Missouri native Helen Stephens was an American runner who won two gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and was undefeated in official competition. Known as the Fulton Flash, Stephens had won nine Amateur Athletic Union track-and-field titles by the age of 18. She first found fame in 1935 when she raced against Stella Walsh,… Read more »
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Sport: Running/Track and Field
Emmett “Abe” Stuber
During his tenure as Southeast Missouri State University’s football coach from 1932-1946, Abe Stuber’s teams won 17 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles in football, track, and basketball. He captured more championships than anyone in the school’s history. In the fall of 1986, the Board of Regents named the university’s track complex in his honor. In… Read more »
Victor Thomas
In 2001, Lincoln University in Jefferson City was seeking a coach for its track and field program. At the time, a young, energetic coach from Jamaica had been working as an assistant at a college in North Carolina and was looking to take the next step. “I got a job interview,” Victor Thomas recalled, “and… 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 »
Patty Vavra
In the immediate years following passage of federal Title IX legislation – the 1972 law which created athletic opportunities for girls and women in public schools and universities – one thing was abundantly clear: Much work remained for competitors to be taken seriously. Fortunately, Patty Vavra was among those who led the way. When she… Read more »
“Red” Williams
Lorenz C. “Red” Williams was SEMO’s first full-time athletic trainer, serving from 1967 to 1983. Williams worked in that position for 16 years supporting nine men and women’s athletic teams. He mentored and supervised 63 athletic training students during his tenure and was awarded National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) honors for both 20 years and… Read more »
Dr. Mary Jo Wynn
Dr. Wynn retired in 1998 after 41 years at Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University), including nearly a quarter century as a senior athletics administrator. A native of Hartville, MO, and 1953 SMS graduate, Wynn organized women’s athletics competition in 1958 with volleyball and tennis teams. She coached volleyball until 1972, guiding the 1969… Read more »