SPRINGFIELD – Six former student-athletes, two long-time athletic contributors and the first-ever teams to be inducted make up the 2020 Missouri State University Athletics Hall of Fame class, announced Tuesdays (Jan. 21).
The first Missouri State athletics teams to make their mark on the national stage were the NAIA national championship men’s basketball squads from 1951-52 and 1952-53 and the national third place club from 1953-54. Those three squads will become the first team inductees into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame at the annual induction, set for the weekend of Feb. 21-22, 2020.
The three basketball teams from nearly seven decades ago caught the imagination of the city of Springfield, the state of Missouri and the entire region as they won 14 of 15 games in the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium over a three-year span, with coach Bob Vanatta guiding the 1952 and 1953 clubs and Eddie Matthews taking over the coaching duties with the 1954 team.
The 45th annual Hall of Fame Class also includes six individual student-athlete inductees, including track and cross country runner Blake Boldon, 1999-03; golfer Catherine Dolan Brady, 2009-13, basketball player Casey Garrison Powell, 2008-12; football player Clay Harbor, 2006-09, tennis player Marta Rubina, 2001-04; and soccer player Mike Williams, 1997-2000.
The third component of the busy Hall of Fame weekend will be the presentation of the Don Payton Award to a pair of long-time coaching partners at Missouri State’s Greenwood High School in Coach Paul Mullins and the late Coach Larry Atwood. Greenwood High School is located on the Missouri State University campus and has served as the university’s lab school, primarily for student teacher training, since 1908
The Payton Award was established in 2017 in conjunction with the Hall of Fame to honor those individuals whose accomplishments related to the University athletics scene were noteworthy but fall outside the Hall of Fame candidacy of coaches or student-athletes. The late Don Payton was the MSU Director of Information from 1956 to 1985 and was given the inaugural award, while long-time faculty athletics representative Dr. Bruce Johnson in 2018 and former director of bands Jerry Hoover in 2019 were subsequently honored.
The Hall of Fame induction will take place in a 10:30 a.m. brunch Feb. 22 in the Turner Family Practice Court of Hammons Student Center. The induction classes will be further recognized in JQH Arena at the Lady Bears basketball game vs. Evansville Feb. 21, and the Bears game vs. Loyola Chicago Feb. 22.
The MSU Athletics Hall of Fame now includes 395 individuals in addition to the three teams being inducted this year.
Profiles on the 2020 MSU Athletics Hall of Fame induction class:
Blake Boldon. Track and cross country, 1999-03; Boldon was a Missouri Valley Conference indoor and outdoor Most Valuable Performer in track. He was a five-time MVC champion with four USATF top 10 national finishes. He set MSU school records in the indoor mile and the outdoor 1,500 meter-run. He won his events at Drake, Kansas and Sea Ray Relays, and also earned Academic All-America laurels as a senior.
Catherine Dolan Brady, Golf, 2009-13, Dolan is one of just 11 golfers in Missouri Valley Conference history to earn all-conference honors four times. She was the MVC Newcomer of the year in 2009 and she recorded 15 career top-10 finishes, including the championship of 2011 Rio Verde Invitational. At the time of her graduation, she was tied for the Missouri State career scoring mark with a 75.76 stroke average.
Casey Garrison Powell, basketball, 2008-12; Garrison was a rare four-time All-Missouri Valley Conference first team selection. She was the MVC Freshman of the Year her first year and Player of the Year as sophomore. She was on the MVC all-defensive team and left school in second place on the all-time MSU list in career games (130), points (2,271), scoring average (17.5), field goals, attempts and free throws, and was in the top 10 in several other categories.
Clay Harbor, football, 2006-09, Harbor won Associated Press All-America honors three times and was a Walter Camp Football Foundation Football Championship Subdivision All-America. Harbor was a three-time Missouri Valley Football Conference all-conference first team and was the Bears’ career pass receiving record holder at the tight end position. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of 2010 National Football League draft and played for four NFL teams.
Marta Rubina, tennis, 2001-04; Rubina was the top player for Missouri State as the Bears claimed the Missouri Valley Conference championship in 2002 and 2003 before MSU collected a league runner-up finish in 2004. She is the all-time MSU singles career record holder with a 91-41 record for her time with the Bears and was 10th in all-time doubles victories at 53-51. She logged 30 singles wins her freshman year for the school’s second-best single season win total.
Mike Williams, soccer, 1997-2000; Williams was a member of the Missouri State league title and NCAA tournament teams in 1997 and 1999. He led the Bears in goals and scoring three seasons each and his 67 career goals are tied for fourth best all-time in the Missouri State record book; He logged nine game-winning goals and won Missouri Valley Conference all-league honors twice and won a host of academic honors during his career.
TEAM INDUCTION: Men’s Basketball, 1951-52, 1952-53 and 1953-54; Coach Bob Vanatta wrapped up an amazing three-year run at the Bears’ helm, posting a 73-11 record at Missouri State with the first two national championships in school history in 1952 and 1953. The Bears captured the imagination of the nation in small college circles as they made the short trip from Springfield to Kansas City and won five games in six nights two years in a row in storied downtown Municipal Auditorium to become the first team to wrap up back-to-back NAIA national championship banners with the tournament in its 32-team format. The 1952 Bears were 27-5, won the MIAA with a 10-0 record, and knocked off Central Methodist in the District 16 playoffs. Once in Kansas City, the Bears beat Chadron, Indiana State, Morningside, Southwest Texas and Murray State for the title. Bears receiving all-America honors included Bill Lea, Jim Julian and Forrest Hamilton. In 1953, MSU went 24-4, repeated its conference title with an 8-2 league record, claimed the District 16 title with two wins over Missouri Valley, and then topped Gonzaga, Stetson, Nebraska Wesleyan, Indiana State and Hamline in Kansas City for the title. All-America honors went to Hamilton, Jerry Anderson, Don Anielak and Bill Thomas, with Jerry Anderson gaining selection as NAIA tournament MVP. Vanatta left after the season and Edwin (Eddie) Matthews became the Bears’ head coach. Missouri State went 22-7, went 8-2 to win the MIAA, bested Central Methodist for the District 16 title, and then marched to Kansas City for wins over Gustavus Adolphus, East Tennessee and East Texas State. The Bears lost a hard-fought outing to Western Illinois in the semifinals and bounced back to beat Arkansas Tech in the third place game, giving MSU a 14-1 record on the national tournament stage for three straight seasons. Anderson repeated his tourney MVP honors and was joined on the All-America team by Art Helms.
DON PAYTON AWARD: Paul Mullins and Larry Atwood, Greenwood High School; With Mullins guiding the fortunes of the football Bluejays and Atwood coaching the basketball team, each served as the other’s top assistant for more than 20 years. Mullins took GHS football to a 162-84-10 record from 1964 to 1989, won 10 district titles, and guided Greenwood to a Class A state championship in 1981. Mullins also to the Bluejays to state runner-up finishes in 1971, 1980 and 1986 and previously had coached at Carrollton, Elgin (Ill.) Larkin and Springfield Central High Schools. Atwood had a 545-242 mark in 21 GHS basketball seasons, with state runner-up finishes in 1980 and 1982. He was also tournament director for the Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament for a quarter century. He previously coached at Weaubleau, Clever and Buffalo.
