Interviews with inductees
Carl Peterson – President’s Award The former longtime president and general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, Peterson will be honored with the President’s Award. It is bestowed on individuals who champion the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and sports in general in the Show-Me State. Peterson, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, oversaw the Chiefs from 1989 to 2008. He has been a great friend of the Hall of Fame, especially through financial support of Chiefs inductees, as well as making time to record videos in honor of Chiefs being honored. In 2020, he flew in to Springfield for the Enshrinement Ceremonies and delivered the acceptance speech for the late Derrick Thomas. In his days leading the Chiefs, Peterson built the team’s second Golden Era. His hiring of coach Marty Schottenheimer led to 15 winning seasons, including nine playoff berths, and all through an overall record of 176-141-1. He also invigorated the fanbase, as he supported tailgating and saw to it that players were part of the community. Overall, the Chiefs sold out 149 consecutive games from 1990 to 2008 and led the AFC in paid attendance every year during that time frame.
Lorenzo Cain – Kansas City Royals Cain will be forever remembered in Kansas City for helping the Royals win two American League pennants and the 2015 World Series. A center fielder, he played for the Royals for seven seasons after being acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. In Kansas City, he batted .289 with 765 hits – including 56 home runs, 21 triples and 140 doubles. He also stole 120 bases and drove in 308 runs. He was a 2015 American League All-Star and finished third in MVP voting in 2015, joining George Brett (MSHOF 1994) as the only Royals to win a World Series and finish in top three of MVP. Defensively, he made jaw-dropping catches. He also had a three-run double in the clinching game of the 2015 World Series, giving the Royals their first title in 30 years. Most, though, may remember Cain scoring the decisive run in the 2015 American League Championship Series, as he scored all the way from first base on Eric Hosmer’s hit down the right-field line. Overall, Cain played 13 seasons in the big leagues, including six with the Brewers.
Blair Kerkhoff – Kansas City Star Sportswriter Kerkhoff has been a reporter, beat writer and has written columns for the Kansas City Star since 1989, and overall, has been a sportswriter for more than four decades. He arrived in Kansas City in 1989 as a college beat writer. When the Big 12 Conference was formed in 1996, he became a regional and national college sports reporter. Overall, he has covered 30 Final Fours and 25 college football championship games. Additionally, he has covered Super Bowls, World Series, the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Playoffs and U.S. Open golf. Over the past decade, Kerkhoff has covered the Chiefs and Royals in addition to college sports. He is the author of five books, has been elected to the United States Basketball Writers Hall of Fame and won the Bert McGrane Award from the Football Writers Association of America. Kerkhoff grew up in Raleigh, N.C., and attended Broughton High School, where he played baseball and football. He later graduated from Appalachian State University. He wrote for his high school and college newspapers, worked at the News & Observer in Raleigh and, after graduation, covered sports at the Roanoke Times in Virginia.
Benton High School Girls Basketball 2007 State Championship Team Coached by Brett Goodwin, the Benton High School Girls Basketball Team of 2007 won the Class 4 state championship and finished 30-0. The team beat Farmington 52-37 in the finals, with Alecia Bell scoring 24 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, making four assists and four steals. Melissa McIntosh added 10 points. That came after a 46-40 semifinal victory against Bolivar. The team had advanced to the state tournament with a 46-42 win against Savannah in the district championship game, and then beat Lincoln Prep 49-36 in the sectionals and Excelsior Springs 46-27 in the quarterfinals. That season, Benton won the Jefferson City Tournament with a 44-37 victory against Liberty, which went on to win the Class 5 state championship. Benton also won the Lindwood-Basehor (Kan.) Tournament, beating Holton 53-27 weeks before Holton won the Kansas Class 4 state title. Other team members were seniors Claire Brown, Delissa Hall, Charnelle Starling, Blair Brown, junior Jenni Musser and sophomores Chelsie Strong, Nicole Wilkerson, Meghan Curtis and Holly Switzer, and freshmen Kerstyn Bolton, Shelbee Cox, Hannah Moore and Karli Sample. Assistant coach was Adam Willard, and Bryce Mereness was the student manager. Mike Ziesel was athletic director.
William Jewell College 2003 Women’s Soccer Team Considered to be the best team in program history, the 2003 William Jewell women’s soccer team became the first team in any sport in school history to reach the Final Four of the NAIA Tournament. Additionally, the Cardinal were the highest-scoring team in the nation at any level, and finished the year 21-1-1 and No. 3 in the nation. Coached by Chris Cissell, the team also was a perfect 18-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Team members were Andrea Turner, Stefanie Carson, Lara Melenbrink, Melissa Reh, Rebekah Lassiter, Kerry Regan, Anneliese Laughman, Sarah Alderman, Charleen Keller, Lindsay Davis, Sydney Boggess, Celine Jaiko, Tasha Soltis, Sarah McCarty, Kristin Neher, Megan Penrod, Aly Diaz, Mallori Kaminski, Sabrina Denny, Megan Sharp, Molly Thye, Jenna Einhellig, Chrissie Miller, Alyson Cox and Allison Mallams. Mallams was a First Team All-American, while Neher and Boggess earned Second Team All-American. Thye as an honorable mention. Larry Lady – Commissioner, Heart of America Athletic Conference Lady retired in 2014 after 21 years as commissioner of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, an NAIA league with a rich history in Missouri. Mainly, he has been the HAAC’s men’s basketball supervisor of officials, selecting and supervising officials for conference, district and regional playoffs. That was right in his wheelhouse, as he was a college basketball referee from 1959 to 2000, working all NCAA levels and jucos in Kansas and Missouri, and officiated the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City from 1989-1993. He was a football referee in college, and officiated three sports at the high school level. Lady served as NAIA National Supervisor of Officials for 17 years for basketball and football. Additionally, Lady served 20 years as commissioner of the Kansas City (Kan.) High School League and of the Huron High School League. In that capacity, he was responsible for selecting, training, assigning and supervising 350 high school officials in all sports for KC Metro schools.
Muna Lee – Central High School (Kansas City)/Louisiana State University/Olympics Lee enjoyed quite a career in track and field. Even when she was a student-athlete at Central High School in Kansas City, she competed in the 2000 Olympic Trials as a senior, finishing the 100 meters in 11.36 seconds. That made her the fastest female in the nation. She also was a four-time state champion in the 100 meters and 200 meters (1997-2000). Her best 100 meters time was 11.54 seconds, which set a state record in 2000 and stood for 12 years. Her best 200 meters time was 23.83 seconds, which set a state record and is now third-best all-time. Lee went on to Louisiana State University from 2001 to 2004, and was a seven-time NCAA champion, a 12-time Southeastern Conference champion and 21-time All-American. In Olympic competition, she was an Olympic qualifier in 2004 and, in 2008, was fifth in the 100 meters and fourth in the 200 meters. At the Olympic Trials, she won the 100 meters and placed second in the 200 meters. She also was part of the U.S. 2005 world champion 4×100 meter relay and was the 100 meter runner-up that year. Lee is now an assistant coach at Tennessee State University.
Comments