After a stellar career playing football for the University of Missouri, Russ Sloan went on to become one of the winningest football coaches in the history of Missouri. He served as the head football coach at Northeast Missouri State University (Truman State). There, Sloan captured three straight conference championships in 1969, ’70 and ’71, leaving… Read more »
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Sport: Football
Harry “Blackjack” Smith
Smith, born in Russellville, Mo., anchored the offensive line on the University of Southern California’s Rose Bowl football teams in the 1938 and 1939 seasons and earned All-America honors each year. In the 1939 season, the Trojans finished 8-0-2 as national champions, including a 14-0 Rose Bowl victory over the University of Tennessee. He was… Read more »
Jackie Smith
Jackie Smith played 15 years for the football Cardinals and ended his career in the Super Bowl, playing his final year for the Dallas Cowboys. At the end of his 16 year career, Smith held the NFL record for most pass receptions caught and most yards gained by a tight end. He played in five… Read more »
Neil Smith
Playing in 138 regular season games for the Kansas City Chiefs, Smith made a name for himself as one of the top defensive linemen of his era. He garnered 546 tackles, 403 of which were solo tackles. In 1997, Smith went on to play for the Denver Broncos, where he added two Super Bowl Championships… Read more »
Roderick “Rod” Smith
Rod Smith was a first team All-American at Missouri Southern State University, finishing with conference records in career receiving yards and touchdowns. Smith holds the Denver Broncos’ franchise records for career receptions, receiving yards, touchdown catches and touchdowns. With 2 Super Bowl rings, Smith is the first player from the MIAA to score a touchdown… Read more »
Dr. Pat Smith
Back in 2011, after a Mizzou standout running back tore two knee ligaments, a meniscus and patellar tendon on the same play, Tiger fans had a rare glimpse into the world of the head team physician. In essence, Dr. Pat Smith showed his human side. Sure, it had always been there when he celebrated victories… Read more »
Brad Smith
He had chances to stay close to home and play college football at what you might consider mid-majors. But talk about timing. Just as Youngstown, Ohio All-State quarterback Brad Smith was pairing down his choices, a head coach from one of those interested schools got hired to lead the University of Missouri football program. “We… Read more »
Rod Smith
In almost every community across America, a unique connection exists between sports fans and their local sports reporters. Nowhere is that more pronounced than in mid-Missouri. In 2008, at the height of the Great Recession and its layoffs, longtime KRCG-TV 13 Sports Director Rod Smith was among the casualties, for financial reasons like so many… Read more »
Justin Smith
They called him by the lovable and respected nickname “Cowboy” in the National Football League, and one West Coast newspaper described him as “the iron-clad backbone” of the San Francisco 49ers’ standout defense. High praise for a highly respected professional. Then again, perhaps that was to be expected of Justin Smith. He was once just… Read more »
Phillip Snowden
Talk about a student-athlete who didn’t just enjoy sports but was proud to call himself a University of Missouri Tiger. Kansas City native Phil Snowden not only declined offers to play for mighty Notre Dame and Army – despite West Point even dispatching Heisman Trophy winner Doc Blanchard for a recruiting pitch – but he… Read more »
Bill Snyder
A native of St. Joseph, Snyder was a standout football player at William Jewell College for Coach Norris Patterson. Coach Snyder revived a losing Kansas State University football program and guided them to 11 consecutive bowl game appearances and 136 wins during his 17 year career. During his tenure, Snyder was named Coach of the… Read more »
Donn Sorensen
Years ago, recruiters would come calling and, in all honestly, everybody would have understood had Donn Sorensen declined. After all, his career had taken him to sunny San Diego, the complete opposite of his childhood on the snow-covered northern plains. Yet one offer piqued his interest. It was as the top executive of the Mercy… Read more »
Gary Spani
Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famer Gary Spani finished his impressive nine year career with the Chiefs as the teams all-time leading tackler (999), a record he still holds. He was voted NFL Man of the Year in 1983 and helped guide the team to its first playoff berth in 15 years in 1986. Spani… Read more »
1997 Springfield Catholic High School Football Team
In the nearly suffocating heat of late summer 1997, on a concrete-like dirt surface subbing as a football practice field, the Springfield Catholic Fightin’ Irish began their march toward history. So the cuts, bumps and bruises inflicted from that field? Call them a badge of honor. After all, with a ton of talent still around… Read more »
1998-2002 Era St. Pius X High School Football
The sign on their football coach’s desk simply read, “Win A State Championship,” but it had been gathering a thick layer of dust by October 1998. This was at St. Pius X High School, where earlier 1990s teams had been playoff casualties. And so the inspirational note was fuel for the Warriors. So was something… Read more »
Jan Stahle
A little bit of miscommunication – and perhaps some cultural misunderstanding – helped lead Jan Stahle on a journey which resulted in one of the more fascinating sports careers in the history of our state. The year was 1974, and Stahle was arriving in Springfield as an exchange student from Sweden. Before he set foot… Read more »