Area legends inducted into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Southwest Missouri was well-represented Sunday at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield.

Longtime Joplin High School coach and athletic director Jeff Starkweather and former Webb City and College Heights basketball coach Eric Johnson joined the 1982-1992 Crowder softball teams and Carthage golfers Joe, Glenn and Gary Borland as part of the class of 14 inductees.

Starkweather

Starkweather was honored for his more than three decades in education, including 22 years at Joplin High School as a basketball and golf coach and athletic director. He was athletic director for Eagles sports teams for 11 years and was honored for helping shepherd the athletic department after the 2011 tornado.

“His outstanding character helped us through that particular crisis,” Joplin Superintendent Kerry Sachetta said of Starkweather. “He gained even more respect after that.”

“He was one of those dynamic people that you just wanted to be around,” longtime Joplin High School volleyball coach Staci Saunders said of Starkweather. “He always checked on me first as a person before he would check on me as a coach. He loved Joplin Schools and he loved the people in Joplin Schools. We will always be thankful and grateful for all the time, all the friendship, all the talks and all the things he did for us.”

Current AD Matt Hiatt also talked about Starkweather’s influence on Joplin High School athletics.

“We were the way we were because of him and because of his leadership,“ Hiatt said. “He made everyone around him better, whether it was me, a coach, our students or officials. Everyone was better because of him.”

Starkweather was a graduate of Joplin Parkwood and later played basketball at Missouri Southern State University. His 1987 team qualified for the NAIA national tournament.

Starkweather began his coaching career under University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Gene Bartow and MSSU’s Robert Corn before accepting a position at Joplin High School.

“I’ve been so blessed,” Starkweather said at the ceremony. “Thirty-one years in education — teaching, coaching and being athletic director in my home town for 22 years. It was very special. It was a dream come true.”

Starkweather also reflected of the May 2011 tornado and the good that came out of the disaster.

“It became one of the most gratifying events, seeing the way our Joplin community and school district responded as well as the way others reached out to help,” Starkweather said.

Johnson

Eric Johnson coached basketball at Webb City High School for 24 years, and while at the helm of the Cardinals program he earned 10 conference and 11 district championships. Johnson’s Webb City squads earned three trips to the final four, including a Class 3 state title in 1997 after defeating Chillicothe 46-41.

Johnson played high school basketball at Pittsburg (Kansas) High School and later played for his dad, Bob Johnson at Pittsburg State University.

The younger Johnson began his 50-year coaching career in Kansas, where he coached a combined 10 years at Horton and Columbus before accepting the head coaching position at Webb City.

Johnson coached 24 years at Webb City High School before heading to College Heights Christian Academy, where he coached for 13 years and led the Cougars to their first district title in school history.

Johnson retired with 681 career wins.

By the time Johnson wrapped up his career, he had coached more than 1,200 games. He was a District Coach of the Year in 1986, 1992 and 1997 and was the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1997.

During ceremonies Sunday, Johnson talked about being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“I’m very honored to be inducted into the Hall after seeing all the names of all the people who have made great contributions to sports in Missouri,” Johnson said. “I played against some of them, and I’ve coached against some of them.”

Johnson said he was especially proud to join two of his former players in the Hall of Fame — former Cardinals football coach and current athletic director John Roderique and former NFL player Grant Wistrom.

Crowder

During the 1982-1992 era of Crowder softball, Roughrider teams saw unparalleled success, advancing to six NJCAA National Tournaments — in 1983-84, 1986-87, 1991-92. In 1986, the Roughriders, under coach Annie Westfall, captured the NJCAA national title.

The Crowder era of dominance began in 1982, two years after the beginning of the softball program at the school. That 1982 team logged 53 wins.

The 1986 national championship team from Crowder won 63 games, including 40 shutouts. Under Westfall, the Roughriders lost their opening-round game in 1986 and battled back with six straight wins, including a 19-inning 2-1 win over Arizona Western College in the championship final.

Westfall left Crowder in 1987 with a 222-32 record, but the success of the program continued under new head coach Millie Gillion, who compiled a 496-141 record from 1988 to 2000.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment for all the softball players who played during this era,” Gillion said.

Gillion, who played on the 1982-83 teams, noted that during the early part of the era not many Missouri high schools had softball programs, so building a successful junior college program was a challenge.

“A lot of these ladies did not have the opportunity to play softball at their high schools; they only played in the summer,” Gillion said. “Because of that, it’s remarkable how successful Crowder softball became.”

Gillion, who also played basketball at Crowder, said the success of players from that era extended far beyond the field of play.

“Many of these ladies established successful careers as teachers, coaches, police officers, state troopers, government processors, event planners, athletic directors, bankers and a special agent in the Organized Crime Unit.”

About 30 former Roughriders, affectionately known as Ghostriders, were on hand for the ceremony Sunday, including Shally Lundien, who eventually transferred to MSSU. Lundien went on to earn All-American status and MIAA Player of the Year accolades at MSSU in 1995 and is an inductee in the MSSU Hall of Fame. Lundien was a member of the 1992 Roughrider team that finished second in the nation.

Lundien, who later coached high school ball and at Pittsburg State and became a Joplin School District administrator, reflected on her time at Crowder and the role in played in her life on a video taped tribute to the Ghostriders.

“Playing the sport we loved — softball — was the driving force for getting a lot of us into college,” Lundien said.

Borland brothers

Also enshrined Sunday were a trio of Carthage golfers, the brothers Glen, Gary and Joe Borland.

Glen Borland’s son, Aaron, accepted the award on behalf of his dad and uncles.

“Being inducted alongside this 2026 class is something my family will always cherish and we are truly grateful,” he said.

Glen Borland was a member of Carthage High School’s state 1958 third-place team as a junior and was a part of three Big Nine Conference championship teams at Carthage High School. He late golfed at Joplin Junior College and was runner-up at the state junior college golf championships.

In later years, Glen Borland won the senior division at the Missouri State Amateur Tournament.

Joe Borland, a 1960 Carthage graduate who died in 2018, also took part in three of the Tigers conference championships from 1957-59. He won the Carthage Pro-Am four times, the Center Creek Open three times and the Dick Mansfield Championship (Carthage) a record five times in addition to a Lamar Open title.

Gary Borland was a member of the 1964 Carthage High School conference championship squad and was a member of the Tigers 1964 and 1965 state qualifying teams. Gary later was part of the MSSU national qualifying team in 1968. He won five Carthage Pro-Ams, a Joplin Globe City Championship and three Dick Mansfield championships.

Others enshrined Sunday included:

• Missouri State University and Major League Baseball player Bill Mueller.

• Kansas City Chiefs kicker Dustin Colquit.

• St. Louis Cardinals baseball executive Matt Gifford.

• Richmond football coach Rob Bowers.

• Boxing coach Smitty Smith.

• Drury diving coach Richard Hackett.

• The 1989 and 1990 Missouri State football teams.

• Angler J.P. Sell.

• Lexington track coach Tom Beck.

• Jefferson City radio broadcaster Kevin Kelly.

• Fair Grove volleyball coach Tony Peck.

• State Fair Community College basketball coach Bill Barton.

• Mercy Athletic Trainers. • Ice Bears hockey founder Stan Melton.

• Thompson Sales (John Q. Hammons Award).

• Rick Beaman (President’s Award).