Opinion: My 15 minutes with John Q. Hammons

As I was reflecting on the legacy of John Q. Hammons and scanning through our editorial archives, I stumbled upon a column I wrote in 2005. I was granted a face-to-face interview in his office in the John Q. Hammons Building, and being a once-in-a-lifetime reporting opportunity, my memory is engrained with one image: the stacks and stacks of paperwork covering his personal desk and a huge adjacent conference table. When I asked about the paper mounds, Hammons assured me he knew how to find whatever he might be looking for.

At the time, I was covering his on-again, off-again relationship with the Texas League as Hammons was courting the St. Louis Cardinals Double-A team and promising a field for them to call home in Springfield. In typical Hammons style, he got the deal done.

During the years, he’d occasionally call me in the newsroom with a development tip or, more so in his older years, remind me of some of his handiwork – “Don’t you know how many city street names I’m responsible for naming?” he once asked me. I appreciated my conversations with Hammons because they were always short and to the point. What I didn’t appreciate is when he’d answer questions by changing the subject. That’s a journalist’s nightmare.

It was never dull with Hammons.

Outside of Hammons Field – which essentially was a $32 million vacant structure at the time – I remember pressing him on how exactly he was going to get a baseball team as a tenant when minor league officials were saying it didn’t look possible. Fed up with my queries, he stormed off into a vehicle awaiting him at the street corner, leaving me standing outside the gate with stadium architect Larry Phillips. After a brief awkwardness, Phillips and I continued with a tour of Hammons Field.

This is the stuff legends are made of.

Excerpts of that 2005 column follow; I hope you enjoy the memory as much as I did.

Blessing in disguise
I remember being surprised when he told me what turned his attention to hotel development.

It all comes back to Springfield. Hammons said it was a development roadblock in Springfield that led him into the hotel industry.

Before there was Battlefield Mall, Hammons owned 100 acres at Battlefield and Campbell and was working to get a mall property on it.

However, the city planning commission turned down his request to widen Battlefield, and Hammons said that spoiled his mall deal.

“I was really upset about that. That was the first rejection,” he said. “I got in the car, and I went out to California for about two weeks.

“That woke me up. That put me in the hotel business.”

The dealmaker
At the time of this interview, it was a much different capital environment.

Even at 86 years old, Hammons said he tries to keep $300 million in development at all times.

But at 86, isn’t he tiring? Is retirement around the bend? “Heaven’s no, I haven’t got time,” he said.

He tells the truth.

During a 15-minute interview, Hammons was interrupted three times by phone calls.

“I just needed to finish a deal,” he said upon returning. He was talking about Oklahoma City, where he already owns two hotels and plans to build two more.

Hometown boy
His conversation always turned back to Springfield. Surely at any point in his career, he could have planted his development company anywhere in the country.

“There’s one thing I like about Springfield,” he said. “It’s located in the center of the United States,” which makes for easy travel to either coast but also shields residents from terrorism threats and coastal weather problems. “People ought to appreciate it more.”

Hammons is an Ozarks native, born in Newton County south of Joplin. He started developing in Springfield in 1947 and has built seven subdivisions, three shopping centers and three office buildings here, either alone or with partners.

Hammons claims to have had a hand in naming 86 Springfield streets – one for each year of his life.

His developments were behind the paving of Campbell Avenue from Grand to Sunshine; Bennett Street from Glenstone to Delaware; and Portland Street from Campbell to Fort.

The legacy
Usually a straight shooter with his words, I remember he only stumbled on one question. I asked about how he would like his Springfield legacy remembered.

“I don’t know,” he finally gets out. “Look at the list of things I’ve done.”

The list would fill pages. Many items are philanthropic efforts, the common theme being educational partners.

Hammons’ donations have gone toward the development of the performing arts and student centers at Southwest Missouri State University, the school of architecture at Drury University and the fountain at Ozarks Technical Community College’s entrance.

He also introduced newspapers in the Springfield public schools 25 years ago and continues to sponsor the effort today.

The irony is that Hammons never finished college.

“I wasn’t smart enough,” he joked, then got serious. “The war caught me, and I had to interrupt my education. I went to work and made a living, so I guess I’m all right.”

One thing’s sure, I don’t know when there will be another businessman in the Queen City quite like John Q.

Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.