Forrest (Fordy) Hamilton was one of many key figures in the memorable story of one of the greatest eras in the history of Missouri State basketball, that of the back-to-back NAIA national championship squads of 1952 and 1953. Hamilton came to MSU as a transfer from the University of Missouri and the St. Clair native… Read more »
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Team: U.S. Olympic team
John Howard
A Springfield native, John Howard has set the pace for the cyclist community. Howard’s cycling career has been nothing short of incredible. He is the 14 time U.S.C.F. and N.O.R.B.A National Champion (1968-1997), 3 time member of the U.S. Olympic Cycling Team (1968,’72,’76), and a Pan-Am Games Gold Medalist in 1971. Howard is the 1981… Read more »
Terin Humphrey
Arguably the beauty of the Olympics is that some star-gazing teenager or 20-something sweats away with only a hope and a dream. And, the next thing you know, they’re a household name across the country, climbing atop the awards stand a half a world away. In essence, that’s the story of Terin Humphrey, whose journey… Read more »
Joe Kleine
Kleine, a seven-foot center, graduated from Slater High School in Slater, Missouri, and originally enrolled to play basketball at the University of Notre Dame. After his freshman season, He transferred to the University of Arkansas. Kleine was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the sixth pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. He went on to… Read more »
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
To a generation of kids who came of age in the 1980s and early 1990s, she will be the incredible track and field superstar forever remembered standing atop the Olympic podium, both of her arms raised in the air while sporting a stars and stripes jacket and hoisting flowers. To kids of this generation, they… Read more »
Natasha Kaiser-Brown
So how in the world did Natasha Kaiser-Brown, who became an NCAA and Olympics standout, ever find her way to the University of Missouri? “It’s really kind of cool,” Kaiser-Brown said. “I was at the Junior Olympic Trials in Los Angeles, my junior year in high school. Right before I ran the 400 meters, this… Read more »
Bob Kurland
Kurland was born in St. Louis graduating from Jennings High School where he participated in basketball and track. Kurland considered attending the University of Missouri, but when Oklahoma A&M played a game at Saint Louis University, A&M coach Henry Iba invited Kurland to dinner and offered a scholarship. Missouri could only offer Kurland a job.… Read more »
Muna Lee
Growing up in Kansas City, Muna Lee was convinced she would one day play in the WNBA. But a simple request in the sixth grade pointed her life in a completely different direction. A Kansas City track legend, Lee participated in the United States Olympic Trials as a senior at Central High School, where she… Read more »
Rickey McCormick
Born in Independence and trained on the Lake of the Ozarks, “Tricky Ricky” McCormick carved a place for himself in the annals of water ski history unsurpassed by any other skier. During his career, he was the winner of 37 national water ski championships, three World Championships and two Olympic Gold Medals. From the age… Read more »
Sam Muchnick
Muchnick was born in Ukraine to a Jewish family, but moved to the United States in 1911. He grew up in St. Louis, and his name was changed to Samuel when his father decided that Jeshua (Jesus or Joshua) was an inappropriate name for a Jewish child. In 1926, he joined the sports staff at… Read more »
Ruth “Casey” Osburn
After pioneering women’s basketball at Shelbyville High School in the early 1930s, Ruth “Casey” Osburn was the first player selected for the world famous Olson’s “All-American Redheads.” The 6-foot star played jumping center and was an accomplished ball handler. She toured with the Redheads for six years, promoting women’s basketball throughout the country as the… 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 »
Jason Pyrah
Willard, Mo., native Jason Pyrah is no stranger to Halls of Fame or track and field championships. He is a five-time high school track All-American and a six-time Missouri track champion (800, 1,600, and 3,200 meters). He still holds two Missouri state records, and in 1987 ran the faster mile of ANY high school athlete in… 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 »
Jim Raynor
In the late 1980s, while attending college in Springfield, Jim Raynor enrolled in an introductory course about something called sports medicine. This was years before sports medicine would explode across professional, college and then high school athletics. Turned out, in a few short years, Raynor played a major role in fueling its rise. And because… Read more »
Jack Rockwell
Jack Rockwell has had a career in sports medicine that has covered more than 45 years and is easily recognizied as one of the most respected in his field. Because of his injuries as an Army sergeant in World War II, he was inspired to earn a physical therapy degree from the University of Kansas,… Read more »