(Missouri Sports Hall of Fame)
Under the tutelage of legendary baseball coach John “Hi” Simmons, the 1954 University of Missouri baseball team won the NCAA National Championship and will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2004. Missouri Sports Hall of Famer Norm Stewart, perhaps most notably known for his contributions as a basketball player and coach for the Tigers, was an outstanding pitcher for Simmons’ team.
The team was inducted into the Hall of Fame in ceremonies on Sunday, February 8th at the University Plaza Convention Center. The Killian Group of Companies is the presenting sponsor of the annual event, which will featured special emphasis being placed on the Hall of Fame’s 10th Anniversary.
Belleville East High School selects members for its Hall of Fame
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 30, 2003)
When it comes time for Belleville East High School to select charter members for its Hall of Fame, here's a vote for retired athletic director Lloyd Elmore of Belleville.
A teacher, coach and/or athletic director at East from the time the school opened in the fall of 1966 until he retired in 1993, Elmore, 70, already is a veteran of Hall of Fame honor and on Feb. 8 will add induction into the Missouri State Hall.
Previously inducted into the University of Missouri Hall of Fame for having been a member of the Tigers' 1954 NCAA national championship baseball team, Elmore will join surviving members of that team in Springfield, Mo., and 13 other individuals who have distinguished themselves in sports.
"We had a team that really pulled together," said Elmore, a reserve catcher during his junior year when Missouri advanced with a Big Eight [actually Big Seven] Conference title and a 17-3 record into the finals in Omaha, Neb.
Whether togetherness resulted from riding to the tournament in a refurbished 1927 rental bus or from having to rally from the losers' bracket, Missouri's baseball team pulled together so well it remains the only team in the university's Hall of Fame.
"We had a crafty lefthander from East Alton named Ed Cook, who won the title game (4-1 over Rollins, Fla.)," said Elmore.
Prior to the title game, Elmore confirmed that Coach John "Hi" Simmons had told the team "if you get second place, you'll get no meal money, and you'll walk home before you get on that bus."
"He threw a heavy ball," Elmore said of [Norm] Stewart. "It was like catching a shot put."
Ironically, had Elmore been healthy for his senior baseball season, he would have gained a starting role after catcher George Gleason, who had started for the '54 championship team, had five teeth knocked out in a game.
"He jumped out on a bunt play, but the batter swung and hit George in the jaw," Elmore said of the freak play.
"If I hadn't been injured, I would have replaced him," said Elmore.
A .260 hitter when he did play at Missouri, Elmore considered himself a good receiver with a good throwing arm but added, "if I could have seen better, I could have hit the fastball."
Sikeston man and his Mizzou teammates score a spot in Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
(Standard Democrat, February 8, 2004)
SIKESTON — Today Buddy Cox will reunite with some of his former teammates from his baseball days in college as they are inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield.
“I was shocked,” said Cox about finding out the team was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. “It’s quite an honor. I’ll never forget it (winning the championship).”
“At that time it was the Big Seven. There wasn’t a Big Eight, and now it’s the Big 12,” explained Cox, who played second base. “We were not even supposed to win. Michigan State was supposed to win, but we beat them in the semifinals.”
Cox said: “Coach called us up to the room and said, ‘Now, I wanna tell you boys something: I didn’t come up here to win second. If you don’t win today, there will be no meal money tonight.’
"Well that made me so mad I couldn’t see straight,” Cox said. “So we went out there and won. I honestly believe we wouldn’t have done as well if we went out there and hadn’t played under pressure. We didn’t make any errors. We just played our game.”
Missouri won 4-1 with Cox hitting a home run and hitting .412 in the series. Cox was also selected as MVP by the Associated Press and the Omaha World-Herald.
“I led the World Series in hitting which was quite an honor. It’s one of most memorable things that has happened to me,” Cox said.
“It’s always good to see them,” Cox said about his teammates. “We’ve got one coming from New York, one from Chicago and the rest are in the state of Missouri. It will be a lot of fun.” Fifty years have almost passed, and Cox’s old glove, now a little stiff, and the bat he played with remain on a book case full of awards, photos and plaques in his home.
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