(From the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame)
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inducted eight individuals Wednesday during its inaugural Outdoor Sports Luncheon presented by the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company. The event drew a crowd of nearly 450 to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Springfield.
The latest inductees are: former Missouri Department of Conservation Commissioner Chip McGeehan, pro bass fisherman Stacey King, renowned hunter and outdoors television host Jerry Martin, stock car racing’s Joe Naegler, tennis’ Tom Adams, golf’s Bruce Hollowell, longtime MDOC media specialist Francis Skalicky and outdoors writer Kenneth Kieser.
“We have wanted to host this luncheon for quite some time, and we are delighted that these honorees are our first class for our inaugural Outdoor Sports Luncheon,” President and Executive Director Jerald Andrews said. “Each have made tremendous impacts in their respective fields. We also want to thank the community, including businesses and individuals, who stepped forward to support them.”
Chip McGeehan – Conservation
A 1968 graduate of Jefferson City High School and 1972 graduate of the University of Missouri, McGeehan served as a commissioner of the Department of Conservation from 2005 to 2011. After being appointed by then-Gov. Matt Blunt, McGeehan championed the re-introduction of elk into the state’s wildlife population. That led to the department in June 2019 announcing a limited elk-hunting season in the state in 2020, with the herd likely to reach 200 animals. Additionally, McGeehan oversaw the development of habitat of Missouri’s black bear population. He also is an avid bow hunter who has traveled to Alaska, Africa, Sweden and across the United States – with his kills including crocodiles, elephants, lions and leopards. McGeehan and his wife, Teresa, own 19 McDonald’s in southwest Missouri.
Stacey King – Bass Fishing
A Springfield native and former Table Rock Lake fishing guide, King is one of the most successful professional bass fishermen around, with career earnings of roughly $1.2 million on the B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) and FLW (Fishing League Worldwide) circuits. In the early 1980s, King began fishing B.A.S.S. tournaments and has 31 Top 10 finishes, with two championships, and earned 12 Bassmaster Classic appearances. In the FLW, he has 13 Top 10 finishes and completed 97 total events, with four Cup appearances. In 2011 alone, he notched two Top 10s, earning King a sixth-place showing for Angler of the Year. In 2018, he was the FLW Costa Angler of the Year. King, who also appears on fishing shows such as “The Bass Pros” on the Outdoor Channel, has served on the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Board of Directors and the Professional Anglers Association Board of Directors.
Jerry Martin – Hunting & Outdoor TV
A 1966 graduate of Thayer High School and a Navy veteran, Martin is one of the nation’s most respected woodsmen. In television, he co-hosted the Bass Pro Shops’ “Outdoor World” and “Kings of Bucks” shows as he headed up Bass Pro Shops’ RedHead Pro Hunting Team and its Next Generation Team. The Pro Hunting Team was the first to feature a woman, and the Next Generation was designed to introduce the sport to women and children. Dating back to the 1970s and using a bow or muzzleloader, he has earned dozens of Grand Slam titles through the National Wild Turkey Federation by taking all four species of U.S. wild turkey, and also earned numerous Royal Slams (includes Gould turkeys in Mexico). His career includes record-book kills of elk, antelope and white tail deer. Among his numerous awards is induction into the National Legends of Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2008.
Joe Naegler – Auto Racing
A 1959 graduate of Willard High School, Naegler was an engine builder and owner of stock cars from the 1960s and into the 1990s whose cars won in 33 states. He and Larry Phillips (MSHOF 2001) teamed up in 1963 and, in 1965, they won their first track championship. Naegler built his own engines instead of turning to store-bought versions and gained numerous sponsors, including the Cookie Rice-led Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company in 1970. Naegler’s drivers included Philips, Joe Wallace, Dave Goldsberry, Don Kordalis, Ramo Stott, Ferris Collier Ricky Eisenhower and Terry Brumley as they won numerous races across the country in IMCA, ARCA and USAC – which are short for International Motor Contest Association, Automobile Racing Club of America, and the United States Auto Club. His cars also out-ran competitors such as Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett and Ken Schrader (MSHOF 2011) in 200-lap races in the South. Naegler’s family owns Fast ‘N Friendly convenience stores and the Naegler Oil Company in Springfield.
Tom Adams – Tennis
A Parkview High School graduate, Adams was one of Missouri State University’s top tennis players, earning varsity letters from 1966 to 1969 and compiling a 51-9 singles record and 49-11 in doubles. He won a Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association championship in No. 1 singles and finished as the individual runner-up in his other three seasons. He partnered with Dave Hart to win an MIAA doubles title, and the two were a runner-up twice. Adams was the head tennis pro at Hickory Hills Country Club through much of the 1970s. He later assisted then-tennis coach Charlie Spoonhour (MSHOF Legend 2019) and was the men’s tennis coach from 1975 to 1977. His 1975 and 1977 teams were MIAA runners-up, and the 1976 team won the league – its first MIAA title in 18 seasons. Adams later served 14 years as the general manager of the Springfield Lasers of the World TeamTennis pro circuit.
Bruce Hollowell – Golf
A Springfield native, Hollowell was a regular on Missouri State University’s golf teams of 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1966, helping the Bears win the MIAA and regionals in each of his first three seasons. The 1963 team recorded an 11-stroke margin of victory for the first D-II golf championship ever awarded. The Bears were the national runner-up in 1964. Two years later, Hollowell won the MIAA meet as the team placed second. Hollowell is believed to be the only golfer to win the Kansas Amateur (1972), Missouri Amateur (1975) and the Missouri Senior Amateur (1997). He also was the Missouri Amateur runner-up in 1973 and 1977 and was a multiple qualifier for the USGA Amateur (seven times) and U.S. Mid-Amateur (1982, 1984). Additionally, he advanced to the prestigious Western Amateur quarterfinals and semifinals in different years. Hollowell later was the Missouri State University golf coach from 1986 to 1997, with three teams (1987, 1988, 1993) winning conference titles. He also was the Missouri Golf Association’s executive director from 1985 to 1988.
Francis Skalicky – Conservation
A graduate of Bolivar High School (1980) and Missouri State University (1984), Skalicky has been the Southwest Regional Media Specialist for the Missouri Department of Conservation since 1996. In that role, he coordinates media coverage for the 17-county region and assists with media coverage elsewhere in the state. He has periodically written articles for the department’s monthly magazine, “The Missouri Conservationist,” and also pens columns for several southwest Missouri newspapers, promoting the outdoors and good conservation practices. Previously, Skalicky worked 11 years as a sports writer in newspapers, with stints at the Bolivar Herald-Free Press, Fremont Tribune in Nebraska, Jackson Sun in Tennessee and the Springfield News-Leader. In addition to covering area sporting events for the News-Leader, he also wrote a weekly outdoors column, outdoors features and helped coordinate its outdoors page.
Kenneth L. Kieser – Outdoors Sports Journalism
A graduate of Park Hill High School, Kieser has been a freelance outdoors writer for 45 years, with thousands of bylines in newspapers in Missouri and top outdoor magazines. His career covers writing news releases for the Department of Conservation and authoring a number of books. They include “Ride the Trail of Death,” “Black Moon’s Revenge,” and “Missouri’s Great Flood of ’93 – Revisiting an Epic Natural Disaster” – which won first place in the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers’ book division at the 2014 Excellence in Crafts awards. The book also is being considered by the state Legislature as the official state work chronicling the 1993 flood. In the 1990s, Kieser developed fishing programs for mentally and physically challenged children with the Easter Seals and the Kansas City Chiefs at Smithville Lake. He was the 2015 Missouri Outdoor Communicator of the Year.
