standard for excellence that still resonates in the community today. The Lady Eagles of the early… Read more »
Nate Quinn
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 »
Tom Rackers
Growing up in Jefferson City, with his dad, Robert, working as the advertising manager at the News Tribune, Tom Rackers spent his days reading all about the sports stars of Kansas City, St. Louis and in his hometown. Back then, five newspapers combined from those I-70 cities were delivered to the family’s doorstep – two… Read more »
Jay Randolph, Sr.
In 1966, Randolph joined KMOX-CBS Radio in St. Louis, where he covered St. Louis Cardinals football and hosted daily sports shows. Two years later, he became the Sports Director of KSD-TV/KSDK in St. Louis, a post he held until 1988. Since then, Jay has made significant contributions to PGA, LPGA and Senior PGA telecasts along… Read more »
Karen Rapier
The recruiting letter still remains a favorite memory all these years later — the motivational words written by then-Missouri State Lady Bears assistant coach Cheryl Burnett, the envelope postmarked in the summer of her high school freshman year. Certainly, it changed Karen Rapier’s life – and arguably the direction of Lady Bears basketball program –… Read more »