In Memoriam...

Central Missouri Director of Athletics Jerry Hughes passed away on Jan. 21 following a brief illness.

Inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame as a Missouri Sports Legend in 2016, Hughes dedicated more than 40 years to laying the foundation for successes that included regional and national championships, improved sports playing facilities, and the recruitment of thousands of outstanding student-athletes at the Central Missouri.

Hughes’s dedication to quality athletic teams resulted in many forms of recognition for the Mules and Jennies. Under his leadership, Central Missouri won 179 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championships entering the fall 2022 semester, 10 national championships, had 50 other top-four NCAA finishes, and made more than 300 NCAA postseason appearances.

Former NFL offensive lineman Conrad Dobler passed away on Feb. 13. He was 72.

Dobler spent 10 seasons in the NFL, including his first six with the St. Louis Cardinals (1972-77). He also played for the New Orleans Saints (1978-79) and Buffalo Bills (1980-81).

Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth round of the 1972 NFL Draft out of Wyoming, Dobler was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Famous for admittedly being one of the dirtiest players in the NFL, Dobler kicked, punched, leg-whipped, spat and bit his way to three consecutive Pro Bowl selections (1975-77), helping lead his teams to four playoff appearances.

Former Missouri State men’s basketball head coach Bill Thomas passed away on Saturday, April 15. He was 91.

A 1990 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Thomas carved one of the notable records in the entire history of Missouri State athletics over nearly three decades.

A former player for SMS, Thomas became the head coach of the Bears in 1964 and, over the next 16 seasons, directed SMS to eight MIAA basketball titles.

Thomas compiled a 16-year coaching mark of 265 wins and 158 losses, twice was honored as a district Coach of the Year, and in 1974 was named the College Division national Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Mike Shannon, the longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster and two-time World Series champion, died on April 29.

A 1999 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Shannon played nine season for the Cardinals (1962-70) before spending 50 seasons in the broadcast booth.

His career toured through three World Series (1964, 1967, 1968) as a player and, in the radio booth, he covered the club’s 1982, 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006, 2011 and 2013 World Series teams.

Shannon was named a Missouri Sports Legend in 2013, and in 2021 received the MSHOF’s Pinnacle Award for lifetime service to the game of baseball.