Dick Birmingham is an internationally known coach and clinician. He is the president of Dick Birmingham Sports, a company specializing in baseball instruction at all levels. He was the head baseball coach at Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Missouri for 25 years and served as the Hillcrest American Legion baseball head coach for 18 years.… Read more »
News
Year: 2002
Deron Cherry
Deron Cherry is regarded as one of the finest free safeties to ever play the game of football. A standout for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1980’s, he recorded 50 career interceptions and holds a share of the National Football League’s record for interceptions in a game with four. He participated in the Pro… Read more »
Jerry Clinton
Jerry Clinton is a native of St. Louis. He graduated in 1955 from Hadley Technical High School, where he received specialized training in commercial art. He studied sales and marketing at the University College of Washington University. Clinton is the Chairman and CEO of Grey Eagle Distributors, Inc., the St. Louis County wholesaler of Anheuser-Busch… Read more »
Johnny Copeland
Born in Joplin, Missouri, Johnny Copeland began his Golden Gloves career in 1960 as a member of the Joplin Boys’ Club. Copeland quickly developed into a boxing sensation. Between 1961 and 1970, Copeland compiled an amateur record of 74 wins and only 15 defeats and amassed an impressive string of championships. Copeland turned professional in… Read more »
1978-79 Drury College Panthers Basketball
The 1978-79 Drury College basketball team started the season 4-1, before posting an impressive win over the defending NCAA-II Champions, Cheyney State of Pennsylvania, 70-67 in the first annual Southwest Missouri Basketball Classic. That win started a 19 game winning streak and the Panthers finished the regular season with a 25-2 record. The team finished… Read more »
Bob Fairchild
Bob Fairchild was born in Chillicothe, MO and graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1950. He competed in football, basketball and track while in high school. His first job, as a history teacher and basketball coach, began in 1959 at Skidmore, Missouri. His success in coaching was immediate as his team won 30 games the… Read more »
Bernie Federko
Federko was born in 1956 and raised in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan. The 6-foot, 180-pound center’s professional hockey career began in 1973 when he played for the Saskatoon Blades of the West Coast Hockey League through 1976. Federko later played for the Kansas City Blues of the old Central Hockey League during the 1976-77 season, earning… Read more »
Bob Forsch
Bob Forsch enjoyed a successful 14 year pitching career with the St. Louis Cardinals. Converted from a third baseman, he threw two no-hitters in the Cardinals minor league system before moving up to the parent club to join their staff in 1974. In 1978, he no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies and threw another no-hitter in 1983… Read more »
John Q. Hammons
John Q. Hammons grew up during the Great Depression on a farm in Fairview, MO. He attended Fairview schools and later Southwest Missouri Teachers College (SMSU) in Springfield. Hammons’ contributions to sports in Missouri and around the country are numerous. In 1976, he provided the funding for the construction of the Hammons Student Center on… Read more »
Robert Kehoe
Bob Kehoe was born in St. Louis in 1928 and graduated from St. Louis University High School in 1947. Throughout his life, he never stopped participating in his favorite sport, soccer. Kehoe was selected to play on numerous All-Star soccer teams to compete against foreign teams from England, Scotland, France and Germany. In 1964, he… Read more »
Bud Lathrop
Bud Lathrop was born and raised in the Kansas City suburb of Raytown. He attended Raytown High School and excelled as a prep basketball player from 1950 to 1954. He then attended William Jewell College and earned a coaching/teaching degree in 1958. His coaching career began at Mound City High School, where he served as… Read more »
John “Buck” O’Neil
John Jordan O’Neil was nicknamed “Buck” after the co-owner of the Miami Giants, Buck O’Neal. His father played on a local team, thus exposing Buck to baseball at an early age. Buck O’Neil has been part of Kansas City’s baseball scene for more than half a century, dating back to 1936 and his first visit… Read more »
Paul Splittorff
Starting in 1970, Splittorff embarked on an impressive 15-year pitching career with the Kansas City Royals. He averaged nearly 15 wins and 220 innings per year for Kansas City and holds team records for wins with 166, starts with 392 and innings pitched with 2,555. In 1973, he became the first 20 game winner in… Read more »
Jackie Stiles
Jackie Stiles was born in Kansas City, KS and was raised in Claflin, KS. Stiles finished her prep career as the leading scorer in Kansas history, boys and girls, with 3,603 points and 10th nationally among female high school players. Stiles made the decision to become a Lady Bear at Southwest Missouri State University. She… Read more »
Lou Thesz
Born on April 24, 1916 in a tiny village in Michigan, Lou Thesz spent his childhood and teen years in St. Louis. He fell in love with wrestling at an early age and wrestled in area amateur matches as a schoolboy. Beginning in 1937, Thesz held the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) world title on six… Read more »
1968 William Jewell College Cardinals Baseball
The 1968 William Jewell College baseball team captured the NAIA National Baseball Championship. Coached by NAIA and William Jewell College Hall of Fame member Fred Flook, the Cardinals’ storied run to the National Championship began with a tremendous rally through the district tournament. They earned a spot in the National Tournament in St. Joseph. They… Read more »