2023 Kansas City Enshrinement Program

SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2023

KANSAS CITY

CLASS OF 2023

MATT BESLER

VIC BONUCHI

CHARLIE BURRI

LORENZO CAIN

DON EDWARDS

CLAUDE ENGLISH

BLAIR KERKHOFF

KAREN KORNACKI

LARRY LADY

MUNA LEE

KAREN SCHULL MACGEE

TOM O’BRIEN

MICHAEL WATSON

ROCKHURST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PROGRAM

BENTON HIGH SCHOOL

GIRLS 2007 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL TEAM

WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE 2003 WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM

ARCHBISHOP O’HARA HIGH SCHOOL

VOLLEYBALL ERA 2002-2010

NORTHEAST NODAWAY HIGH SCHOOL

GIRLS BASKETBALL

1973-1979 & 1982

PRESIDENT’S AWARD: CARL PETERSON, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

April 23, 2023

Dear Kansas City Enshrinement Participants & Guests,

On behalf of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and its Governing Board, please allow me to welcome you to today’s Kansas City Enshrinement Ceremonies. We are very excited about honoring the extensive accomplishments of so many athletes, coaches, administrators, media members, teams, eras and programs who have impacted sports all across the state of Missouri and beyond. We are delighted to have you here today as our guests.

We come together today to honor the hall of fame accomplishments of 13 individuals, an undefeated state championship team, one of the nation’s best soccer teams, successful eras from two different schools, and one dominating program. We will also bestow the President’s Award to a very deserving longtime friend of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. I hope that you truly enjoy being here today as we reflect back upon the sports accomplishments and highlights of some of the Show-Me State’s best, while inspiring future success in generations to come.

I would like to thank Hillyard, Inc., for its continued support of this event and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame as a whole. In addition, a special thank you to each table sponsor and to everyone who purchased a congratulatory program ad or ticket to this event. As an event-driven 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the success and advancement of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is almost entirely dependent upon the success of our events, so thank you to everyone who is here today!

It is our goal to expand the footprint of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame all across the state of Missouri. We want the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame to truly be a statewide hall of fame and to showcase the outstanding accomplishments, achievements and careers of the Show-Me State’s best athletes, coaches, administrators, media personalities, teams and more. As such, we fully intend to host Enshrinement Ceremonies and other Hall of Fame events annually here in Kansas City.

In closing, I want to reiterate my appreciation for your presence at today’s Kansas City Enshrinement Ceremonies. I hope you have a wonderful time as we recognize, honor and enshrine a group of very deserving individuals, teams and programs.

Sincerely,

Byron Shive CEO/Executive Director

“Where the Game Lives On”

Enshrinement in Kansas City 2023

Welcome .....................................................................................................Taylor Frederich | Director of Operations

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Invocation Karen Kornacki

KMBC • MSHOF Class of 2023

Pledge of Allegiance ................................................................................................................................... Ron Clawson

MSHOF Class of 2021

National Anthem ....................................................................................................................................... Reed Pearman Youth Chorus of Kansas City

Board Chairman Remarks Dan R. Nelson | Chairman of the Board

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Welcome and Remarks ........................................................................... Byron Shive | CEO & Executive Director Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Induction Ceremony

Inductees

Muna Lee .........................................................................................................................................................Track & Field

Vic Bonuchi.................................................................................................................................................. Football Coach accepted by Eddie Bonuchi

Archbishop O’Hara High School Volleyball Era (2002-10) .....................................accepted by Lori Hanaway

MSHOF Class of 2017

Charlie Burri ................................................................................................................................................. Administrator accepted by Brett Burri

Larry Lady ..................................................................................................................................................... Administrator

William Jewell College 2003 Women’s Soccer Team accepted by Chris Cissell

Karen Schull MacGee ................................................................................................................................................... Golf

Rockhurst High School Football Program accepted by Tony Severino

Tom O’Brien .................................................................................................................................................... Tennis Coach

Don Edwards Basketball Coach

Northeast Nodaway High School Girls Basketball Era (1973-79 & 1982) ....... accepted by Julie Schmitz Hunter

Karen Kornacki ................................................................................................................................................... Journalist

Claude English ............................................................................................................................................. Administrator

Blair Kerkhoff ...................................................................................................................................................... Journalist President’s Award

Carl Peterson ......................................................................................................................................Kansas City Chiefs

Benton High School 2007 Girls Basketball Team ................................................... accepted by Brett Goodwin

Michael Watson Basketball

Matt Besler ................................................................................................................................................................. Soccer

Lorenzo Cain Baseball

Closing Remarks Byron Shive

The MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME is structured as a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. The Board of Trustees serves as the governing body. If you have a significant interest in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and would like to be considered for service on the Board, please contact one of the Board Officers or a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame staff.

OFFICERS

Chairman ............................................ Dan Nelson ......................................... Springfield, MO

Vice-Chairman Bryan Magers* Springfield, MO

Secretary .............................................. Russell Hinds ...................................... Springfield, MO

Treasurer Craig Curry* Springfield, MO

TRUSTEES

Jodie Adams** .................................................. Springfield, MO

Rick Beaman*................................................... Springfield, MO

Dick Bartow** Kansas City, MO

Charles Brown** .................................................. Lebanon, MO

Cheryl Burnett** Kimberling City, MO

Kris Conley** ................................................... Springfield, MO

Ginny Fuldner*** Monett, MO

David Gibbs** Springfield, MO

Gary Goetz* ..................................................... Springfield, MO

Steve Gore** Springfield, MO

Sam Hamra** ................................................... Springfield, MO

Gary Hazelrigg** St. Joseph, MO

Russell Hinds* Springfield, MO

Brian Jared* ...................................................... Springfield, MO

Jerry Jared** Rogersville, MO

Tara Jenkins* .................................................... Springfield, MO

David Jones** Springfield, MO

Bill Killian** ..................................................... Springfield, MO

Christian Lewis Springfield, MO

Martin Mac Donald** Springfield, MO

Rob Marsh* ...................................................... Springfield, MO

David McQueary* Springfield, MO

Rick Meewes..................................................... Springfield, MO

Larry O’Reilly** ............................................... Springfield, MO

Ned Reynolds** Springfield, MO

Robert Roth** .................................................... St. Joseph, MO

Joe Scott** Poplar Bluff, MO

Jackie Smith*** .................................................... St. Louis, MO

Laura Smith Springfield, MO

Scott Smith* Springfield, MO

Donn Sorensen** ................................................. St. Louis, MO

Mark Speight** Springfield, MO

Alan Spencer* ........................................................ Monett, MO

Mike Spruill* Springfield, MO

James Sterling** Columbia, MO

Norm Stewart***................................................Columbia, MO

Joel Thomas* Republic, MO

Joe Turner** ..................................................... Springfield, MO

William Turner** Springfield, MO

Darrel Wilson................................................... Springfield, MO

Don Walsworth** Marceline, MO

Roger Wehrli*** Phoenix, AZ

Steve Williams* ................................................ Springfield, MO

Dr. Brad Wyrsch* Springfield, MO

PRESIDENT EMERITUS

Jerald Andrews ............................................. Bolivar, MO

Board of Trustees Staff

Byron Shive ....................................CEO & Executive Director

Kari Norris Vice President of Marketing

Taylor Fredrich Director of Operations

Kary Booher Director of Media Relations

Cris Belvin ................................. Director of Communications

Derek Wilson ...................... Director of Facility Management

Jack Pitts Administrative Support Specialist

Noah Tucker Social Media Coordinator

Dale Witte Accountant

2023 Enshrinement in Kansas City

ASSOCIATE SPONSOR- HILLYARD, INC.

CEREMONY & BANQUET SPONSORS

After the Harvest

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Family & Friends of Carl Peterson

Family & Friends of Celine Johnson

Family & Friends of Charlie Burri

Family & Friends of Don Edwards

Family & Friends of Karen Schull MacGee

Family & Friends of Michael Watson

Family & Friends of Vickie Henry

Hillyard, Inc.

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Rockhurst High School

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Thank

Sam Brown

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Brian Ranft Ozarks Creative Lighting

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Program Participants

Enshrinement Ceremonies 2023 –5– Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Your impact on the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and its mission is undeniable. Your efforts in working with fellow inductees such as Marty Schottenheimer, Trent Green, Priest Holmes, Will Shields, Tony Richardson, as well as myself, have helped make this Hall of Fame among the country's best.

Congratulations on receiving the President's Award, an honor all of us former Chiefs are very excited about.

-Coach Dick Vermeil-

Claude English

on being inducted to the MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME!

CONGRATS MATT! CONGRATS MATT!

We are so proud of you Matt!

Your Chicken N Pickle Family

Muna Lee Track & Field

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 was a four-time state champion in the 100 meters and 200 meters (19972000). After high school she went to LSU, where she was a seven-time NCAA champion, a 12-time Southeastern Conference champion and 21-time All-American.

After college, Lee represented the U.S. in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games. She also was part of the U.S. 2005 world champion 4×100m relay and was the 100-meter runner-up that year. She is, quite simply, one of the most decorated track athletes in Missouri state history, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct her as a member of the Class of 2023.

A native of Little Rock, Ark., Lee grew up in Kansas City, participating in every sport from swimming to basketball, gymnastics to track. But mostly, she followed her brother, Keith, around town.

“I chased my brother around in every sport,” Muna Lee said. “Whatever he did I had to do but I had to be great at it or I couldn’t be on his team. At the time he was the greatest athlete in town, and I didn’t want to be on anyone else’s team.”

In sixth grade, Lee was asked by her English teacher and gym teacher to run track.

“It was all history after that,” she said.

Lee blossomed on the track, eventually becoming the top short-distance runner in the country while still in high school. She was so good as a senior, she qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, where she rubbed elbows with some of the sport’s greats.

“It was very intimidating,” Lee said. “I lined up in the same heat with Gail Devers. I was maybe 110-pounds soaking wet. She turned to me and told me to just relax and to do what I’d always been doing. That’s how I made it out of the first round. Gail and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (MSHOF 2018) were so proud of me afterward.”

Lee ran 11.36 seconds in the 100m during the Trials, the best time in the nation by an amateur that year.

Lee had to be convinced that she should even attend the trials. Her classmates pushed her over the proverbial finish line.

“I honestly didn’t want to go to the Olympic Trials, but all my high school friends and peers kept donating all their lunch money,” she said. “They believed in me, so I had to go do my best. From there, my confidence went up a lot and so did my focus. I studied Marion Jones before I went. I sat with my coaches and watched video on how to get out of the blocks faster.”

After her life-changing experience at the Olympic Trials, Lee went on to a dominant career at LSU, winning indoor NCAA titles in the 60m (2003, 2004) and 200m (2002, 2003), while leading LSU to three 4x100m relay championships (2001, 2003, 2004) during the outdoor season.

But despite all of those competitive milestones and achievements, Lee fondly remembers two things in particular about her time in Baton Rouge.

Food and football.

“Learning how to eat crawfish and open up crabs,” she said. “I was allowed to eat everywhere for free a lot of times. I could walk in places, and they would say Olympians could eat free. I never spoke a word other than ‘thank you’ half of the time. I was still very quiet and shy back then. And the football games were amazing. I have a lot of fun at Chiefs games, but LSU games are just as fun except a lot more dancing and well-known songs and chants.”

Coming from an athletic family was definitely an added plus for Lee. In addition to Keith, Lee’s sister, Mecca, was an outstanding multi-sport athlete like her sister. They are among many who had a profound impact on her career.

“My siblings drive me and push me to this day,” Lee said. “My very first track coach, Fred Murrell, is another who helped me. I copied everything that he did when I started training under him. I’m his mini-me.

“Several coaches had a hand in my success, and I keep in touch with almost all of them. They’re like parents to me, forever. And I appreciate every single one of them.”

Vic Bonuchi Football Coach

In 1960, a recent college grad was hired as a football coach at Excelsior Springs High School. Little did the community know that Vic Bonuchi would make quite an impact for the next several decades.

And not simply because his teams won. Instead, he molded teens into young adults who could find success beyond high school.

“I can’t tell you the number of evenings we had a knock at the door and it was a kid (sometimes not even an athlete of dad’s) needing his guidance, figuring out a school or family problem,” said Viki Peronett, his daughter. “Sometimes it was a parent that was there asking for help with their kid. They all knew dad’s athletes held him in the highest esteem.”

Bonuchi certainly built winning teams, especially in football, wrestling and baseball, and that’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct him with the Class of 2023.

In football, his teams were 137-44-7 as he enjoyed two stints as the Tigers’ head coach. He began his career in 1960 and stayed at Excelsior Springs until 1973. His teams from 1963 to 1968 enjoyed a 43-0-2 record. He later returned in 1989, and the 1994 and 1996 teams won state championships.

In wrestling, he started the high school’s program and helped launch others in northwest Missouri. He coached the 1974 and 1975 teams to state championships.

Later, Bonuchi agreed to coach the baseball program and guided the 1995, 1996 and 1999 teams to the Final Four.

Best of all, Bonuchi did not cut players, as he believed their participation gave them a purpose.

“He taught God, family, school, sports and there was no alternative. That was rule No. 1, no exceptions,” said Eddie, his son. “He truly genuinely cared about the kids. So many say he got kids to play above what they were capable of because of their respect for him. Attention to detail. If you’re 15 minutes early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. Don’t make excuses. Practice until you get it right.”

Bonuchi was a three-sport athlete at Ritenour High School in St. Louis, and played football and wrestled at William Jewell College, just northeast of Kansas City.

When Excelsior Springs sought a football coach in 1960, William Jewell football coach Norris Patterson (MSHOF

2006) gave him a solid recommendation. His preparation included hours of studying game films, while his wife prepared weekly homemade treats for players and assistants.

“I asked him why he watched so much film. He said if a team beats them because they are bigger, stronger and faster, he can accept that,” Eddie said. “But he will never let one of his teams get beat because he didn’t have them prepared.”

Strong defense and a controlled running game defined his football teams.

The 1963-1968 teams carried more than 100 players every year, and home game attendance was in the thousands.

The 1994 team was undersized but still reeled off an amazing run. The 1996 team had a ton of size and beat Liberty 48-13 weeks before Liberty lost to Rockhurst 6-0 in the large class state playoffs.

“He made (players) instrumental in team decisions in every way, teaching them life skills such as being prepared, analyzing problems and finding solutions,” Viki said. “He taught cooperative skills before they were a thing in education. He made every player feel like they were a vital part of the team even if they were not first string.”

Bonuchi, who was William Jewell’s defensive coordinator between Excelsior Springs coaching stints, has been inducted into several halls of fame: Missouri High School Football Coaches Association, Missouri High School Wrestling Coaches Association, the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association and Excelsior Springs High School Athletics. He also was among the inaugural class of the Missouri Chapter of the National Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame.

He also is a hall of famer of many former players.

“He would always head to the school an hour early every morning,” Eddie said. “I asked him why. He said because the kids who had bad home lives, or the kids with troubled lives in general would always arrive to school early because they wanted to get away from their problems, or they didn’t have anywhere else to go. So he would arrive early every day so he could be there to talk with any kids he thought might be struggling.”

Coach Bonuchi’s legacy lives on in the players he coached and in the many lives he positively impacted

Archbishop O’Hara High School Volleyball Era (2002-10)

Just ahead of the fall of 2002, in a private high school in Kansas City, a group of volleyball players sensed that it could be a special season.

After all, previous teams had the talent, just not the postseason luck. That was the story of Archbishop O’Hara High School Volleyball.

“To tell you the truth, we always went into each season with the goal to get to state and then win it,” said Kimberly Robbins Grantham. “Winning was the only mindset we had, and the training for it started in the summer each year. We would, of course, focus on the current competition at the time, but everyone on the team knew that the ultimate goal was to win state!”

That season not only reached the pinnacle but kick-started one of the most impressive runs in state history. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the 2002-2010 Era of Archbishop O’Hara High School Volleyball with the Class of 2023.

Coached by Lori Hanaway (MSHOF 2017), the team won seven state titles, which cover the years 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 – all in Class 3.

This for a program that prioritized team chemistry and hard work, right down the choice of season team mottos and offseason training.

To understand it, look back at the 1990s. O’Hara reached a number of district championship matches, only to be turned back.

“It was one of the key components of the program’s successful runs,” Coach Hanaway said. “They set the bar for incoming players every year with their hard work, dedication and pride. There were some outstanding players and teams that were so close but couldn’t quite win it all.”

In turn, those teams – and Hanaway – began to create a culture. Team mottos? Every season, there was a new one, and usually it was sort of cryptic, as only the team knew what it meant.

“They were motivational secrets, such as putting the area code of where the state championship was to remind us to keep our eye on the prize,” Lindsey Hanaway McKiddy said. Said Annie Mahlberg, “I remember how important it was for us that the meanings of them stayed secret.”

Dinners at parents’ homes before home games – and breakfast ahead of weekend matches – also created more team bonding, as did unannounced trips to the bowling alley in place of regular practices.

Additionally, club volleyball in Kansas City grew, and the addition of the libero allowed other teammates to specialize in their strengths.

The 2002 team beat Willard in the finals and finished 35-5.

“The teams prior to my senior year were so good, but we always fell just short of making it to state,” Kimberly Grantham Robbins said. “So once we finally made and took first place it was unbelievable and all our hard work finally paid off!”

Four starters graduated from that team, but the 2003 team (34-4-1) still won it all, beating Pleasant Hill in three sets.

The 2004 team placed third and then, in 2005, O’Hara beat St. Francis Borgia in three sets in the championship match. O’Hara tailed by nine points in the third set.

Three seniors and three freshmen keyed the 2007 state championship season, which ended in a two-set sweep of Westminster Christian Academy.

Hanaway had returned after a year away, and that led to a run of four consecutive state titles.

The 2008 team handled LoganRogersville in two sets in the finals, and finished 33-4. The 2009 team finished 27-6-1 after beating Villa Duschesne in two sets, and it was a 34-4 season in 2010 after O’Hara beat Borgia in two sets. That 2010 team?

It didn’t drop a set at all at the state tournament.

Looking back, many players point to the fact that the machine-like coordination of practices. They were fun but intense.

“We had a great group of girls who were friends on and off the court,” Morgan Wyatt said. “We cheered each other on as if we were in a game! Lots of, ‘You got it, just one more!’”

Said Jordyn Wyatt, “Excellence was a requirement in the gym.”

The administration’s support factored in, too.

“The administration was extremely supportive,” Katie Glynn Supplee said. “They attended our games, ensured teachers worked with our schedules, and rallied the student body around us especially at state.”

Overall, what a run it was.

“This era reminds me how much hard work pays off,” Victoria Hurtt said. “There are so many lessons I learned from my teammates and coaches.”

Charlie Burri Administrator

Sometimes, even the grandest plans can turn out to be bigger than you anticipated.

That’s part of the legacy of Charlie Burri, the “Godfather” of Missouri Western State University athletics. A former coach, Burri was tapped to start the Missouri Western program back in 1967. He had little more to work with other than his dreams.

“There was no stadium or fieldhouse at the school when I became athletic director,” Burri said. “As a new college, we were not yet affiliated with any conference. It was almost as hard to put a schedule together as it was a team.”

But Burri pushed forward, dreaming of better days. His vision helped lay the foundation for the modern-day version of Missouri Western athletics, which currently includes serving as the training camp home of the Kansas City Chiefs. The construction of Spratt Memorial Stadium where the Chiefs train, and the building of the Looney Complex for basketball and volleyball are a significant part of his legacy and among the many reasons why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to include Burri as part of the Class of 2023.

Burri knew that for Missouri Western Athletics to move forward, facilities were important. But even as Spratt Memorial Stadium was being constructed in 1979, he couldn’t conceive of what it’s become today.

“At the time we assembled our football field we were playing over at Noyes Field,” Burri said. “I helped secure local and state funding to build Spratt. At that time, never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned the Chiefs making their training camp home at Missouri Western. It brings me great pride to see them come to town and how much of a positive impact they have on the St. Joseph and Missouri Western communities.”

But it wasn’t just football. The Looney Complex became not only the home of Griffons basketball and volleyball but was a home-away-from home of sorts for the NBA’s Kansas City Kings.

On the fundraising side, Burri created the Gold Coat Club for Missouri Western, a booster club modeled after the Chiefs Red Coat Club. He also created the Missouri Western Athletic Hall of Fame, of which he is a charter member. He served as chairman of the Hall of Fame committee until 2012.

On the field, the Griffons found success under Burri’s

direction. Softball won a national championship, the men’s golf team made several national tournament appearances, and the football program earned multiple bowl victories.

Burri retired in 1984 but has remained a supporter of the Griffons athletic department. He has been inducted into the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame. A St. Joseph native, Burri graduated from Christian Brothers High School (now Bishop LeBlond), St. Joseph Junior College and Northwest Missouri State.

At the age of 92, Burri still gets a kick out of seeing what he accomplished. The school renamed the street in front of Spratt Memorial Stadium ‘Charlie Burri Drive’ in recent years.

“I have my kids drive me through the campus almost every time they come up to visit,” he said. “I remember fighting hard to get the approval to even build the campus there when it was only empty land. It brings me great joy to see how much it’s grown and how beautiful it is. I love showing my grandkids Charlie Burri Drive.”

Burri knows that life lessons can be found in what he accomplished at Missouri Western. Over the years, he tried to impart those lessons on to his children and grandchildren.

“I taught them to never lose sight of their dreams,” he said. “There will be lots of obstacles in the way. You have to keep fighting. You have to put in the work to succeed.”

With all of those accomplishments under his belt and his legacy clearly secure, what does Burri think about being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame?

“I was shocked to get the call,” he said. “At 92, I’m glad I’m still alive for it.”

Burri had several people make significant impacts on his career and his life.

“Bob Alcorn, a former coach at St. Joseph Junior College was an important person for me,” Burri said. “He’s also a great friend. Cotton Fitzsimmons (MSHOF 1981), who coached the Kansas City Kings, was another. Several colleagues contributed to my success, but none were more important than my late wife, Patti. She was my biggest cheerleader.”

Larry Lady Administrator

Very few people get the opportunity to have three different impactful careers. Larry Lady, however, is one of those people.

A college basketball referee for 40 years, Lady also enjoyed a successful career in the financial sector as an executive. When he retired from his day job with Waddell & Reed in 1992, little did Lady know that his next career opportunity was waiting for him behind Door Number Three.

“I got a call from the Commissioner of the Heart of America Athletic Conference saying he had retired, and he wanted me to apply for the job as his replacement. So, I applied, interviewed and was hired. The rest was history.”

For his time as commissioner of the Heart, and his years as both a college basketball referee and a supervisor of officials, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to include Lady as a member of its Class of 2023.

Lady first began officiating basketball in 1959, and eventually rose to a level which allowed him to work all levels of basketball, including all NCAA levels and junior colleges in Missouri and Kansas. From 1989 to 1993, Lady officiated in the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City. Additionally, he spent 17 years as the NAIA National Supervisor of Officials, covering basketball and football. He also officiated the national junior college basketball tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., in 1988. Lady officiated college baseball and football and from 1959 to 1985, and officiated three sports: basketball, football and baseball at the high school level.

Did all those years managing student-athletes, coaches and fans prepare him for being a conference commissioner? Not really.

“Being a referee and a commissioner are not similar,” he said. “My experience as an official and a supervisor of officials did give me a unique perspective and appreciation for officials as valuable assets within the conference.”

Lady has many moments from his time in the Heart of which to be proud, but there’s on in particular that sticks with him.

“We established a scholarship for recognizing academic excellence for the top male and female athlete each academic

year,” he said. “This scholarship program continues after my retirement as Commissioner as the “Larry Lady Academic Scholarship”. That’s a great honor from the Conference.”

But more than the impact he made on the league, Lady looks back on his time a collegiate commissioner and fondly remembers the little things.

“Just sitting in the press box at football games and getting to know clock and scoreboard personnel,” he said. “Also, the school visits where I met with the President, Coaches & Faculty Athletics Reps when I was on campus to attend a game. Those are some of my favorite memories.”

The NAIA thought so highly of Lady that the organization created the Larry Lady Award in 2000, which is presented on an annual basis to recognize the long‐time contributions of NAIA officials.

“It’s an incredible honor and recognition of my efforts on behalf of the NAIA,” Lady said. “It’s very humbling. Also being inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame was a humbling honor.”

It was as a basketball official that Lady felt the biggest rewards.

“I had the privilege of officiating college basketball for 40 years, and I feel that was the most satisfying and rewarding of all my experiences in sports,” he said. “I learned self-control and discipline from successfully surviving 40 years of college officiating. Relating to coaches was the most important element of my officiating success.”

But being a college official also gave him something else: stress relief.

“It also gave me a respite from my high-pressure career in sales and being a corporate executive,” he said. “When I was on the floor officiating, I could find relief from the pressures of my career and focus entirely on things happening in the game.”

Like anyone else, Lady is quick to give credit to those who helped him reach this point.

“All of the coaches, athletic directors, Faculty Athletic Representatives and university presidents with whom I had the privilege of working and calling friends,” Lady said. “I learned so much about life from them. All were a great influence on my 21 years of growth as a person.”

William Jewell College 2003 Women’s Soccer Team

In the 2003 NAIA Tournament semifinals for women’s soccer, already down 1-0, the William Jewell Cardinals suddenly fell behind by yet another goal only 30 seconds into the second half.

“I thought I had given the greatest halftime speech,” said their bewildered coach, Chris Cissell.

Said Kristin Neher Ebberts, “I looked at (Allison) Mallams and said, ‘Let’s go.’ We took the kickoff and literally scored in less than 30 seconds. We (later) tied it up and then scored with a minute left in the game.”

Call it history, as the Cardinals became the first team on campus to reach an NAIA Final Four, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the 2003 William Jewell Women’s Soccer Team with the Class of 2023.

Constructed entirely of Missouri high school graduates – and allotted only three scholarships by the university – the Cardinals were the highest-scoring team in the nation at any level.

Their record? Try 21-1-1 and, ultimately, a No. 3 national ranking. In fact, the record included a perfect 18-0 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, although the Cardinals advanced to nationals by the skin of their teeth, on an at-large bid.

Team members were Andrea Turner, Stefanie Carson, Lara Melenbrink, Melissa Reh, Rebekah Lassiter, Kerry Regan, Anneliese Laughman, Sarah Alderman, Charleen Keller, Lindsay Davis, Sydney Boggess, Celine Jajko, Tasha Soltis, Sarah McCarthy, Kristin Neher, Megan Penrod, Aly Diaz, Mallori Kaminski, Sabrina Denny, Megan Sharp, Molly Thye, Jenna Einhellig, Chrissie Miller, Alyson Cox and Allison Mallams. Mallams was a First Team All-American, while Neher earned Second Team All-American. Thye was an honorable mention. Assistants were Johnny Chain and Rob Thomson.

“We bonded a lot during preseason, during the two weeks that we were constantly around one another and constantly playing soccer,” Carson said. “Many of us had been playing on the same team or against each other for years, and we just fit so well together.”

Cissell was in his fifth season of coaching the women’s and men’s teams and recruited NCAA Division I-caliber talent. He picked off Mallams from a commitment to the University of Nebraska, and five recruits had played on the same club team.

Jewell’s scholarship limit also forced the coaching staff to recruit high-ACT scores, as academic scholarship money could supply the roster. The NAIA allowed for 12 athletic scholarships in the sport, and yet William Jewell had only three.

In 2003, Mallams scored 43 goals, Neher 41, and the team finished with north of 100 goals.

The team’s midfield, defense, stout goalkeeper and depth – and speed all around – defined the Cardinals, too. An attacking offense, precision passing and quality possessions fueled success.

All of which allowed for creativity not usually seen in the NAIA. For instance, Boggess, an outside right back, led the nation with 19 assists.

To Thye, credit the coaching staff, too.

“They all bring a feel-good energy, so when you play for them you leave everything on that field,” Thye said.

“Not that we expected to win each game, but it gave us confidence, the ability to relax, and have fun together on and off the field,” said Jajko. “Jewell is a small private school. We saw each other on campus quite a lot; in class, lunchroom, and dorms.”

A tie in a postseason shootout forced the Cardinals to wait nervously for the at-large bid.

“I remember being so devastated,” Neher said. “We got called for a team meeting, and I just remember being so sad. At the meeting, Coach told us we made it to nationals since we did so well during the season. I think I might have jumped through the roof at that point!”

The Elite Eight was in Santa Barbara, Calif., and the Cardinals received a first-round bye. They then beat Oklahoma City University and rallied to beat Azusa Pacific in the quarterfinals.

“To me, it felt like we had already won the national championship,” Neher said. “To this day, I still smile thinking about that tournament and all the fun.”

Unfortunately, the season ended in a 4-1 loss to No. 2-ranked Westmont of California, which later won its third consecutive national title.

“At the time, we had no idea the impact we were creating for William Jewell Soccer,” Carson said. “We just wanted to play our favorite sport. … This team really is special, and the few times we have all been around each other in the last 20 years it’s as if we had never parted.”

Karen Schull MacGee Golf

When she was about 13 years old, Karen Schull MacGee was hitting golf balls at Smiley’s driving range when Marian Gault invited her to join the Kansas City Girls Junior Golf Program.

“I joined and that became my first time being involved with an organized golf group,” MacGee recalled. “This led to my parents joining Blue Hills Country Club, which in turn led to my taking lessons from the legendary golf pro, Duke Gibson, there.”

Thanks to Gibson, MacGee went on to become one of the top amateur golfers in Kansas City – and then in the Show-Me State – and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct MacGee with the Class of 2023.

MacGee won seven Missouri Golf Association Women’s Amateurs, which covered the years 1960, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1973 and 1979.

She also was a four-time runner-up in that event (1957, 1959, 1974, 1976), and was a three-time medalist (1960, 1967, 1975). In fact, her record of 70-15 in the Missouri Amateur leads the secondplace player by 18 wins.

Nationally, she reached the quarterfinals of the 1961 U.S. Women’s Amateur, finished as the runner-up in the 1961 Women’s Collegiate, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1963 and 1965 Trans-Miss Championship.

MacGee also was an eight-time champion of the Kansas City Women’s Match Play, and fourtime Country Club District champion.

Overall, she enjoyed eight appearances in the USGA Women’s Amateur, five appearances in the Women’s TransMiss Championship and five appearances in the Women’s Western Amateur. She also was a match play qualifier for the USGA Girls Junior Championship and the Women’s Western Junior Championship in 1957.

She credits Gibson for much of her success.

“Duke once gave me a shag bag with 30-plus new balls in it, which made me feel special and inspired me to practice even more,” MacGee said. “Duke always stressed that I should spend the same amount of time on my short game as I did when practicing my long game. I loved to practice, but practice time was mainly limited to summers when school was out.”

MacGee certainly tore through the late 1950s and remained competitive until 1980.

Her 1960 Missouri Women’s Amateur win came after Gibson emphasized the need to “be ready to play from the first hole on” in the 36-hole finals. She won 9 & 8.

In 1962, she won it again, this time 2 & 1 after a wild 35th hole. Gault pulled a tee shot on the par 3 hole, but it hit an upright bunker rake and caromed only seven feet from the hole. MacGee then made an 18-foot putt, and Gault missed hers.

In 1964, MacGee was one-up entering the 36th hole at Twin Hills Country Club in Joplin. She managed a difficult up-and-down to make par after missing the green and halved the hole to win the match 1 up.

Her 1968 and 1972 victories came against Barbara Berkmeyer (MSHOF 2021). MacGee beat future LPGA golfer Cathy Reynolds (MSHOF 2015) in 1973 in a match where the lead changed hands six times before she won 2 & 1.

Her 1979 victory was among her most impressive. MacGee was down two after 10 holes, but birdied four of the next seven holes to take a 5-up lead after 18.

She credits her play in the 1957 Missouri Women’s Amateur for building her confidence. She was 17 at the time and, in her first time as a qualifier in the championship flight, MacGee beat the medalist of the tournament in the first round and later lost 2 & 1 in the 36-hole finals.

Two years later, she reached the Missouri Women’s Amateur semifinals and won that match on the 19th hole, after making a 42-foot putt on 18 at Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield.

In the 1961 Women’s Collegiate, MacGee reached the finals after beating two Curtis Cup players, defending champion JoAnne Gunderson Carner and 1959 winner Judy Eller Street. MacGee reached the quarterfinals of the USGA Women’s National Amateur later that year.

Overall, what a run it was for MacGee, who also won five Kansas Amateurs.

“My advice (for young people) would be to follow your heart and do what you love,” MacGee said. “If that happens to be golf, give it everything you have, but always remember to keep things in perspective. Duke once told me, ‘You’re never as good as you think you are when you’re playing well, and you’re never as bad as you think you are when you’re playing poorly.’”

Rockhurst High School Football Program

If the old guard of Missouri high school football – that is, former coaches, officials, sports writers and broadcasters – ever got to talking about the best programs in state history, there are only a select few that would merit discussion.

One of them can be found in Kansas City, at a private school near the state line. There, you’ll find a trophy case that is running out of real estate. Well, that and a ton of pride.

Which is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the Rockhurst High School Football Program with the Class of 2023.

Indeed, he Football Hawklets of Rockhurst have been one of the most storied programs in state history. Overall, they have played in 16 state championships games, winning nine of them.

The state titles are fourth-most in state history and cover the years 1971, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1987, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2010.

Rockhurst’s state runner-up finishes were in the years 1969, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1999, 2014 and 2018.

Overall, the program is 760-263-35 since its founding in 1916, and has had only four head coaches since 1952. Al Davis’ teams earned 153 wins between then and 1975, Jerry Culver’s had 63 through 1982, and Tony Severino (MSHOF 2018) was 345-92-1 from 1983 to 2019. Kelly Donohoe (MSHOF 2019) has coached since.

Over the years, the program produced several National Football League players in Tim Ryan, Kenyon Rasheed, Derek Hall, Jordan Willis, Robert Gamble, Dexter McDonald, Kerry Reardon, Jerry Reardon, Mark Goodspeed, Chris Garlich, Brad Budde and Paul Migliazzo.

Former player Chris Powell, who played on the 1987 state championship team, could have been speaking for all Hawklets when he offered these words:

“Rockhurst Football is a family and a family who is always there for one another in good times and bad for the Greater Glory of God (AMDG)!,” Powell said. “We were led by great coaches, especially Coach Severino. They taught us to be leaders, not followerss.”

Said Ivan Charbonneau, “Coach Sev commanded respect before players even entered the program. From the time I attended the youth football camps, he held a legendary status.”

And that’s the key to Rockhurst Football. It took everybody. For instance, Eric Berg was Severino’s defensive coordinator for 35 years, while John Morris coached the offensive line for 34 years. Even better, Severino made certain that assistants and players had lives outside of football, as he did not call on any coaches meetings on Sundays so that they could spend time with their families.

“I don’t want to be remembered for how many wins and losses,” Severino once said. “But hearing from players, the pictures they send of their kids, that’s what means the most to me.”

What all went in to making the state championships happen?

Said Pat Ryan, a member of the 1987 team, “The combination of expectation, talent, coaching and competitiveness all mixed together.”

Rockhurst’s first state title was a 14-10 victory against Beaumont in the Class 4 championship game in 1971. That team finished 11-0.

Four times in the 1980s Rockhurst beat Hazelwood Central in the state championship. The 1981 team (12-1) dominated with a 35-14 victory. The 1983 team (12-2) eked out a 12-7 win, and the 1986 team (11-1) won 13-10. A year later, the 1987 Hawklets (12-1) won 7-0.

Rockhurst won it all again in 2000, finishing 14-0 after a 23-7 victory against Pattonville. The 2002 team (13-0) dominated Lindbergh 13-0. The 2007 team (13-0) won the Class 6 state title with a 28-9 victory against Mehlville. The 2010 team (14-0) beat Hazelwood Central 14-0.

In the state runner-up finishes, Rockhurst had four losses by 10 points or less.

In other words, preparation always put the Hawklets in position to have success.

“We all knew what the expectations were while wearing that uniform,” Chris Russell said. “You are representing Rockhurst High School, whose motto, “Men for Others,” was not just a saying. Respect your coaches, respect the refs, respect the opponent and leave it all on the field. We knew that if we made a quarterback sack, we would help the quarterback back up. We might tell him, ‘I’ll be right back,’ but we helped them up.”

“There is truth to the phrase culture of winning,” Russell added. “We had it. We lived it. It has lasted with me my entire life.”

Tom O’Brien Tennis Coach

You don’t coach for over 50 years without loving what you do. And it’s pretty clear that Tom O’Brien has loved being a coach.

The Barstow School boys and girls tennis coach since 2006, O’Brien has been a coach in the Kansas City area for more than five decades. He began at Bishop Hogan High School, moved to Hickman Mills where he coached girls basketball while also teaching and coaching boys golf, before ending up with Barstow. Everywhere he’s gone, success has followed.

At Barstow, his teams have combined for eight top-four finishes since his arrival. That includes two girls state championships in 2013 and 2021, and a boys state title in 2021. He oversaw nine doubles titles combined, including six doubles state championships in girls tennis. O’Brien has been a Coach of the Year by the Missouri and Midwest Sections (2013, 2021), the Missouri Valley Heart of America and the National Federation of High School Associations. Based on those accomplishments alone, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to include Tom O’Brien as a member of its Class of 2023.

What’s kept him going all these years?

“It’s the relationships,” O’Brien said. “I’ve always had them in the classroom, but the bonds and memories are even stronger when you watch young people work and train in a sport they love and put it on the line.”

In basketball, O’Brien’s Hickman Mills teams won 10 conference championships, with the 1986 team finishing as the Class 4 state runner-up. He holds the second-highest winning percentage (.785) in the 60-year history of the Suburban Conference. In 1992, he was selected as Kansas City Metro Girls Basketball Coach of the Year by the Kansas City Star.

“I was so lucky to be around such talent and work ethic, particularly with our girls program,” O’Brien said. “I might be biased about basketball, but the work and preparation in that sport is special.”

After having so much success in basketball, did he find the transition to coaching tennis challenging?

“Well, it helps to have talent to begin with,” O’Brien said. “But with both sports, using the practice time efficiently to get as much muscle memory skill work in matters in both sports.

Also, in both sports there are points of emphasis that make a difference but aren’t naturally comfortable. In both sports a coach can either encourage those things or insist on them. And in both, I’ve felt they are the things that make a difference.”

It’s hard for O’Brien to pick a favorite moment from each sport. But he does have a few which stand out.

“In basketball, in my last season (1992) we played St. Joseph Central in the State Sectionals at Municipal Auditorium. We only had six girls all year record a varsity minute. With six players we were forced to play zone. We were down 21 points with 5:30 to go and called our second to last time out. The girls were gassed and four of them were in foul trouble. But it was time to play man and press. We cut it to three points with 20 seconds left and used our last time out. We hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. Our post Carrie Barker hit the winning free throw with no time left in double overtime. I still shake my head.

“As for tennis, it has to be in 2013 when Alena Frye and Maddie Tadros helped make Barstow history with the school’s first ever tennis team state championship. We were up 4-3 with two doubles matches going when I heard the roar come from court 8 with our number two doubles team (Emily Reed, Kathryn Lundgren) wrapping it up.”

In 50 years, it’s easy to imagine O’Brien having numerous influences, fellow coaches, administrators, others who positively impacted his career. At the top of that list? His family.

“I have to start personally with my family,” O’Brien said. “My mother and father and three brothers, Kevin, Kerry and Jack; my kids, Kyle and Laura; and especially these last 17 years, my wife, Gina, who has been our team’s and my biggest fan, and supported me in this last coaching chapter.”

But there are others.

“I have to give a nod to people like Norb Schmidt, one of my old coaches. More recently, Tom Benyo and Jim Kirke, who went through so many of those long basketball seasons with me. Even more recently, I have been so lucky to have such quality assistant coaches, like Brian Michael, Chris Williams, Brendan Kenny, Steve Hirtzel and now Terry Downs.”

Don Edwards Basketball Coach

If not for the influence of one high school coach, Don Edwards might have been a farmer. And while that likely would have been farming’s gain, it would have been a major loss for the sporting world in northwest Missouri.

Admittedly, Edwards grew up with the same dreams of every other American boy. He wanted to play baseball in the Major Leagues or basketball in the NBA. But once he got to high school, he caught the coaching bug after helping North Harrison High School in Eagleville to a pair of district titles and a state Final Four.

“My high school coach, Larry Parman, was a great role model and that got me thinking about being a coach,” Edwards said. “He was my coaching inspiration.”

That inspiration helped guide Edwards to an astonishing coaching career, one that included more than 800 basketball victories in 20 years as the boys and girls head coach at Jefferson High School in Conception Junction. Among those 824 wins were a combined three state championships (girls in 1989 and 1997; boys in 2000).

For all of those accomplishments, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Edwards as a member of its Class of 2023.

From the outside, spending 20 years simultaneously coaching boys and girls basketball may seem like a daunting task. But for Edwards, it was no big deal.

“I was a little skeptical at first,” he said. “But during my experience as a student teacher as a senior in college, I worked under a high school coach who coached both boys and girls. Also, during my first two years working at Jefferson, I was the assistant coach for both boys and girls teams and coached both boys and girls junior high teams. By the time I became head coach, I felt pretty comfortable working with either team.”

According to Edwards, there wasn’t a lot of difference coaching the boys and the girls.

“For me, I didn’t feel there was much difference,” he said. “No matter whether boys or girls, you still have to get to know your players strengths and weaknesses, when to praise, when to criticize, and how to motivate them. You deal with different personalities and emotions of players no matter which gender. Good coaches handle individual players differently at times. That goes for boys or girls.”

And Edwards was certainly a good coach. Overall, he

appeared in six Final Fours, won three state championships, 18 conference championships and 16 district titles. He also was a three-time Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year.

He also coached Jefferson softball to six Final Fours and three state titles (1981, 1987, 1998), cementing his status as one of Missouri’s alltime coaching greats.

Basketball and softball may not seem too similar, but Edwards says coaching the two sports isn’t all that different.

“Knowledge of the sport is really the only difference when it comes to coaching different things,” Edwards said. “How you handle players and how you motivate is basically the same.”

Edwards is quick to deflect attention when asked about what made him so successful. He credits most of his success to hard work, both on the part of himself and his athletes.

“First of all, the Jefferson school and community were awesome to work for,” he said. “Parents were very supportive, and their kids knew the value of hard work. It’s amazing how ‘lucky’ people get that work hard.”

Edwards also never stopped learning, never stopped trying to be a better coach.

“I was eager to learn as I attended many clinics, camps, and hung around successful coaches, and tried to be a sponge,” he said. “I felt like I continued to learn things every year I coached.”

With all that success, one might be tempted to move on to supposedly greener pastures. But Edwards never really felt that way.

“There were a few opportunities I seriously considered but every time it came down to making a final decision, I decided where I was at was the best place for me,” he said.

Several people influenced Edwards through out his career, beginning with Parman. Along the way, people like Northeast Nodaway coach Claude Samson, William Jewell coach Larry Holley, Missouri State coaching legend Cheryl Burnett and Northwest Missouri’s Steve Tappmeyer made a mark. All are MSHOF inductees.

“You are known for who you surround yourself with and hang out with,” Edwards said. “I’ve been so fortunate to have many great friends, mentors, and assistant coaches.”

And the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is fortunate to claim Don Edwards as one of its newest members.

Northeast Nodaway High School Girls Basketball Era (1973-79 & 1982)

Whenever the story of a girls sports team is told, it’s easy to assume that its success came only as a result of Title IX, the 1972 federal legislation that required public schools to offer sports to girls.

However, that is not the case in the communities of Ravenwood and Parnell, which are rural northwest Missouri towns about 20 minutes from the Iowa state line.

Here, the girls were playing basketball in the late 1960s. Which also helps answer this trivia question: Who was the first girls basketball powerhouse in the Show-Me State?

Yes, that title belongs here among the farm and corn fields, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the Northeast Nodaway High School Girls Basketball Era of 19731979 and the 1982 Team.

When the Missouri State High School Activities Association launched a postseason tournament to decide a girls basketball state champion, Northeast Nodaway stormed out of the chute.

The Lady Jays advanced to the Final Four every year between 1973 and 1979, winning state championships six times (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979), and then won it again in 1982. All were in Class 1.

All were coached by Claude Samson (MSHOF 1990), who in a 1980 newspaper article written by a former player downplayed his role in the success.

Said Samson, “Sure we have had a lot of good teams, but it’s because we have had a heck of a lot of good players.”

That is true. In fact, the program enjoyed a home winning streak that ran from 1969 to 1985. The Blue Jays’ gym certainly was an advantage. It’s one of those where only one sideline offers bleachers – and those go only five rows deep – and sit opposite a performing arts theatre stage. Just know there isn’t a lot of room out of bounds.

Northeast Nodaway finished 31-0 in 1973 after beating South Shelby 41-35.

“It was unbelievable,” Kathy Brown said of the 1973 state championship game, played at nearby Northwest Missouri State University in front of 3,000 spectators. “Here we were from a little town of 300 people, a high school with 100 kids, and we were playing for the championship at a nearby college

gym against a team from South Shelby.”

That group wasn’t afraid of anyone. In fact, Samson brought in boys to practice against them during the season, and the girls welcomed the challenge.

And so a dynasty began from that winter.

The 1974 team placed third, and the 1975 team was a state runner-up.

The 1976 squad finished 30-1 after a 38-31 victory against Hale. A year later, Northeast Nodaway scored a 41-17 victory in the finals and finished 32-0.

The 1978 team held off Wheaton 41-32 in the finals and ended the year 32-0. It was a 30-3 season to close out the 1970s, as Northeast Nodaway beat Greenwood 52-37. The Lady Jays won it all again in 1982, beating Purdy 44-28, and finished 30-1.

“We were trailblazers and didn’t even know it,” Brown said. “We took for granted that girls’ sports other places was just like it was for us … games always well-attended and plenty of community and parental support.”

Patty Berg Paxson emphasized that Samson raised the bar.

“What most people don’t realize is all of this winning and “the streak” was the pressure we were under,” Paxson said. “The more the winning streak went on, the more pressure there was. We didn’t go out on the court ‘hoping’ to win. We were expected to win. Claude Samson had a way to figure out what us girls were capable of, and incorporate that talent into the team.”

Northeast Nodaway had meant a lot to Samson, who spent his freshman, sophomore and junior years there before graduating from nearby Maryville High School. He returned in 1965 as the head basketball coach.

Players remember him for not roaming the sidelines, as you see coaches do these days. He was a disciplinarian, though, and wasn’t afraid to move a varsity player to the junior varsity.

“Claude Samson was our highly respected coach who made us what we were by instilling tons of discipline and insisting on sticking to the fundamentals,” said Janet McCrorey Waldeier. “His motto was, ‘Offense wins reputations, but defense wins the games!’ He was also fairly quiet on the sidelines, saying ‘You coach a game before the game.’”

Overall, what an era in northwest Missouri it was.

Karen Kornacki Journalist

Growing up as a young girl in Western New York, Karen Kornacki didn’t have many sports-related opportunities, on the playing field or off.

“There were no sports for girls,” Kornacki said. “We had gym classes and if you were fortunate enough to pay for tennis, gymnastics, or golf lessons, you could be active that way. But there were no sports for girls to participate in.”

Kornacki didn’t set out to become a television sports journalist. Mainly because women weren’t part of the sports journalism world when she was growing up.

“I did not pursue a career in sports journalism,” she said. “There were no women in those roles back in the 70’s.”

Despite not initially pursuing a career in sports journalism, Kornacki ended up becoming a pioneer in her field. For the past 40 years, she’s been a mainstay in Kansas City for KMBC, covering nearly every major sporting event in the state. And her impact and influence on female sports journalists and broadcasters is so immense it’s difficult to measure. For those reasons, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to include Kornacki as a member of the Class of 2023.

It may be hard to imagine now, but in the late 70s, there were few – if any – women working in sports journalism. Sports Illustrated’s Melissa Ludtke drew national attention in 1977 for simply trying to do her job. Ludtke and Time, Inc., sued Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees, and others after being denied access to the Yankees locker room during the 1977 World Series. The case not only drew national attention, but it also ended up opening the proverbial door for aspiring female broadcasters across the country.

Enter Karen Kornacki. A recent graduate of the University of Denver at the time, Kornacki answered the call when WBNS-10TV in Columbus, Ohio, went looking for a female sports reporter.

“A station in Columbus, Ohio, thought it would draw in viewers to have a female sports reporter,” Kornacki said. “Funny thing is no one wanted the job. So, the news director started looking at audition tapes from women just out of college. That’s how he heard about me. He invited me to Columbus for an interview and offered me the job.”

Kornacki spent four years in Columbus, covering sports,

breaking barriers and dealing with male colleagues who were less than pleased to be sharing workspace with a woman.

“There were no female colleagues to turn to back then,” she said. “The males in my profession were often threatened because the athletes treated me better than them. I remember one guy when I was covering the Cincinnati Reds said, ‘Maybe Johnny Bench would be nice to me, if I wore panty hose.’ ”

Despite the challenges, Kornacki persevered, eventually moving to KMBC in 1983. She’s been a fixture on the Kansas City sport scene ever since.

Of all the great moments of which Kornacki has been a part, it’s pretty clear her heart lies with baseball.

“Covering the World Series is the best,” she said. “I love baseball and I’ve been fortunate to cover the Royals in 1985 and then again in 2014 and 2015.”

While Kornacki has rubbed elbows with the Kansas City sports elite in her 40 decades in the City of Fountains, she cites the colleagues who helped her tell the stories as those who made the biggest impact.

“I’ve worked with wonderful photographers over the years,” she said. “Great video and good interviews make wonderful stories. They helped me do my job.”

While Kornacki doesn’t shy away from being a pioneer in her field, she’d rather be remembered for something else far more important in her eyes.

“I want my legacy to be a testimony to God,” she said. “That when you give your life to Him, He will do incredible things. That is for anybody at any time. What God does for one, He will do for another. He has a specific calling for each one of us. When you answer that call you will watch His greatness in your life.”

After 40 years, it may seem as if nothing could surprise Kornacki. But when she got the call from CEO & Executive Director Byron Shive of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, she was admittedly caught off guard.

“My initial reaction to getting the call from Byron was shock,” Kornacki said. “A wave of emotions, gratefulness and being humbled, feeling I wasn’t deserving, but appreciating so much the honor.”

Claude English Administrator

In the early 1990s, with his NBA days done and his wife about to start a new job at a TV station, Claude English drove all over Kansas City.

His car found its way to Park University’s campus on the northwest side of the metro area and then, while walking around, ran into the athletic director. For English, the plan was to go into the private sector, not return to coaching. But the basketball team needed a coach.

Said English, “After conversation with my wife, Charlotte, she convinced me to entertain the idea and the rest is history.”

English made quite an impact at Park University for nearly 30 years, first as men’s basketball coach and then as athletic director. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct English with the Class of 2023.

English was the men’s basketball coach from the fall of 1992 through March 2005. He was the athletic director for 25 ½ years, retiring in July 2021.

During his tenure as AD, Park won seven NAIA national volleyball championships (five men’s and two women’s), 79 conference championships, produced 170 NAIA All-Americans, 428 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and was a 17-time NAIA Champions of Character awardee.

He also guided the university’s addition of four sports programs, men’s baseball and golf, and women’s beach volleyball and golf. In 2017, the university added seven developmental (junior varsity) athletics programs, and English was the conference Athletic Director of the Year in 2016-2017.

In coaching basketball, English compiled the second-most victories (182 in 13 seasons) in program history.

He was the American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year twice, including in March 1999 when the Pirates reached the NAIA Division I semifinals. Following the tournament, the team was recognized with the Dr. James Naismith / Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship Award, and English received the Charles A Krigel Award for coaching sportsmanship.

When he took over as AD in November 1995, he had several goals.

“We needed to change the culture of the department and improve the GPA; graduation rate; the retention rate,” English said. “We wanted to involve our coaches and student-athletes in community service and achieve a departmental GPA over 3.00.”

English’s passion for college athletics was understandable. A three-sport athlete at South Girard High School in Phenix

City, Ala., he led the basketball team to a state championship before going on to Rhode Island University. Twice named All-Yankee Conference First Team and a two-year team captain, he helped the Rams to the 1978 NCAA Tournament and three NIT berths. He then played the 1970-1971 season for the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and then played several years in the Eastern Basketball Association for the Hartford Capitals, an affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers – and won a EBA title.

After his pro basketball career, he was an assistant coach at Rhode Island and then its head coach from 1980-1984, with English named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 1981.

Those experiences not only helped his Park basketball teams but certainly in his role as AD.

“It is very important to hire the right people that are student-centered,” English said. “What I mean by that is having concern for the total student, not just the wins and losses but also in the classroom and in their personal development.”

English set out to improve facilities and worked with Park’s Institutional Advancement Department to raise funds.

Over the years, Park constructed the 1,500-seat Julian Field for the soccer teams, and the 1,200-seat Breckon Sports Center, which opened in 2000 for basketball and volleyball programs and housed administrative offices. Enhancements to softball and baseball facilities followed. In turn, studentathlete enrollment increased by 30 percent.

In essence, he cherished his roles as coach and AD, as English knew well the influence they held.

“The most influential people in my life have been my coaches. From the time I entered high school, I always wanted to be a coach at some level,” English said. “The thing I have always been taught is, ‘Recruit good players and get out of their way and don’t over-coach.’”

English counts as mentors his high school coach, James Patrick, along with Rhode Island coach Jack Kraft. He also found support from Park University officials such as Don Breckon, Paul Gault, Paul Rounds and Patricia Fayard – along with assistants, head coaches and athletes.

Best of all, the support of his wife, Charlotte, and his mom made all the difference.

“I am not sure that I made an impact on Park University,” English said, “but Park University and the students made an impact on me.”

Blair Kerkhoff Journalist

For more than 100 years, one of the country’s most respected newspapers could be found near downtown Kansas City on Grand Boulevard.

Blair Kerkhoff, a sportswriter, would walk in in awe most days. The Kansas City Star, and the exterior walls fitted in brick, likely elicited similar reactions from many others.

“Something that made an early impression was seeing a plaque dedicated to war veterans who worked at the newspaper, and the list included Ernest Hemingway,” Kerkhoff said, noting that President Harry Truman and Walt Disney also were employed there. “Walking into the old Star building, which opened in 1911 and was our home until 2017, was like walking into a history book.”

Kerkhoff certainly has enhanced The Star’s rich tradition in sports coverage, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct him with the Class of 2023.

Kerkhoff has been a reporter, beat writer and columnist for the Star since 1989, and overall, has been a sportswriter for more than four decades.

When the Big 12 Conference was formed in 1996, he became a regional and national college sports reporter after serving as a college beat writer. He has covered 30 Final Fours and 25 college football championship games. Additionally, he has covered Super Bowls, World Series, the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Playoffs and U.S. Open golf.

Over the past decade, Kerkhoff has covered the Chiefs and Royals in addition to college sports. He authored five books, has been elected to the United States Basketball Writers Hall of Fame and won the Bert McGrane Award from the Football Writers Association of America.

Additionally, he has soldiered through a 2021 leukemia diagnosis with the strength of his family, his wife of 39 years, Karen, and their children Nate, and his wife Gyeongeun, Ben and Anna.

Along the way, high ethical standards have marked his career.

“I covered college sports almost exclusively for about two decades at The Star, and it probably helped that I didn’t attend college around here,” Kerkhoff said. “There was no emotional stake in the schools I covered. This extended to my family. We didn’t buy college gear for our kids. Royals and Chiefs shirts were fine, but no Mizzou, Kansas or Kansas State. We didn’t want anyone to see a certain color shirt and believe dad

favored that team.”

Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., and a Roberto Clemente fan, Kerkhoff relocated to North Carolina in his youth. He eventually graduated from Broughton High School in Raleigh, where he was a three-year baseball letterman. He later graduated from Appalachian State University.

It’s probably no wonder he became a sportswriter.

“No matter where we lived, my parents subscribed to every newspaper available,” Kerkhoff said. “Our daily deliveries were newspapers and periodicals. I’d get the paper, pull out the sports section and spread it out on the floor. If I didn’t learn to read this way, sports sections and description writing contributed to my vocabulary.”

That led to Kerkhoff writing for his high school and college newspapers, working part-time at the Raleigh News & Observer and, eventually, covering sports at the Roanoke (Va.) Times.

With the Star, Kerkhoff’s impact has been felt. In 2001, his reporting following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks led to this: uniting the son and wife of Jason Dahl, the pilot of Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, with NASCAR drivers at Kansas Speedway. A Kansas City businessman had sat next to Dahl on a Newark, N.J.-bound flight on Sept. 10.

To Kerkhoff, the challenge is keeping up with colleagues in the same newsroom, such as Vahe Gregorian, Sam McDowell, Jesse Newell, Gary Bedore, Kellis Robinett, Herbie Teope and Pete Grathoff. Plus, he counts editors such as Jeff Rosen, Mike Fannin and Holly Lawton as key figures in his development.

“Some of the nation’s top sports journalists have worked for The Star, and I’ve tried to steal, ahem, borrow from all of them,” Kerkhoff said.

So many others contributed to his love of sports and, later, success. Among them have been his mom and dad, as well as teachers, professors, coaches and friends.

“It has meant having a front row seat to much of Kansas City’s sports history and the responsibility of helping write the first draft of forever moments like the Super Bowl, World Series, NCAA and MLS championships,” Kerkhoff said. “It also means having the privilege of telling the stories of those who have shaped our history and culture, our pleasure and our passion. Hey, we write about fun and games. What could be better?”

Carl Peterson President’s Award

In the midst of building the Kansas City Chiefs’ Golden Era of the 1990s and early 2000s, team president and general manager Carl Peterson met a man who was about to build the Golden Era of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

That was then-CEO & Executive Director Jerald Andrews, who invited Peterson to attend induction ceremonies.

“It takes a lot of work, preparation and patience,” Peterson said. “You have to be committed to doing it well. And the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame does a great job of that. (Listening to inductee’s stories) always inspires me. And Jerald was the catalyst of all of that!”

You could say that he also inspired the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which is why it is proud to bestow its President’s Award on Peterson.

The award is presented to individuals who champion the Hall of Fame and sports in general in the Show-Me State.

Peterson (MSHOF 2005), who oversaw the Chiefs from 1989 to 2009, has been a great friend of the Hall of Fame. That has been especially true through the financial support of Chiefs inductees and the campaigns toward bronze busts for former coaches Hank Stram and Dick Vermeil as Missouri Sports Legends.

Peterson also continues to take time to record videos in honor of Chiefs being honored. In 2021, he traveled to Springfield for the Enshrinement Ceremonies and delivered the acceptance speech for the late Derrick Thomas, a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

However, that is only a snapshot of the support he has given to the Hall of Fame, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit which has relied on private donations since 1994. Andrews and Peterson were introduced in 1998 by Bill Grigsby.

“Meeting Carl Peterson was a life-changing event for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame,” said Andrews, who in July 2022. “Carl spoke for us at a football breakfast and was a major hit with those in attendance. He did so many things for us that helped advance our work. Many times, we would sell four Chiefs tickets, we would have a jet donated to take the people to the game and Carl would put them on the field before the game!”

Understand, Peterson had a bigger job to do.

When hired in 1989, the Chiefs had reached the playoffs only once (1986) in 16 years. Fortunately, Peterson’s hiring of

coach Marty Schottenheimer (MSHOF 2010) led to the Chiefs enjoying 15 winning seasons in the next 20 seasons, including nine playoff berths, with a record of 176-141-1.

He also invigorated the fanbase, as he promoted and supported tailgating and saw to it that players were part of the community. Overall, the Chiefs sold out 149 consecutive games from 1990 to 2008 and led the AFC in paid attendance every year during that time frame.

Upon his arrival, the Chiefs had less than 23,400 season-ticket holders for the nearly 80,000-seat stadium. That apathy led Peterson to brokered deals with players to get involved in community events.

Take Thomas, for example. He was a first-round draft pick as a linebacker, and his pre-draft workout remains legendary. As Peterson recalls, Thomas never tired no matter what then-defensive coordinator Bill Cowher threw at him, and then would ask what he could do next for Peterson, Schottenheimer and Cowher.

Recognizing that undefeatable and upbeat personality, Peterson personally asked Thomas to move full-time to Kansas City and get involved in the community as a rookie.

“Derrick was like the son I never had,” Peterson said. “I knew we had quite a job to do, and he was willing to do it.”

At one point, Chiefs players had 37 not-for-profit charitable foundations. And, to enhance the fan outreach, Peterson and owner Lamar Hunt would walk the parking lot on game days to meet fans as they tailgated.

Charities have long meant a lot to Peterson, who in retirement led USA Football for 7 ½ years for the NFL. And he still answers the call for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame today.

“It serves a very worthwhile purpose into spotlighting the numerous and different sports and personalities in the state of Missouri,” Peterson said of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. “I’ve always felt sports is a very healthy outlet for every community. It has a way of galvanizing and bringing people together from all walks of life.”

Said Andrews, “During my tenure with the Hall of Fame, Carl played a major role that put the Hall of Fame on a trajectory that would not have been possible otherwise.”

Benton High School 2007 Girls Basketball Team

Finishing a season as undefeated champions isn’t easy. Just ask the 2007 New England Patriots. Or the 2009 Indianapolis Colts, 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2015 Carolina Panthers, 2018 Los Angels Rams and the 2019 San Francisco 49ers.

But that’s football. Now let’s try basketball. On the women’s side, only four programs have ever gone an entire season undefeated: Texas (1986), UConn (1995, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2016), Tennessee (1998) and Baylor (2012).

The 2007 Benton High School girls basketball team knows what its like to finish a season without a blemish. The Lady Cardinals steamrolled their way to a 30-0 mark and the Class 4 state championship, using their “Southside Mentality” to out-tough many, if not all, of their opponents. Behind head coach Brett Goodwin, Benton High School made history that year, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to honor them as part of the Class of 2023. Benton was more than ready for the state tournament after a challenging regular-season schedule. The Lady Cardinals won the Jefferson City Tournament with a 44-37 victory against Liberty, which went on to win the Class 5 state championship. Benton also won the Lindwood-Basehor (Kan.) Tournament, beating Holton 53-27 weeks before Holton won the Kansas Class 4 state title.

Toughness – Benton calls it a Southside Mentality – carried the Lady Cardinals throughout the season.

“We were probably some of the toughest girls you’ve ever been around,” said Alicia Bell, who scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the championship game win against Farmington. “Everyone was mentally invested and mentally tough. Basketball season is long and drawn out and we always stayed together.”

Her teammates echoed Bell’s sentiments.

“What made us special was our grit and tenacity, our mindset,” said Melissa McIntosh Ellis. “We all had the mindset that we wanted to achieve the highest goal.”

“We had the same exact mentality – hard-nosed, get after it,” said Jenni Musser O’Meara. “We didn’t accept losing.”

And they didn’t have to, as the Lady Cardinals ran the table, becoming the first undefeated state champions in St. Joseph history.

“The reason they were so special was because they just had the will and mentality to be great and do whatever it takes to achieve that,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin was the driving force behind the team’s success.

“Coach didn’t accept anything less than what he believed was your best,” Musser O’Meara said. “He was going to make sure he got that from you one way or another. It ended up blooming into this amazing experience.”

Bell shared similar thoughts.

“Coach was the heartbeat,” she said. “Teams adopt their coach’s mentality. Luckily, we already had that mentality so when you have coach that feeds that and encourages that – especially for young women to be pushed and be allowed to be competitors – he wasn’t going to tell us to simmer down. He probably poured gasoline on that fire to be honest.”

But it was more than just Goodwin pushing them to be their best. Goodwin’s belief in his players had a lasting impact.

“We had the drive to always want more and more,” McIntosh Ellis said. “And that came from practice. The level was set for us. Other coaches would come by and say what we were doing was too much. ‘Why would you put HS girls through all that?’ But we saw it as if we were being believed in. Someone saw in us more than we saw in ourselves. Looking back at that, we’ll all be forever grateful for it because it’s translated into us being successful women.”

More than just the players on the roster, the 2007 Benton High School Lady Cardinals had a profound impact on the community.

“Winning that championship for Benton High School and the Southside of St. Joseph was special,” Goodwin said. “The community really embraced the championship with us.”

Other team members were seniors Claire Brown, Delissa Hall, Charnelle Starling, Blair Brown, junior Jenni Musser and sophomores Chelsie Strong, Nicole Wilkerson, Meghan Curtis and Holly Switzer, and freshmen Kerstyn Bolton, Shelbee Cox, Hannah Moore and Karli Sample. Benton’s assistant coach was Adam Willard, and Bryce Mereness was the student manager. Mike Ziesel was the athletic director.

Michael Watson Basketball

Thanks to Bo Jackson (MSHOF 2005) the basketball world almost never knew about Michael Watson.

Watson admits that football and baseball, not basketball, were his first sports loves growing up in Kansas City. And the multitalented Jackson was the reason why.

“Bo knows football, right?” Watson asked playfully. “I love football simply because you can get back at someone immediately and not get in trouble for it. It was also a sport my entire family grew up playing and it made me ultra-competitive as a young athlete.”

Eventually, Watson found basketball. And it changed his life. After starring at Central High School and spurning offers from bigger schools, Watson went on to become the all-time leading scorer at Missouri-Kansas City, finishing with 2,488 points. He followed up his stellar collegiate career with a 10-year run in the professional ranks, including a stint with the Boston Celtics. His efforts on the court are why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to name Watson as part of its Class of 2023.

In love with football and baseball, Watson needed something to do to keep himself busy during the winter. Enter basketball.

“So many of my friends started playing on basketball teams so I wanted to keep the fun going,” Watson said. “Since I was an athlete, I was able to keep up even though my skillset was far behind most kids my age at the time.”

It didn’t take him long to catch up.

Watson enjoyed a stellar basketball career at Central High, ultimately receiving some 40 scholarship offers from colleges around the country. Eventually, he chose to stay close to home. How close? UMKC’s campus is less than a mile from where he grew up.

“I chose UMKC because I’m a huge fan of Kansas City,” Watson said. “I loved everything about growing up in KC and wanted to do my part to make our city even more special. I also wanted my family and friends to be able to see me play college basketball in person.”

And what they saw was nothing short of spectacular. There was the 41-point win against Kansas State in 2003; the night he exploded for 36 points in a three-point loss to Colorado; his 40-point effort in a thrashing of Oakland. And then there was the Oral Roberts game.

On the night of Feb. 22, 2003, inside ORU’s Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla., Watson took his game to another level, scoring a school-record 54 points in a double-overtime victory. He was 19 of 35 from the field, made 10 3-pointers and played all 50 minutes of a 91-86 win.

After he finished up his collegiate career, Watson spent time in training camp with the Boston Celtics, surviving until the final days of camp. His time with the Celtics made quite an impression.

“There was nothing like it,” he said. “First class everything and you are playing alongside some of the world’s greatest athletes. It is an entirely different mindset at that level and there’s nothing that compares. The work ethic and attention to detail at that level is amazing.”

Over the next decade, Watson made stops in Poland, Turkey, Italy, France and his native Puerto Rico before returning to Kansas City. Since his return, Watson has turned his attention to serving his hometown in a variety of ways.

After spending time as the Athletic Director of Kansas City Public Schools and with YMCA of Greater Kansas City, he is currently the executive director of a pair of nonprofits working with families throughout the Kansas City area.

Basketball is just one chapter in the Book of Life for me,” Watson said. “It was always about being able to contribute to society and leave behind more than just a legacy on the court.”

In his spare time, Watson also started MENTALITY by Michael Watson, a non-profit youth sports program which currently caters to boys and girls basketball, and volleyball athletes.

Successful in basketball and in life, Watson didn’t reach this point on his own.

“First and foremost, my relationship with God has been the biggest influence,” he said. “I was literally given my talents seemingly overnight. My mom (Therssa Watson) was my first teammate, pitcher, back catcher, rebounder, tackling dummy (sorry mom), and super fan. Central High coach Jack Bush, former UMKC Athletic Director Carla Wilson, and my UMKC coaches, especially Rich Zvosec. He is more than a coach to me, he was a mentor, confidant, disciplinarian, and most importantly he was my real friend.”

And now the greatest basketball player in UMKC history takes his very real place amongst Missouri’s best.

Matt Besler Soccer

Matt Besler is living proof that you can go home again.

After starring at Overland Park’s Blue Valley West High School, Besler took his soccer talents to South Bend, Ind., and turned in an All-America career at Notre Dame. Besler continued his soccer career on the professional level, enjoying a stellar MLS career playing for over a decade with the Kansas City Wizards and Sporting KC before retiring in 2021 following one season with Austin FC.

Not everyone gets the opportunity to come full circle. But for Besler, the chance to come back home was more than he could have asked for.

“I would have been happy to play professional soccer anywhere in the world, but having the opportunity to do it in my hometown was a cherry on top,” he said. “I really enjoyed playing in front of so many familiar faces and I felt like I got to share a lot of my experiences with them. I take an incredible amount of pride in representing Kansas City and its people.”

On top of his experience in MLS, Besler also became a regular with the US Men’s National Team, playing in 48 international matches, including all four matches in the 2014 World Cup. For that and helping lead Sporting KC to 2013 MLS Cup championship, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Besler as a member of its Class of 2023.

Besler didn’t come from a soccer family.

“Early on, soccer was a learning process for me and my family,” Besler said. “Neither of my parents played soccer growing up, but it was starting to become popular, so they signed me up through the Blue Valley Recreation League and I played for my school team.”

While also playing baseball and basketball, Besler developed a skill for soccer. It didn’t take long for him to excel at the growing sport.

“As a kid, I loved the feeling of running past someone and scoring a goal,” he said. “It was a rush.”

As his game improved, Besler became one of the best amateur players in the country, helping Blue Valley West to the 5A state championship.

At Notre Dame, Besler made history by becoming the first

player in Fighting Irish history to be named First Team All-American and First Team Academic All-American.

Despite his many accomplishments, Besler had doubts about his professional career. Though he was eventually drafted eighth overall in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Besler wasn’t sold on making it in the pros.

“There were no guaranteed contracts at that time,” Besler explains. “It was all about survival, and I simply wanted to make the team.”

He was good enough as a rookie in 2009 to appear in 28 games. It was the beginning of a career that saw him named to the MLS All-Star team five times. He was an MLS Best XI selection twice, and in 2012 was named the league’s Defender of the Year. But his biggest honor came on the international stage.

In 2014, Besler was chosen for to play for the United States at the World Cup in Brazil. It was the one piece missing from his soccer resume.

“Playing at the World Cup was one of the highlights of my career,” he said. “To be honest, I never really thought I would make it that far. Anytime I got to represent the U.S. on the field, it was an honor, but the World Cup is magnified. I’m happy I got to share the experience with my family and a few of my closest friends.”

The World Cup environment is both intense and insular, so much so that Besler is only able to now appreciate what the experience was like.

“When you’re participating in a World Cup, you’re in a bit of a bubble, so it was hard to have a large perspective,” he said. “But now that I’m done playing and able to reflect, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

He didn’t reach these career highs on just how own efforts. Besler admits he had a lot of help along the way.

“My college coach, Bobby Clark, guided me through the developmental years of college,” he said. “He taught me the importance of doing things the right way and trusting your process. My parents had and continue to have a great impact on my life. My wife, Amanda, makes me a better person. She has one of the biggest hearts and has taught me how to think of others before myself.”

Lorenzo Cain Baseball

In December 2010, a phone call found its way to Lorenzo Cain. It was his mom, who saw on TV that he had been traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Kansas City Royals.

Stunned? That was putting mildly. After all, Cain had made his big-league debut that July after spending five seasons in the minor leagues.

“I didn’t know anything about Kansas City,” Cain said. “It was an emotional roller coaster. That said, I got a lot of texts and phone calls. But once I got to Kansas City, I knew this was the place.”

Cain went on to play seven seasons for the Royals – and was among the catalysts who led them to a Golden Era – and that’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the center fielder with the Class of 2023.

Cain will be forever remembered in Kansas City for helping the Royals win two American League pennants and the 2015 World Series. In his time in Kansas City, he batted .289 with 765 hits – including 56 home runs, 21 triples and 140 doubles in Kansas City. He also stole 120 bases and drove in 308 runs. He was a 2015 American League AllStar and finished third in MVP voting in 2015, joining George Brett (MSHOF 1994) as the only Royals to win a World Series and finish in top three of MVP.

Defensively, he made jaw-dropping catches. He also had a three-run double in the clinching game of the 2015 World Series, giving the Royals their first title in 30 years.

Most, though, may remember Cain scoring the decisive run in the 2015 American League Championship Series, as he scored all the way from first base on Eric Hosmer’s hit down the right-field line.

“I was just trying to get on base in any way possible,” Cain said. “Hoz hit the ball down the right field line, and I was able to get a decent read. I was coming in hot into third base, and I always tried to pressure my third base coach. I was surprised he waived me around.”

Cain was part of a collection of Royals who helped the organization end a 30-year championship drought. The others were Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez and Danny Duffy, to name a few. They all were called up during the 2011 season and worked toward building a winner.

For Cain, call it a remarkable journey.

After all, he did not begin playing baseball until his sophomore year at Madison County (Fla.) High School – he wore jeans to his tryout – and wasn’t a full-time starter until his senior year. He later received only one college scholarship offer, that being from Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College.

“There was a (high school) game where a guy didn’t hustle, and Coach said, ‘Lorenzo, go play right field,’” Cain recalled. “Next thing I know I was in the lineup consistently. My goal was to take advantage of the opportunity. I remember working my tail off.”

Cain credits high school coaches Barney Myers and Terry Barr, along with Tallahassee’s Mike McLeod as well as scouts Ryan Robertson and Doug Reynolds along with dads of high school buddies.

Despite being a 17th-round draft pick after his high school senior season, Cain decided to be a draft-and-follow by playing one season at Tallahassee in order to develop before signing. When he did sign, he negotiated for $95,000.

Cain then won the Rookie-level Arizona League MVP over Michael Brantley by batting .356, and the next season led the Low-Class A South Atlantic League in hits (162).

“That gave me the confidence,” Cain said of beating Brantley.

Hamstring injuries eventually slowed his rise through the Brewers farm system and, despite making his bigleague debut in September 2010, he was shipped to the Royals that December.

It became a blessing for Cain, who took a trainer’s advice and relocated his offseason home to Norman, Okla., in order to work on his running.

In essence, his bad habit of lunging toward the bases stretched his hamstring too far. It was a problem he consistently worked to avoid.

And he had a reason to. When he arrived to Kansas City’s spring training in 2011, he could see the talent in the organization.

“I played with those guys in Triple-A, and I knew it was a special group,” said Cain, who spent 13 seasons overall in the big leagues, with his final five back in Milwaukee. “It was a group of ballplayers who wanted to go out and win.”

your induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. It was an honor to coach you.

3x

C ONGRATULATIONS C ARL !

Y OUR IMPACT GOES WELL BEYOND WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISHED FOR THE K ANSAS C ITY C HIEFS !

T HANK YOU FOR WORKING TIRELESSLY FOR THE T HIRD AND L ONG F OUNDATION !!

on your well- deserved President’s Award from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

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