On a farm outside of Stoutland in mid-Missouri, he practiced jump shots on a goal in the barnyard and, in the summer, day-dreamed of being a big-leaguer by picking up rocks and swinging a wiffle ball bat. See the tree line to the left at the bottom of the hill? That was the outfield wall… Read more »
News
Sport: Basketball
Kelby Stuckey
Sometimes, Kelby Stuckey just sits back and shakes his head in amazement at how his basketball career unfolded. There he was in the summer of 1984, readying for his senior basketball season at Soldan High School in St. Louis, and one day in walks an assistant coach from then-Southwest Missouri State to recruit someone else.… Read more »
David Sturm
In 1976, his dreams of becoming a big-league baseball umpire were pulled away, as a pro umpire evaluator questioned his commitment to the profession. Call it a tough day for David Sturm. After all, years before, his doctor said he would have been legally blind if not for a pair of thick eyeglasses. And, if… Read more »
Jon Sundvold
Statesman. Ambassador of the game. Hard worker. A great basketball IQ and once dubbed an “Einstein in Sneakers” by an opposing coach. Any of those descriptions certainly fit Jon Sundvold, one of the Show-Me State’s most respected figures ever to walk across the sports page, let alone the basketball court. Certainly, the Missouri Sports Hall… Read more »
Steve Tappmeyer
A Gerald native who played on the 1974 Owensville High School state championship team, Tappmeyer compiled a 460-238 record (.659) coaching NCAA Division II men’s basketball from 1988 to 2013. That covered 21 seasons and a program-best 408 wins at Northwest Missouri State, where his teams reached 10 NCAA Tournaments, with two appearances in the… Read more »
Betsy Taylor
The first time she picked up a tennis racket was when her teenage sister took to the courts in Carthage and, soon, Betsy Taylor fell in love with the sport. Unfortunately, the high school didn’t offer tennis for girls when she arrived as a freshman. “We didn’t have any sports for girls when I was… Read more »
Bertha Teague
Born in Carthage, Mo., she coached the Byng High School basketball team in Ada, Oklahoma for 42 years (from 1927 to 1969) with a career record of 1,157-115 (.910 winning percentage). Her teams won 8 Oklahoma state titles and 98 consecutive games from 1936 to 1939. She was named Coach of the Decade for the… Read more »
Jeanette Tendai
These days, it’s hard to imagine that girls basketball in southwest Missouri wasn’t a big deal in the 1970s as it is now. But that was the reality. In fact, long before she starred for the then-Southwest Missouri State Lady Bears, Jeanette Tendai had no team to call hers until the eighth grade. Think it… Read more »
Bill Thomas
Bill (Jinx) Thomas carved one of the notable records in the entire history of Missouri State University athletics, with involvement in the basketball program which spanned nearly three decades. Coming to then-Southwest Missouri State University in 1950 as a transfer from Westminster College, the Buffalo native was a three-year starter for the Bears at guard.… Read more »
1979 & 1992 Three Rivers Community College basketball teams
They lived in an old dorm in downtown Poplar Bluff and, because they didn’t have a gym on campus, had to practice either at area high schools or at a state youth correctional facility. And yet from those humble beginnings rose the 1979 Raiders of Three Rivers Community College, the school’s first men’s basketball team… Read more »
Diana Tingler
For Diana Tingler, she considers herself one of the lucky ones in life. After all, you’ve probably heard the stories of trailblazers fighting the good fight to promote high school girls basketball back in the 1960s and 1970s. Fortunately, her high school back home was already offering the sport when she arrived. And little did… Read more »
Mike Todorovich
During his high school career at Soldan High School in St. Louis, Mike Todorovich lettered in four sports – basketball, football, baseball and track and was All-State in basketball and football. In 1941, he was selected to play in the Missouri High School All-Star Football game played in Jefferson City and to the first All-State… Read more »
Anthony Tolliver
He grew up in Springfield, playing basketball in his family’s driveway, as well as over at the Boys & Girls Club of the Ozarks and with an AAU team full of future high school buddies. Anthony Tolliver will never forget those days, not only for the good times but because his want-to to better himself… Read more »
Kerwin Urhahn
All Dr. Kerwin Urhahn ever wanted to do was his best. Nothing more, nothing less. Whether he was teaching math, coaching, or serving as a principal, Urhahn worked to give everything he had to the job with which he was entrusted. And in his 16 years as Executive Director of the Missouri State High School… Read more »
Bob Vanatta
Vanatta was the head basketball coach for Central Methodist, Southwest Missouri State, Army, Bradley, Memphis State, Missouri, and Delta State University. At Southwest Missouri State, he won the 1952 and 1953 NAIA Championships. He compiled a 109-34 record at Memphis State, including making it to the 1957 NIT Championship game. After coaching, he later served… Read more »
Dr. Ronald VanDam
Ronald Leonard VanDam was born January 22, 1937, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the son of Rev. Leonard and Marian Perkins VanDam. He married Jonell Willis on May 30, 1964. Dr. VanDam had a distinguished career as Head Athletic Trainer and Professor at the University of Central Missouri for 31 years. Following his arrival on campus in… Read more »