2023 Fall Sports Luncheon Program

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2023 FALL LUNCHEON

Opening

Invocation

2023 FALL SPORTS LUNCHEON PROGRAM

Taylor Frederich | Director of Operations

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Samuel Morton

2023 Elite 11 Honoree

Pledge of Allegiance ........................................................................................................................................

Bob Beatty

2023 MSHOF Inductee

National Anthem................................................................................................................................Coaches 4 Quartet

Board Chairman Remarks

Comments & Introductions

Dan Nelson | Chairman of the Board

Sports Hall of Fame

Byron Shive | CEO & Executive Director

Sports Hall of Fame

2023 MISSOURI HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

WILL CHRISTIAN - LEBANON HS

JOHN DABNEY - MILAN HS

JASON AMBROSON - SMITHVILLE HS

CHARLIE ELEMENDORF - DUCHESNE HS

2023 ELITE 11 HONOREES

CHRIS BODOIN – HILLCREST HS / EVANGEL

ATIBA BRADLEY – JOPLIN HS / MISSOURI SOUTHERN

TYLER CURTS – SKYLINE HS / SOUTHWEST BAPTIST

MALACHI DANIELS – BRANSON HS / MISSOURI VALLEY

DR. VAN DARKOW – ROCK BRIDGE HS / MISSOURI

BRANDON GUTSHALL – PLATTE COUNTY HS / TRUMAN STATE

JARED HELMING – KICKAPOO HS / NEBRASKA

RYAN HELMING – KICKAPOO HS / NORTHERN IOWA

SAMUEL MORTON – STRFAFFORD HS / EVANGEL

JEFF SHORE – CAMDENTON HS / ARKANSAS / MISSOURI STATE

BRUCE STANCELL – MCDONALD COUNTY HS / PITTSBURG STATE

INDUCTION CEREMONY

TERRY HIGGINS .....CARL JUNCTION HS 1992 MISSOURI SOUTHERN SOFTBALL TEAM

BOB BEATTY ...........................................................................................................................................FOOTBALL COACH

2004-06 RAYMORE-PECULIAR HS FOOTBALL ERA

SETH WAND ............................SPRINGFIELD CATHOLIC HS / NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE / NFL

1993-95 KICKAPOO HS BOYS CROSS COUNTRY ERA

RHONDA BLADES BROWN .................................................................................PARKVIEW HS / VANDERBILT

1993-97 WHEATON HS SOFTBALL ERA

CLAY HARBOR .MISSOURI STATE / NFL

Closing Remarks .....................................................................................................................................................Byron Shive

MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Your friends at the Nashville Coaching Coalition are proud of you and your hard work!

MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME

2023 Elite 11 11

The “Elite 11” Award was established to recgnize the oustanding accomplishments of Missouri football players at the prep, collegiate and professional levels as well as those who have contributed to the sport in a meaningful way. Award honorees were nominated and selected by a special Missouri Sports Hall of Fame committee and will have their names permanently displayed at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame museum.

Chris Bodoin

Hillcrest HS/Evangel

Bodoin graduated from Hillcrest High School as a two-sport, All-State athlete in 2002 a er playing for Gary Turner in football, Greg Harding in basketball and Coach Jim Vaughn in track. He was All-State in football as a defensive back in 2001, his senior season. That also marked his third consecu ve All-Ozark Conference selec on as a wide receiver and defensive back, as well as his third me as an All-District selec on. Bodoin also landed on the News-Leader’s AllOzarks team. Overall, he had more than 2,000 career receiving yards and 20 intercep ons. In track, he competed in the long jump, high jump and relay teams, including the All-State 4x200 relay, and was featured in Speed Magazine among top high school athletes. At Evangel, Bodoin was a four-year starter at wide receiver, defensive back and returner. He earned Don Hansen All-American honors in NAIA as a defensive back and earned All-Heart of America Athle c Conference recogni on. He was later offered contracts from the USF, Europe Football League and indoor arena league. These days, he helps coach football, basketball and track at Aurora High School. He and his wife, Rachel, are parents to Aiden and Peyton.

Atiba Bradley

Joplin HS • Missouri Southern

Tyler Curts

Skyline HS • Southwest Baptist

At Joplin, Bradley emerged as a standout on the offensive and defensive lines, earning Second Team All-State honors in addi on to First Team All-Ozark Conference, All-District and All-Joplin Globe. At Missouri Southern, he was a two- me All-MIAA selec on as a linebacker. As a senior, he finished as the team’s second-leading tackler with 72 stops (30 solo), including 9.5 losses and one sack. He was ninth in the MIAA that year in tackles. In his career, Bradley finished with 224 tackles, including 17.5 for a loss of 69 years, 6.5 sacks for a loss of 52 yards, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one intercep on return of 37 yards. He returned to campus in 2021 as head coach following a decade-plus of coaching at the collegiate level. He was a graduate assistant for MSSU (2006-2008), again at the University of Missouri (2008-2010), and then an assistant at Quincy University (2012), Western Illinois University (2013-2016), South Dakota (2016-2018) and McKendree University (2018-2021). Bradley and his wife, Jacquelyn, have three children, Briauna, Kiara and Marcus.

Curts is a 2013 graduate of Skyline, where he was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball) and was All-State in football and basketball. A linebacker, he helped Skyline reach the Class 1 state quarterfinals his senior season. Overall, he finished with 427 career total tackles (342 solos), including 61 for loss, 12 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and four intercep ons.

He also hauled in 1,254 yards receiving and scored 22 touchdowns. He was a two- me All-State selec on in football. At SBU, he was a three- me captain and started more than 50 career games. He finished second all- me in tackles, was a three- me All-MIAA selec on and helped lead a defense and team to the only GLVC championship and NCAA playoff appearance in school history. He has since given back to the game as an assistant defensive coach, first at Northwest Missouri State in 2021 and then back at SBU this fall. At Northwest Missouri State, he coached defensive backs and special teams, with the defense finishing fourth in NCAA Division II in total defense and the team winning the MIAA outright. He and his wife, Morgan, live in Bolivar.

“WHERE THE GAME LIVES ON”

Malachi Daniels

Branson HS • Missouri Valley

Dr. Van Darkow

Rock Bridge HS • Missouri

A 2012 graduate of Branson High School, Daniels played four seasons for the Pirates under coach Steve Hancock (MSHOF 2009). He earned First Team All-State, All-District and All-Central Ozark Conference in 2010 and 2011 as a running back and helped the Pirates win 19 games in three seasons, reaching the playoffs each fall. He ranks third all- me in both all-purpose yards (4,964) and rushing yards (3,795) in program history, and his 54 touchdowns are fourth-most. As a senior, he not only had 1,924 all-purpose yards but also 51 tackles and two forced fumbles. At Missouri Valley College from 2012-2015, he was a two- me selec on to the All-Heart of America Athle c Conference team and helped the Vikings win the conference three mes. These days, he is an office manager in Kansas City.

Darkow graduated from Rock Bridge High School in 1977, a er earning First Team All-State honors in Class 3 as a linebacker. He played for coach Rich Davies and started on the 1975 undefeated state championship team, and was co-captain his senior year as he finished as the program’s all- me leading tackler. At Mizzou, he played his freshman year for coach Al Onofrio (MSHOF 2012) and then played four years for coach Warren Powers (MSHOF 2017), the first being a redshirt season. In his me, Mizzou played in four bowl games, as Darkow posted back-to-back 100-tackle seasons as a junior and senior. His 122 tackles from 1980 are ed for 16th on Missouri’s single-season list, and were second at the me. As a senior, he had 110 tackles, giving him 294 total for his career – 19th on Mizzou’s allme list. In 1981, he also was a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, an NCAA Postgraduate Scholar and a Na onal Football Founda on Scholar-Athlete. He is now a physician/ pathologist with Boyce & Byum/MAWD Pathology in Columbia. He and his wife, Caryl, are parents to Andrew, Erik, Courtney and Blake.

MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Jared Helming

Kickapoo HS • Nebraska

Ryan Helming Kickapoo HS • Northern Iowa

Helming earned consensus prep All-America honors for coach Kurt Thompson (MSHOF 2018) at Kickapoo in 1999 and 2000. He started four years on defense and two on offense, ul mately earning Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year and was a two- me First Team All-State selec on in Class 5 as a defensive lineman. He made 73 tackles as a senior, including 25 tackles for loss, helping Kickapoo to the state semifinals. Those were among 254 tackles his final three seasons. Helming, who also was All-State in the shot put and discus, chose Nebraska among a number of NCAA Division I scholarship offers. At Nebraska, he was a defensive lineman his first three years and switched to offense in 2004. He played in all 12 games that season, also serving on PAT and field goal units, and started his final two games – against Colorado and Michigan. The offensive line helped Nebraska produce the top two single-game passing totals in school history with 431 against Iowa State and 392 against Colorado. These days, Helming holds the tle of Precision Technologies Manager for CASE (CNH) Industrial. He and his wife, Cassie, are parents to Ben and Tyler in Johnston, Iowa.

Helming earned Second Team All-State honors in Class 5 in 1995 as a quarterback for Kickapoo, where he was a foursport le erman (football, basketball, baseball and track). He then went on to be a four-year quarterback – and threeyear starter – for Northern Iowa from 1997 to 2000. He led the Panthers to 22 wins and finished his career as both the UNI and the Gateway Conference’s all- me leader in pass comple ons (662), passing yards (9,089), passing touchdowns (77) and total offense (9,217). A two- me First Team All-Gateway passer and twice a top 14 finisher for the Walter Payton Award, he picked up Second Team All-American honors in 1999 and earned First Team All-American recogni on the following year. Helming was also named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s Silver Anniversary Team in 2009. In his final two seasons, he threw for 6,614 yards combined and 61 TDs, making him the only passer in program history with mul ple 30-plus TD pass seasons. Helming later had brief s nts with the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams, as well as the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. He and his wife, Emily, are parents to Ava, Trevin and Harper in Johnston, Iowa, where Ryan is a project manager for Farm Bureau Insurance.

Brandon Gutshall

Platte County HS • Truman State

Samuel Morton

Strafford HS • Evangel

Gutshall went 34-4 as a star ng quarterback between 1998-2000 for Pla e County. In fact, he was there during an era that saw the Pirates win 65 of 66 games beginning in 1999, including 52 consecu ve – the second-longest streak in state history. Between 1992 and 2006, which included Gutshall’s en re career in a Pirate uniform, Pla e County’s .867 win percentage was the best in the state. Gutshall earned Missouri Football Coaches Associa on All-State honors as a junior and senior, leading the Pirates to the Class 3 semifinals in 1999 and to the Class 3 state championship a year later. He held career records for passing yards (4,874) and touchdown passes (56). He was also the single-season record holder for touchdown passes with 30 during the 2000 state championship run. He then played at Truman State from 2001 to 2003 and later graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. These days, he is a partner at the law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City. He and his wife, Meredith, are parents to Deacon, Grisham, Oliver and Derby Blair.

A 2016 graduate of Strafford High School, Morton was a standout on the Indians’ football team – and that’s putng it mildly. He played linebacker, center, le guard, kicker and punter. He earned All-State, All-Mid-Lakes Conference and All-District in his me there. Along the way, he had 569 career tackles, including 250 solo (seven sacks). He made 30 tackles in a single game against Lamar his junior year, and had an incredible senior season when he had 232 tackles, including 144 solos. Strafford was 37-9 in his career, including 10-1 in his sophomore and junior seasons. He also was on the state runner-up basketball team as a sophomore and thirdplace baseball team his junior year. At Evangel through 2019, he was a unanimous First Team NAIA All-American selec on by the Associated Press and the Heart of America Athle c Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. His 26 tackles for loss were the second-highest in a single season. He also averaged 39.5 yards pun ng. Morton and his wife, Amber, are pastors at Landmark Church in Strafford and have a daughter, Milie.

Jeff Shore

Camdenton HS • Arkansas/Missouri State

Bruce Stancell

McDonald County HS • Pittsburg State

Most fans these days probably know Shore as the former head coach of the Camdenton Lakers Football Program (MSHOF 2016) from 2011 to 2022 –and before that as an assistant. He was a pre y good athlete himself. He never lost a regular-season game as a quarterback from seventh grade through his senior year in high school, although he wasn’t the QB his sophomore season. He was All-State in 1986 and 1987 when Camdenton won state championships and won 26 consecu ve games. Overall, he threw for 3,172 yards, comple ng 241 of 327 passes – including 51 touchdowns. In 1987, he led the state with a 78 percent comple on percentage and, at one point, completed 29 consecu ve passes – a record noted in USA Today. He later was a redshirt freshman at the University of Arkansas, and then was a three-year le erman at Missouri State as a wide receiver. In coaching, he worked for his dad, Bob Shore (MSHOF 2004), and helped the program win two state championships. He was 95-44 as a head coach, winning three Ozark Conference championships and five districttles, with five teams reaching the state quarterfinals. He and his wife, Stacy, are parents of Sophie, Bo and Bear.

Stancell earned All-State honors in 1982 at McDonald County as a bruising running back. In fact, he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons. He also helped the basketball team to a third-place state finish in 1981. At Pi sburg State, Stancell earned honorable men on NAIA All-America honors at fullback in 1986. A two- me all-conference selec on, he finished his career with 2,750 yards – the second-highest career rushing total in school history at the me. He also helped pave the way for Pi State’s en re star ng backfield to earn All-American honors in 1986, as the Gorillas led the NAIA in rushing (385.7 ypg), scoring (43.5 ppg) and total offense (490.7 ypg). He also was an NAIA All-American in discus in track & field in 1986. Stancell later worked 25 years for McDonald County High School as a teacher. He coached track & field coach for a majority of his years – and also started the wrestling program – before re ring in 2017. He is an inductee of the Pi State Athle cs Hall of Fame. Bruce and his wife, Darbi, are parents to Trenton, Kord and Darien.

BOB BEATTY

CONGRATULATIONS CONGRATULATIONS COACH BEATTY AND FAMILY FROM ALL THE WAGNERS

“WHERE

NEBRASKA

Congratulates former Husker Jared Helming on his 2023 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Elite 11 Award.

NEBRASKA FOOTBALL O-Line/D-Line (2001-05) Academic All-Big 12 (2005)

KICKAPOO HIGH SCHOOL Gatorade Player of the Year All-American (2000)

JARED HELMING

CONGRATULATIONS COACH BOB BEATTY

ALSO CONGRATULATIONS TO CLAY HARBOR, SETH WAND, 2004-06 RAYMORE-PECULIAR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ERA AND THE ENTIRE 2023 ELITE 11 CLASS

2023 MFCA HALL OF FAME CLASS

WILL CHRISTIAN - LEBANON HIGH SCHOOL

JOHN DABNEY - MILAN HIGH SCHOOL

JASON AMBROSON - SMITHVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

CHARLIE ELEMENDORF - DUCHESNE HIGH SCHOOL

CONGRATS TO THE BEST OF THE BEST,

LEGENDARY COACH JEFF SHORE!

THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEiNG SO KiND OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS AND WELCOMiNG US iNTO CAMDENTON LAKERS FOOTBALL. IT'S BEEN SUCH A BLESSING TO WORK WiTH YOU. CONGRATS ON ANOTHER WELL DESERVED HONOR, COACH!

WiLL, CHRiS, & THE ENTiRE LAKE TVFAMiLY!

Congratulations Jeff on your Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Elite 11 Award.

You are so deserving of this recognition.

Thank you for everything.

From your friends and fans: M

om your friends and fa

Congrats Jeff

Terry Higgins

Announcer Announcer

In the early 1980s, when he first began teaching at Carl Junc on High School, Terry Higgins was asked to be the public address announcer for junior varsity and freshmen football games.

He s ll remembers that first contest – a 6-0 JV Bulldog victory against East Newton – but li le did he know that press boxes and scorer’s tables would become his home away from home.

Known as the “Voice of the Bulldogs,” Higgins served as the public address announcer for Carl Junc on High School football games from 1993 to 2022, and later handled the same role for numerous other sports. That’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Higgins with the Class of 2023.

Along the way, his wife, Lynne, and children, Terra and Andrew, worked beside him. While the public probably didn’t realize the me and effort Higgins put in just preparing for games, they certainly will forever remember his first down calls – “First Dooooown, Bulldogs!” – that livened up Friday nights.

“I have been the ‘Voice of the Bulldogs’ for at least two or three genera ons of players, students and fans. I have had the opportunity to announce the names of children of former players and students that I once taught, coached and called their names on Friday nights,” Higgins said. “Not a game goes by that a former CJ student doesn’t stop at the football press box or basketball scorer’s table to say hello or to bring someone – a child, a new spouse – to meet Mr. Higgins. These experiences and being such an integral part of sports here at CJHS has given me a sense of pride, honor and accomplishment. It is something my family and I will cherish forever.”

In his tenure, Higgins worked about 175 varsity football games, a number that surpasses 400 when adding junior varsity and freshmen (1983-2022), as well as junior high (2001-

2022) games. For many of those games, Terra ran the 25/40 second play clock and Lynne was his spo er, handling the yards and downs on the scoreboard. From the mid-1980s un l his re rement in 2023, Higgins also worked as a PA announcer, scorekeeper and clock operator for boys’ and girls’ basketball, wrestling, track and field, cross country, boys’ and girls’ soccer, baseball, and volleyball. Higgins also coached boys’ basketball and baseball and is s ll the all- me winningest so ball coach in school history.

In May 2023, a er 43 years, he re red from his posi on as a History and Psychology teacher and Social Studies departmental chair at Carl Junc on High School. Higgins treated every game as if it were the most important in town.

For football games, he would arrive by 4:15 PM for a 7 PM kickoff, but some legwork was done weeks in advance, securing rosters and assigning students to type names and enlarge the printouts so they could be easily read on game nights. The day before a game or the morning of, he would receive game announcements, hal ime rou nes, and addi onal notes. Prior

to the game, Higgins met with opposing coaches and broadcasters for pronuncia ons, and huddled with referees to go over rules – he would study up on those in the offseason – and their signals.

Some of his favorite memories include the 2022-2023 girls’ basketball team (30-2, state runner-up), the 2005-2006 boys basketball team (23-5, 7-0 in Big 8 Conference) that included his son, and the night in 2000 when his daughter scored the first points in the school’s new gymnasium. He has announced games for all 16 members of Carl Junc on’s 1,000-point scoring club since 1980, including 2,000-point club member Des ny Buerge.

Higgins would like to thank the athletes, coaches, administrators, and fans for their support. A special thank you goes out to mentors and friends H.B. Davis, Jack Heflin, Larry Bunn, Tom Hodge (MSHOF 2016), Gary Wa s, Mike Canton, Bob Tignor, Mickey Heatherly, John Roberson, Warren Turner (MSHOF 2014), Kevin Rhinehart, Craig Lynch, John Buck, Bill Ganaway, Rick McCulley, Derek Price, and Zeke Spieker.

“As the ‘Voice of the Bulldogs,’ my goal has always been to treat each contest and sport with respect, dignity, and professionalism,” Higgins said. “It has been my mission to make the games about the players, to help fans follow the contest, to make the officials’ job a li le easier, to ensure the game moves smoothly, and to enjoy the moment. Based on the memories and feedback shared with me throughout the last four decades, I feel as if I can proudly say, ‘Mission Accomplished.’”

Missouri Southern 1992 Softball Team 1992 Team

In the spring of 1992, on the way back from a tournament in Florida, Missouri Southern State University so ball coaches and players sensed something special in the works.

The Lions had won eight of nine games, con nuing a trend of the previous two seasons in which they had shown remarkable success a er jumping up to NCAA Division II from the NAIA. And opposing teams wondered who in the world had come through town.

Said Andrea Clarke, the standout pitcher, “We ended up making T-shirts when we returned to Joplin, saying, ‘Who is that Green team, and where are they from?”

That green team was from the pages of the Show-Me State’s rich sports story, as the Lady Lions went on to win the NCAA Division II na onal tle. That’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the 1992 Missouri Southern Na onal Championship So ball Team with the Class of 2023.

Built by coach Pat Lipira (MSHOF 2014), the Lady Lions finished 50-7 a er bea ng California State-Hayward 1-0 in the na onal championship game.

The roster included Clarke, Dana Presley, Carrie Carter, second baseman Cindy Cole, pitcher Angie Hadley, first baseman Stacy Harter, ou ielder Leah Ingram, ou ielder Krissy Konkol, pitcher Cheryl Kopf, All-American catcher Diane Miller (MSHOF Diamond 9 2015), shortstop Katrina Marshall, third baseman Sharla Snow, catcher Jaki Staggs, ou ielder Marcie Waters, designated player Renee Weih, pitcher Sharon Wright and assistant Dee Gerlach.

“People recognized that we were a great group of talented athletes. The team was not weak anywhere,” Ingram said. “I remember we had seven First Team (All-MIAA) members on that team. That is voted on by the MIAA coaches. Our mentality was to work hard, trust each other, and win. Losing was

not acceptable.”

In the previous fall, Lipira was o en away from campus as she completed a doctorate at the University of Arkansas. Gerlach ran prac ces.

“Dee did a great job, but we did miss Pat and had a couple of moments where we had to make some decisions for the team,” Miller said. “We did recognize we had some real talent and, if we could all get on the same page, we could be really good. I think it was in October when we all sat down and commi ed to each other as a team and, from that moment on, we were truly unstoppable.”

The Lady Lions were 36-game winners in each of the previous two seasons, their first in D-II.

Said Lipira, “When we began prac cing in January, I knew we had talent, but I had no idea how successful we would be.”

Missouri Southern opened the season 222. Ul mately, the team set school records in hits (500), ba ng average (.345) and slugging percentage (.476). The team also had two 11game win streaks. The potent offense was led by Marshall (.425 with eight home runs 50 RBI). Seven members of the team ba ed .335 or be er.

Missouri Southern had 26 shutouts that season, and the team earned run average was 1.05. Clarke, a 31-game winner and All-American, threw a drop ball in high school, and then added a screwball in college.

“Once the postseason started, my nerves kept ge ng worse but wouldn’t start too bad un l actual game me,” Clarke said. “My heart would race and, with my head down (not looking), I would be chewing on my fingernails! I would say to myself, ‘If I don’t watch, we will get a hit and win!’”

In the regional championship, trailing 2-1 with one out in the seventh inning, Missouri Southern scored six runs and beat defending na onal champion Augustana 7-3.

At the na onal tournament, they beat Saginaw Valley 8-1 and topped Bloomsburg 1-0.

In the championship game win against California State-Hayward, Presley’s pinch, bases-loaded single in the fi h inning knocked in Carter for the lone run. The game ended on a double play, the 16th turned by the Lady Lions that season.

“I was a pitching and defense coach,” Lipira said. “I always said, ‘Ladies, they can’t win if they don’t score.’ It is only fi ng that the na onal tle game was a shutout.”

Sallie Beard (MSHOF 2017), the Women’s Athle c Director for 25 years, hired Lipira in the early 80s and watched the program become an NAIA Tournament regular. 1992 was special.

“If I were to describe them in one word, it would be joy,” Beard said. “Beyond their willingness to work hard, they had a sense of joy.”

CONGRATULATIONS JEFF SHORE ON YOUR MISSOURI SPORTS HALL OF FAME ELITE 11 AWARD. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

Bob Beatty Bob Football

It didn’t take long for Bob Bea y to figure out his path in life. Growing up in Butler, Mo., Bea y knew at a young age that he wanted to be a coach. Specifically, a football coach.

Watching his uncle, Bob Miller, coach football, basketball and track & field at Butler High School made an impression on a young Bea y.

“I knew in the seventh grade that I wanted to be a football coach,” Bea y said. “I watched my uncle Bob coach, and he was held in high esteem in the community. It had an impact on me, that you could do something for a living and have fun and enjoy it.”

Perhaps no one enjoyed coaching – and winning – more than Bob Bea y.

A er s nts with Clinton High School, William Jewell College, and Blue Springs High School, the 1978 Missouri Southern grad became the head coach at Louisville (Ky.) Trinity, turning a na onal power into a juggernaut by winning 15 state championships in 21 seasons while compiling 254 wins. That dominance is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Bob Bea y as a member of the Class of 2023.

But it almost never happened. Coach Bob Bea y nearly became FBI Special Agent Bob Bea y.

At the end of his fi h season at William Jewell, Bea y knew he needed a change. The grind of college coaching wasn’t for him. A er his head coach le for a job in Minnesota, Bea y applied and was accepted into the FBI.

“I was married and had two children,” Bea y said. “I was packing my bags to go to Quan co, Va., for 16 weeks when Blue Springs called.”

Although he didn’t know it at the me, that phone call set Bea y on a Hall of Fame path.

A er 10 years as offensive coordinator for the Wildcats,

Bea y was promoted to head coach in 1997. But something wasn’t quite right.

“I didn’t feel like Blue Springs was a good fit,” Bea y said. “I couldn’t quite run the program as I wanted.”

Bea y dreamed of running a program with the history and pres ge of nearby Rockhurst High School, Missouri’s top program. That dream was about to come true.

“In 1999 a close friend of mine from Louisville knew I was unhappy at Blue Springs,” Bea y said. “He called and wanted me to apply for this job at Trinity. I laughed and said ‘Why would they want me?’ His reply was ‘You would be a great fit.’”

Bea y applied and was offered the job on the same day, but there were a couple of problems: he didn’t want to move out of state with his daughter in her senior year at Blue Springs, and his wife, Jayne, needed a teaching job in Louisville. So, he turned it down.

Fast forward one year and the Trinity job opened up again. This me Bea y didn’t have to apply.

“Trinity called and said ‘Your daughter has graduated and we have a job for your wife, so you are not turning us down

again,’” Bea y said. “So, we made the move.”

And the rest was history. History, though, was something Trinity had in spades.

The Shamrocks had long been a powerhouse in the Bluegrass State, winning 12 state tles in 33 seasons prior to Bea y’s arrival. But six years had passed since their last crown in 1994, an eternity for a storied program.

“I went to work and ins tuted a program that I had always wanted to,” Bea y said. “I taught that discipline is what you do for people not what you do to people. I taught that to play this game you must be in the very best physical and mental condi on that you can possibly be.”

And the players responded, as Trinity went 13-2 in Beatty’s first season, reaching the 4A state championship before falling to long me rival Louisville Male, 34-14. It would be the only championship game loss of Bea y’s career.

Over the next 20 seasons, Bea y and Trinity finished the season as the last team standing 15 mes. Following the 2020 campaign, Bea y announced his re rement, saying it was me to move on.

He credits his family for making an impact on his success.

“I love my family,” Bea y said. “They packed up and moved to Louisville, Ky., from a place in Missouri where they had been born and raised. They supported me, knowing how badly I wanted the job at Trinity. My wife and I have been married for 43 years and have two wonderful children. I just hope they think of me as I thought of my father. He was and always will be my hero.”

CONGRATULATIONS COACH BEATTY

2004-06 Raymore-Peculiar HS 2004-06 HS Football Era Era

In the summer of 2004, or five years a er the arrival of coach Tom Kruse, football players at Raymore-Peculiar High School were about to set the state aflame. Kruse’s 2002 team had finished as a state runner-up, and par cipa on numbers kept climbing.

“We told them we were going to two-platoon, meaning guys would only play on one side of the ball,” Kruse said of his first few teams. “Our first year, we had 36 players, so that made it difficult, but the next year we had 68. And from that point on, we had between 90 to 100 players.”

With depth can come destruc on, and the Panthers did just that. In fact, it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the 2004-2006 Raymore-Peculiar High School Football Era with the Class of 2023.

The Panthers won Class 5 state championships those three seasons, compiling a 36-3 record. The era also was part of the Panthers winning 28 consecu ve games.

In championship games, Ray-Pec beat McCluer North 37-18 in 2004, and again 43-21 the next year before bea ng Kirkwood 42-32 in 2006.

In the three championships games, Derrick Washington scored a combined 12 touchdowns, including five as a senior. In 2004, Ray-Pec beat Park Hill, the defending Class 5 state champions, and then beat them twice each of the next two seasons as they faced off in the regular season and playoffs.

The Panthers also scored notable wins against Blue Springs South in 2004 and 2005, as that marked the first me Ray-Pec played a Class 6 opponent.

All-State players were Chase Coffman (MSHOF 2019), Carson Coffman, Derrick Washington, Ma Breit, Levi Thompson, Kendall Burke, Andrew Wilson, Clyde Aufner, Nathan Hogue, Tim Mincher, David Gu errez, Robert Link, Landarian Gordon, Adam

Peterson, Jamison Shaw, Bre Twigg, Robbie Corder, Thomas Hodges, Nick Falcon and Gavin Lutman. Assistant coaches were Ron Barnes, Mark Cook, Ma Copeland, Sean Mar n, James Merrell, and Limbo Parks.

“I think the 2001 and 2002 teams really gave the teams that followed an idea of how much fun they could have together,” Kruse said. “They set the standard for work in the weight room, on the prac ce field and on game nights.”

The offense ran a double-wing, double-slot forma on, fueled by a running game full of iso, counter and toss plays. Defensively, the Panthers based mainly out of a 4-3, but played some 4-2-5.

The 2004 team (13-0) had 40 seniors and juniors, and they all held each other accountable.

Washington rushed for 1,034 yards and 11 touchdowns. Carson Coffman threw for 1,324 yards and 24 TDs, and Chase Coffman had 707 yards receiving on 33 catches, (11 TDs). Thompson (103), Breit (85) and Hall (57) were leading tacklers on a defense whose line was led by Robert Link and future NCAA wrestling champion Mark Ellis. The Panthers opened with a 41-0 victory against two- me defending Class 4 champion Kearney and ended the year by storming

back from a 16-15 hal ime deficit to beat McCluer North.

The 2005 team (13-0) returned several offensive linemen and the backfield of Coffman, Hodges and Washington. Mitch Young stepped in at fullback, and, defensively, Kendall Burke joined Thompson at inside linebacker. Jamison Shaw also returned.

Washington rushed for 1,060 yards on 131 carries (25 TDs), and Hodges had 1,088 yards on 132 carries (27 TDs). Robbie Corder hauled in 502 yards receiving from Carson Coffman, who threw for 1,321 yards and 10 TDs. Thompson (81), Burke (59) and Peterson (56) were leading tacklers.

Pay-Pec beat the same teams in the playoffs: Waynesville, Park Hill and McCluer North.

In 2006 (10-3), a number of seniors who had played on junior varsity stepped up. The team lost to Liberty in the third game of the season, ending the win streak, and also suffered losses to Blue Springs South and Jefferson City.

In the championship game, Kirkwood closed a 35-14 deficit to 35-32 before Ray-Pec’s defense stood firm with about two minutes le . Washington returned a punt 68 yards to seal the win.

Washington had 1,534 yards rushing (24 TDs), Gabe Crumpley threw for 915 yards and 12 TDs, Lutman had 20 catches for 446 yards, and Washington had 301 yards receiving. Burke (78), Nick Falcon (61) and Sco Neumann (48) were leading tacklers.

“Each me we lost, we got a li le be er and had a li le more resolve,” Kruse said. “Once we reached district play, we had everything in place to go on a run.”

Seth Wand Football

It’s a long way to the NFL from Northwest Missouri State. The path is even longer when you begin at Springfield Catholic.

But Seth Wand took the path less travelled, and parlayed small-college success into a six-year NFL career. One of just three small college players dra ed in the first three rounds of the 2003 NFL Dra , Wand is the highest dra ed of Northwest Missouri State’s seven NFL dra selec ons.

“Seth was tough and strong on each down and had feet like a ballerina,” said former Missouri Southern head coach Bart Tatum, Wand’s posi on coach at Northwest Missouri. “He was one of the most dynamic and powerful players that I have coached.”

From mul ple All-America honors to his appearance in the Senior Bowl to his NFL career, Seth Wand dis nguished himself on the gridiron and that’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct him as a member of its Class of 2023.

Wand was actually a two-sport star in high school. He excelled on the basketball court as well as the football field, and that’s where most football recruiters saw him play.

“During basketball season there were football coaches coming to Catholic and watching our prac ces,” Wand said. “I enjoyed football and basketball during high school but was ul mately be er at football.”

But make no mistake, Wand was a football player. His dominant play helped lead the 1997 Springfield Catholic Figh n’ Irish to the 2A state championship, one year a er finishing as the runner-up. The ’97 team was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

“Those teams were the perfect combina on of players and coaching,” Wand said. “No big egos, no drama and if someone had an issue, the rest of us took care of it.”

Wand went from a high school powerhouse to a small-college

juggernaut. Wand arrived as the Bearcats were in the midst of winning consecu ve Division II Na onal Championships. He was a member of the 1999 squad which finished the season 14-1.

As his Northwest career progressed, it became clear Wand was going to have opportuni es at the next level. He was named firstteam All-American by mul ple outlets, and was invited to the 2003 Senior Bowl, where his poten al NFL career gained even more trac on.

“Like coming from Springfield Catholic, I was not an cipa ng playing at the next level, I just went out on the field and played my best for the team,” Wand said. “Even though Division II schools are not known for being NFL factories, Northwest has had its share of players. With that, seeing the a en on players before me received and then seeing the number of scouts at the start of my senior season, I knew this was going to be a real thing.”

Not only are Division II schools not considered football factories by any stretch, players from the small college level (DII, DIII, NAIA) rarely get dra ed. Only two small college players were selected in the 2023 NFL Dra , and both of those came in the seventh and final round of the dra .

With all of the a enon he received, Wand

has a pre y strong idea he would be selected in the 2003 NFL Dra . But even with that knowledge, the moment s ll resonated.

“It was very special and exci ng,” Wand said. “I kind of knew I was ge ng dra ed, but the ques on was when.”

The Houston Texans selected Wand 75th overall. He was the 11th player taken in the third round.

“When you are ge ng dra ed in the third round from a Division II school, I think it’s like ge ng dra ed in the first round,” Wand said.

As one might imagine, the difference between Northwest Missouri State and the NFL is significant. It’s sort of like the difference between a gorilla at the zoo and King Kong.

“Mistakes are smaller and everyone is strong and can run fast,” Wand said. “In college some guys are fast, and others are strong but not o en both.”

A er appearing in all 16 games as a rookie, Wand became the full- me starter at le tackle, the only player from Northwest Missouri to be a full- me starter in the NFL.

“The most rewarding part of my NFL career was being a starter,” Wand said. “Ini ally it was ge ng dra ed but star ng my second year was incredible.”

And now, as a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Wand is thankful for those who supported him.

“My parents and coaches inspired and influenced me throughout my career,” he said. “I never wanted to disappoint them or let them down.”

Safe to say mission accomplished.

1993-95 Kickapoo HS 1993-95 HS Boys Cross Country Era Cross Country Era

Si through the old scrapbooks of Kickapoo High School’s boys cross country teams of the mid-1990s, and you might be le in awe – even more so than if you happen to stroll by the trophy case at the Springfield school.

There’s one tou ng the 1993 team compe ng in the University of Kansas Invita onal and placing third. Thumb your way deeper in the pile, and see the 1994 story about Kickapoo winning the pres gious Chili Pepper Fes val in Faye eville, Ark.? Dig deeper, and you will also run into this: Foot Locker ranking the 1995 Kickapoo team among the Super 25 na onally.

Put another way – what a run it was for the Chiefs harriers, who captured Class 4 state championships in 1993 and 1995 – and, in between, a third-place finish in 1994. In fact, their success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the 1993-1995 Kickapoo High School Boys Cross Country Era with the Class of 2023.

“It feels great to receive this recogni on since I’m convinced we really did train harder and were closer to each other than any other team out there of the era, besides maybe West Plains,” said Jura, a part of the 1993-1995 teams. “Coach Ewing also put in so much me and heart that I’m really glad to see his work and the teams recognized.”

Those teams were influenced by previous teams. The era was part of a 14-year stretch, 1984 to 1998, in which Kickapoo finished in the top 10 a dozen mes. That included a fourth place in 1985, third-place in 1987, fi h in 1988 and fourth in 1991.

A member of some of those teams was Jeremy Goddard, now the current Kickapoo coach. He was a senior on the 1992 team and recruited a number of freshmen to join the cross country team that season. Those freshmen went on to elevate

the program a er the 1992 team didn’t qualify for state.

The 1993 team won state with a score of 61, bes ng tradion-rich West Plains (MSHOF 2018) by 15 points. The 1993 team featured Shawn Hamilton, Bobby Hyde, Joel McCune, Jay Bob Esquivel, Jeremy Combs, Shaun McMaster and John Dexter. Hamilton, Hyde and McCune placed fourth, seventh and 11th, respec vely.

“Qualifying for state as a team was one of our most important goals in 1993 so all of our work during the summer and through the season was centered on ge ng back to state as a team,” Ewing said.

West Plains had finished in the top three in 12 of the previous 14 years, with seven state tles. In fact, Ewing had competed for the West Plains program years before.

“Coach Ewing didn’t just give us direc on but he, too, was running with us,” Combs said. “Coach Ewing would actually run to the school from his house to open the school for us before our 6 a.m. run. He was an example of hard work, integrity, and he illustrated such a commitment to us.”

The 1994 team came within 12 points of placing second.

Esquivel and McCune placed 12th and 13th, respec vely, and the team included Jura, McMaster, Combs, Brad Linnell and Andrae Wilberding.

“At the 1-mile mark, we had won the state meet. I didn’t do a good job preparing them for the first half of the race,” Ewing said, inferring the team peaked too soon. “West Plains, of course, was ready to take back their tle. As Coach (Joe Bill) Dixon later told me, ‘We were ready if you dropped the ball.’ It’s always hard to repeat at that level because, not only are others focused on us, we tend to place that focus on ourselves as well.”

The 1995 team broke West Plains’ run of 16 consecu ve district tles and then went on to win state with a score of 80, or 60 points be er than second-place Jefferson City. McCune, Combs and Esquivel finished fourth, seventh and 10th at the state meet, with the rest of the team featuring Jura, Bret Anderson, Riley Hamilton and Jon Thurman.

Doug Fredrick, a long me soccer player, joined the team that season in hopes of parlaying his me into a college track & field scholarship.

That team reached a Top 10 na onal ranking by USA Today.

“Each me the USA Today results would be published, Coach Ewing would make copies and tape them to our lockers,” Fredrick said. “The week we found out we had cracked the top 10 was pre y awesome.”

Overall, what a special era.

Rhonda Blades Brown Basketball

It started early for Rhonda Blades Brown, as it so o en does for the greats.

Not content to sit on the sidelines and watch, Blades Brown played basketball with the boys in grade school during recess, pretending to be Magic Johnson.

“I played on my first team when I was 10 years old at the Boys and Girls Club,” she said. “I loved everything about it.”

And basketball has never le her. From a storied career at Springfield Parkview High School, to helping Vanderbilt to a pair of SEC tles and a Final Four appearance, to making history in the WNBA, to the present day where she is a five- me state championship coach at Nashville’s Brentwood Academy, Blades Brown has pre y much done it all.

Her accomplishments in the sport are why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to include Rhonda Blades Brown as a member of its Class of 2023.

One of her biggest basketball influences was her father, Tony Blades.

“I give him credit for teaching me how to dribble so well,” Blades Brown said. “When I was in eighth grade, I asked for a basketball goal. He wanted to put a li le pad in the backyard. I thought that was a great idea un l he informed me I would need to pack down the gravel a er we shoveled out the dirt.”

For the next several weeks, Blades Brown dribbled up and down that gravel court, packing it ght.

“My ball went all over the place at first but gradually I learned how to an cipate the ball and it laid the founda on for my game.”

Her ballhandling skills gained a lot of no ce at Parkview High, but so did her ability to score. That a en on meant the top college programs in the country came calling.

A er home visits from the likes of Duke, Georgia, Notre Dame, NC State, and Missouri State, Blades Brown se led on Vanderbilt.

“The SEC was the best conference for women’s basketball at the me and I wanted to play in the best conference against the best

talent,” Blades brown said. “Vanderbilt was a great fit academically and I loved the challenge.”

She rose to the challenge, helping the Commodores to a pair of SEC tles and an appearance in the 1993 Final Four. Blades Brown earned All-America honors as a senior.

A er spending her fi h year at Vanderbilt pursuing her Nursing degree, Blades Brown played one season with the New York Liberty, where she became the first player in WNBA history to make a 3-pointer, before being selected first overall in the 1998 expansion dra by the Detroit Shock.

Following two seasons in the WNBA and a few years overseas, Blades Brown knew it was me to put her degree to work. She thought she was done with basketball. But basketball wasn’t done with her.

A er working with travel ball teams in Springfield and giving private lessons, Blades Brown joined the junior varsity boys coaching staff at a school in Nashville. She was hooked.

“I loved it,” she said. “Coaching boys was a blast.”

A er one season her husband, Parke, told her about an opportunity at his alma mater, Brentwood Academy.

“I decided with my nursing background I could teach Anatomy, so I took the coaching and teaching job at Brentwood,” Blades Brown

said. “The rest is history.”

And what a history it’s been. State championships in 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018, plus five runner-up finishes have turned Brentwood Academy into one of the na on’s premier basketball programs.

But despite all the championships, the highlight of Blades Brown’s coaching career is the five years she spent coaching her daughter, Millie, now a sophomore on the UNC Asheville basketball team.

“Ge ng to see her grow, and shine, and spend me with her every day for five years is the thing I will cherish the most”, Blades Brown said.

This past summer, Blades Brown enjoyed a new sports experience as she watched her son, 16-year-old Blades, capture co-medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur Open. Currently a sophomore at BA, Blades is the No.4-ranked amateur golfer in the country.

“Blades makes golf look easy, which it is not,” she said. “Watching him at the U.S. Amateur was surreal.”

In addi on to her parents, husband and children, Blades Brown has been impacted by countless others. Some of those people include former Missouri State head coach Cheryl Burne (MSHOF 2000), Dr. Thomas Burne (MSHOF 2008), Joanna Hayes, the Nashville Coaches Coali on, and more.

“Being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is one of the highlights of my basketball career,” Blades Brown said. “To be considered among the many great athletes that I have read about, played with, and cheered for over the years is humbling. I have dreamed since I was a li le girl that I would be considered one of the best to come through the state of Missouri, and I’m very thankful and grateful to be considered worthy of this honor.”

CONGRATULATIONS RHONDA BLADES BROWN

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023

This is such a well deserved honor. Not only were you an amazing ball player, but an unbelievable mentor on and off the court, and an even better friend. Thank you for being you!

1993-97 Wheaton HS Softball Era Era

The Wheaton so ball team’s success during the 1990s actually began a decade earlier.

The Bulldogs were one of the top Class 1A-2A teams in Missouri during the 80s, reaching the state final four on four different occasions (1980, 1982, 1985, 1986). While those teams didn’t quite reach the goal of becoming state champions, they le quite a mark on future genera ons of Bulldogs.

“We had a legacy that went on for several years before us,” Mindy Ray Beeson said. “It started in the 80s and carried forward to the 90s.

“We looked up to the players who came before us. We took it seriously.”

Beeson’s genera on of Bulldogs were so serious and so commi ed to winning that they bested their idols, reaching five straight state final fours from 1993-97, and winning Wheaton’s first and – so far – only state championship in any sport when they came out on top in 1996.

That sustained period of success and the determina on to keep on winning is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is happy to induct the Wheaton High School So ball Era of 1993-97 at our annual Fall Sports Luncheon.

Veteran head coach Keith McGee was at the helm for all five Final Four trips and his guiding hand, influence and coaching acumen are cited by most players as a leading factor in Wheaton’s success.

McGee knew how to coach, how to get the best out his players and it showed in the results. His former players gush over his abili es as both a coach and a mentor. He guided the Bulldogs to a .786 winning percentage during the five years from 1993 to 1997, with the ’96 state championship squad pos ng a 17-1 record.

“I loved being coached by Coach McGee,” Tracy Keel

Hudson said, “because he knew the game well. He knew our strengths and weaknesses and how to get the best out of us. He didn’t miss a beat and I don’t think we did either.”

Beeson shared similar sen ments.

“He was a good mo vator,” she said. “He knew the game and he knew sports. That allowed us to build a strong relaonship with him because he coached us in other sports as well.”

But McGee didn’t necessarily make all the right moves. Just ask Tracy Schad Wi

“In a state tournament game, he was ge ng frustrated with me and asked me to step out of the box during an at-bat,” she said. “Coach told me to stop swinging for the fences so much. The wind was blowing in pre y good on that day and he didn’t think I could hit a home run. So, I stepped back in the box and on the next pitch I hit one out.”

Schad Wi , however, agrees with her former teammates about McGee’s ability to get the most out of his players.

“He was a great movator,” she said. “He knew how to push the right bu ons and get us to go beyond what we believed we were

capable of doing.”

One of the traits which set the Bulldogs apart from their opponents was their compe veness.

“Our compe veness is what I loved the most,” Keel Hudson said. “We were driven to do the best we could. I loved that part of it. I tell my kids all the me how much winning meant to us. When we got out on the field we just played. It was so much fun to be compe ve and to win.”

The ’96 final four began with Wheaton exploding for six runs early in their semi-final game against New Bloomfield before hanging on for a 6-4 victory, se ng the stage for the championship game.

A er years of coming close, the ’96 team finally broke through with a state championship, defea ng South Nodaway 11-8 in the tle game.

The ’96 team was an offensive juggernaut, averaging 12.8 runs per game in the state tournament, while allowing less than four runs. Total dominance.

The town celebrated with the team a er the championship victory, gree ng the Bulldogs on Main Street when they rolled into town early on a Sunday morning. Local news reports indicated later that week, at a school rally, State Rep. Sam Gaskill told those assembled that he now had an answer when he was asked where Barry County is. “It’s where Wheaton is, home of the world-famous Wheaton Lady Bulldogs.”

Today, once more, the state is being reminded of that.

Clay Harbor Harbor Football

He had emerged as an intriguing football talent at a small high school outside of Chicago, didn’t get recruited by major NCAA Division I programs but did catch the eyes of a couple of Mid-American Conference schools and others in the Football Championship Subdivision.

With that, anyone could have assumed that, for Clay Harbor, the Na onal Football League was a long shot. But not him.

“I thought I had the opportunity to become an NFL player a er my senior year in high school,” Harbor said, “but at the me I really didn’t know what that meant.”

He soon applied himself even more, transforming his abili es into pro prospect material while at Missouri State, and then went on to a seven-year career in the NFL. That’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Harbor with the Class of 2023.

Harbor won Associated Press All-America honors three mes at Missouri State and was an All-American by the Walter Camp Football Founda on in the Football Championship Subdivision. A ght end, he played in the East-West Shrine game in 2009, capping a career in which he was a three- me First Team Missouri Valley Football Conference selec on — one of only six MSU players ever to do so. He became the Bears’ career pass receiving record holder by leading the team in receiving three consecu ve years. He set the team ght end records for pass recep ons (150) and consecu ve games with a pass recep on (33).

In 2010, Harbor was a fourth-round selec on of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Dra and played 98 career games for the Eagles, Jaguars, Lions and Patriots. He hauled in 1,170 yards in receiving and scored eight touchdowns.

It was quite a career for a standout from Dwight Township High School in Illinois. He was then recruited by Terry Allen to go to Missouri State, with Allen having coached previously at Northern Iowa – he was Kurt Warner’s coach – and at the University of Kansas.

“I chose to play at Missouri State because my brother went there the year before me and he enjoyed it,” Harbor said. “I wanted the opportunity to play football with him in college. We always dreamed about playing college sports together.”

Like so many athletes, success didn’t happen overnight, and Harbor had to earn his way – not only for star ng me but also to catch the eyes of football scouts.

“I got red-shirted my freshman year. I rarely played as a redshirt freshman but learned a lot,” Harbor said. “I made sure to push myself in the weight room to gain weight and get stronger. I was successful my sophomore and junior year a er ge ng moved to ght end from wide receiver, but only in the passing game.”

It was at that point that Missouri State assistants Sean Coughlin and Bob Montgomery made an even greater

impact on Harbor, as they showed him more about the blocking game in order for him to become an all-around ght end.

In essence, he had to learn the proper techniques – and that fearless a tude to block. NFL scouts had started asking about him during his sophomore year.

That next spring, he got the chance in front of scouts at pro-day at Missouri State.

“I ran a 4.5 second 40 and that showed the NFL scouts that I was fast and could stretch the seam of a defense,” Harbor said. “I was able to run routes for all the scouts in NFL and show them I could catch the ball consistently.”

In the NFL, Harbor helped the Eagles win the NFC East his rookie season, as the “Miracle at the Meadowlands” – DeSean Jackson’s punt return – sealed it. He also caught his first TD pass from Michael Vick.

“I enjoyed everything about the NFL – the hard days at training camp, the traveling to the games, the games themselves, the monotonous film study,” Harbor said.

All in all, he credits much to his family – mom, dad, brothers, aunts, uncles and his late grandma, Dorothy.

“When looking back at my NFL career, I always get a bi ersweet feeling, a sense that I could’ve done a lot more even though I accomplished a lot,” Harbor said. “Unfortunately, it was cut a bit short due to injuries. But I just want to stress to everyone going a er a dream to make sure that you have discipline. The pain of discipline is much less than the pain of regret. Make sure to put your everything into your passions and go a er them full force.”

“WHERE THE GAME LIVES ON”

RANDY ALBRECHT

KHALIA COLLIER

DICK COOK

JAY DELSING

LINDSAY KENNEDY EVERSMEYER

BARRET JACKMAN

DAVE LOOS

TODD LYGHT

BERNIE MIKLASZ

MARK MULLIN

DOUG SMITH

DR. TOM SMITH

KELLY (MULVIHILL) STAHLHUTH

TONY VAN ZANT

GREG VITELLO

ADAM WAINWRIGHT

KENNY WALLACE

HARRY WEBER

LINDA WELLS

1973 WASHINGTON

HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL TEAM

1959-73 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY MEN’S SOCCER ERA

1984-89 CRYSTAL CITY

HS GIRLS TRACK & FIELD ERA

ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY GIRLS TENNIS PROGRAM