He starred at an NCAA Division II university in Pennsylvania, proved baseball scouts wrong that he was just a mere slugger and then helped one of baseball’s most storied franchises create even more tradition. For Matt Adams, he can always sit back and reminisce feeling great about his time in the game, especially for the… Read more »
News
Year: 2025
Gary Aggus
He grew up in Joplin, spending summers swimming at the Schifferdecker Park pool, or playing baseball in the neighborhood and, during the school year, the venue was the Boys Club. Years later, Gary Aggus was a three-sport athlete for Joplin’s Memorial High School, earning all-conference in football, basketball and baseball. And he never forgot the… Read more »
Sharon Alexander
For years, Sharon Alexander had a belief that “no role is too small when it comes to making a meaningful impact.” In fact, she may be the best example. You see, she first volunteered for the PGA Korn Ferry Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Hiland Dairy Foods in 2014. That year, she did… Read more »
Bill Althaus
Bill Althaus loved sports as a student at Truman High School in Independence. He liked watching them, being around them. Most of his friends were athletes. But, in his words, there was just one problem. “I was the most unathletic student at Truman,” he said. Althaus quickly found a way to be a part of… Read more »
Horner Askins
For some former athletes, sports has a way of keeping them around, to feed their passion but also to make a major difference in the lives of young people. An excellent case in point is Horner Askins. A former high school football standout in Arkansas, he found his way to southwest Missouri as a teacher… Read more »
David Beckett
In 1983, Joe Gripka needed a broadcasting partner to help him call Monett High School football games. He asked David Beckett if he’d like to come aboard as a color analyst. Forty-two years later, Beckett is still at it, calling Monett football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer for radio and internet broadcasts. Beckett has… Read more »
Sam Brown
The decision to become a coach was an easy one for Sam Brown. Athletics had always played a huge role in his life, and he witnessed first-hand the impact coaches can have on individuals and teams. Playing under coach Vic Bonuchi (MSHOF 2023) at Excelsior Springs High School, he learned football fundamentals and life lessons… Read more »
Jeffrey Brummet and Tucker
On a farm in the scenic hills just outside of an east central Missouri town called Cuba, you could find Jeffrey Brummet riding horses on the family farm years ago. Naturally, that grew into competing in rodeos, first in saddle broncs and then bulls before he turned his attention to being a rodeo clown who… Read more »
Bob Burchett
In the far corner of northeast Missouri from the 1980s and well into the early-2000s, out in the prairie fields, you could find Bob Burchett training bird dogs. Since 2013, he’s called southwest Missouri home, continuing a lifelong passion that has led to success in national competitions. Not that this is what he set out… Read more »
Brandon Butler
Brandon Butler grew up inspired by outdoor media like Bill Dance Outdoors, Midwest Outdoors, In-Fisherman, and was fortunate to have family who took him fishing and hunting. Later in life, he found a calling as a outdoors communicator who has extensively covered fishing, hunting and conservation. So, when Butler moved to Missouri in 2010, little… Read more »
Cabool High School 1968 State Championship Football Team
The Cabool High School Bulldogs didn’t approach the 1968 season knowing greatness awaited. They knew they would compete in a solid South Central Association. They knew they had the experience and the drive to do well. But they also knew there would be obstacles to overcome. The Bulldogs did that and more under coach Art… Read more »
Jim Carr
Jim Carr gave a lot to athletics growing up, and it gave a lot back to him. Growing up in Mississippi, he experienced athletic success at both the high school and collegiate levels, earning induction into the Halls of Fame at both Gulfport High School and Millsaps College. So when he was trying to decide… Read more »
Central High School Girls Basketball 1984 State Championship Team
Trina Osborne Williams remembers the team’s loyal supporters, who turned out even on the road. Others point to the 19-point comeback in the state semifinals as showing the team’s heart. And nobody will never forget hoisting the state championship trophy around midnight in Columbia. After all, the 1984 Central High School Lady Bulldogs became the… Read more »
Leah Clark
Back when she was in high school, golf wasn’t even offered. And so she played volleyball, basketball and ran on the track & field team. Years later, while living in Kansas City, the sport sort of found her. And then, in the late 1990s, a job coaching golf found Leah Clark. At the time, she… Read more »
Don Claxton
Don Claxton knew Jerry Mallonee needed something to do. Mallonee had recently started his own business and had gone through a divorce. A way to spend some time outdoors and make some extra money seemed perfect. Claxton had already been officiating high school and college football games for more than a decade and had been… Read more »
Clinton High School Wrestling Era 1990-1994
In sports, some success stories seem to be authored by a Hollywood script writer. In Clinton in the 1980s, efforts to turn the high school wrestling program into something special took blood, sweat and tears. Especially sweat, in a place with no frills. The wrestling room? It was in a large room that doubled as… Read more »