Todd Yearack, vice president of operations, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame was originally referred to as the Missouri State Sports Hall of Fame. It was affiliated in the 1950s with the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. Photos of the individual inductees were displayed in the State Fair’s Administrative Building. Carl McIntire guided this project until 1955 and passed the duties to Stan Isle of The Sporting News. In 1963, the State Fair made the decision to discontinue as the administrator of the Hall of Fame. Bob Broeg, sports editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, persuaded former University of Missouri football coach Don Faurot to become the executive director. Faurot served until 1980, then passed the gavel back to Isle. In the late 1980s, former University of Missouri men’s basketball coach Norm Stewart and his coaching assistant and friend Gary Filbert began working on creating a Missouri Basketball Hall of Fame. Soon after this time, the two met with Springfield entrepreneur John Q. Hammons about assisting with the project. Mr. Hammons agreed to support the project and then expanded on the idea to form an all-sports museum, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. Hammons donated the land just north of Highland Springs Country Club on the southeast side of Springfield to build the facility, which was constructed and opened to the public in 1994. Former St. Louis Hawks standout Med Park served as the first executive director at the new facility. Jerald L. Andrews joined the Hall of Fame in October of 1995 as president and executive director, a post that he holds today.

When did you start working at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and how has your job changed?

I joined the Hall of Fame staff in November 1999 as the public relations director. My primary duties at the time, and in many ways still today, centered around promoting the Hall of Fame and its events to the public across the state through media outlets and other sources, to develop and maintain the hall’s Web site, and to serve in a support role along with our other staff members in executing the many events that the hall hosts each year. Approximately two years ago, I was elevated to the vice president of operations position. While I continue to focus on the areas of PR and marketing for the Hall of Fame, I also am charged with the responsibility of overseeing the operation of the museum and all special events, overseeing a small office staff, and directing private, corporate and special events at the museum, among many other duties.

What type of budget does the hall work with, and how is it funded?

The Hall of Fame operates on a multimillion dollar annual budget, funded by private corporate sponsors, private donations, special event revenues and museum admissions.

How many annual visitors are there?

The Hall of Fame welcomes an average of 40,000 visitors to the facility each year.

Tell us about the exhibits.

The exhibits inside the Hall of Fame are truly diverse. They cover all of the mainstream sports (basketball, baseball, football, golf, hockey, fishing, auto racing) while also featuring many other popular sports including volleyball, soccer, bowling, track and field, etc. The museum houses several interactive displays including a NASCAR simulator, pitching simulator, quarterback challenge, basketball toss, broadcast booth and a few touch-screen computer trivia/sports games.

Explain the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame member criteria and induction process.

There are two primary criteria that we use for nominees to the Hall of Fame. Nominees must either be natives of Missouri or have made their sports fame in Missouri. The Hall of Fame inducts a new class each February. Approximately 10 to 14 new members are inducted into the Hall of Fame each year. Teams from Missouri also are eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame.

What does it mean to be an inductee?

As inductions into the National Baseball Hall of Fame or Pro Football Hall of Fame carry with them prestige and honor for sports figures across the nation, so does induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame for those who have made an impact on sports in Missouri. Inductees have achieved the highest level of success in their given fields and are recognized for such accomplishments.

Tell me about the new Stan Musial statue.

“The Boy and The Man” statue was unveiled to the public April 2, on the Hall of Fame’s Legends Walkway. Nationally renowned sports artist Amadee Wohlschlaeger of St. Louis, conceptualized and designed “The Boy and The Man” in the form of a drawing in 1963 that was unveiled to the public in the August 18th edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As part of the many honors and gifts presented to Mr. Musial upon his retirement, he was presented with a large, framed lithograph of Amadee’s “The Boy and The Man” by August A. Busch, Jr., which was displayed inside the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum at Busch Stadium. Recently, David G. Ault purchased Amadee’s entire sports art collection, The Amadee Collection, including his drawing of “The Boy and The Man.” In 2002, sculptor Harry Weber, who has created five bronze representations of Musial over the years and all of the bronze work on the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame’s Legends Walkway, was contacted to create a small model of Amadee’s two-figure statue. The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame announced plans to start a fund-raising campaign with the purpose of raising the necessary funds to construct a life-size version of Amadee’s “The Boy and The Man” statue on Feb. 8, 2004, during the annual Enshrinement Banquet and Ceremonies. Through the cooperation and support of Mr. Musial, artist Wohlschlaeger, David G. Ault, sculptor Weber, Dick Zitzmann, and the financial contributions from corporate and private entities and donors, the statue has become a reality. “The Boy and The Man” serves as the cornerstone attraction on the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame’s Legends Walkway and recognizes and honors the career and life of Stan “The Man” Musial, who epitomized the true meaning of what it takes to be called a legend of Missouri Sports.

What are some of the things coming up on the calendar for the hall?

The Hall of Fame will host the Springfield Celebrity Golf Classic presented by Great Southern Bank on June 5–6 at Highland Springs Country Club. The Shrimpfest/Pairings Party presented by Collegiate Catering and Sports Auction presented by Med-Pay, will take place at 6 p.m. on June 5 at the Hall of Fame, and will feature an auction to raise funds for the museum. June 7–11, the Hall of Fame, along with the Skaggs Foundation, will host the Stonebridge Classic at Ledgestone presented by CenturyTel at the Ledgestone Country Club in Branson. The event will feature a full week of activities including the Jackson Brothers Vending & Catering Junior Golf Clinic; The Cruise & Travel Connection Women’s Golf Clinic; the Thompson Sales Celebrity Skins Game; the Beaver Creek Elk & Cattle Ranch Pairings Party and Charity Auction presented by Alberici Healthcare Constructors; and the White River Electric/Touchstone Energy Pro-Am. All of these activities will lead up to the professional, three-day tournament, which runs June 9–11. Admission to the tournament is free to the public.

On July 8, the Hall of Fame, along with the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, will host the St. John’s Sports Medicine Missouri Basketball All-Star Games at Hammons Student Center.

The all-star event features the top 100 graduated senior boys and girls participating in four all-star games. Tickets go on sale June 1 at the Southwest Missouri State University ticket office and may be purchased by calling (417) 836-SMSU.

Now that the Springfield Cardinals are in town, has that affected traffic at the hall?

Just prior to the opening of the exhibition series with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Hall of Fame unveiled a special display featuring the history of minor league baseball in Springfield, with a heavy emphasis on the Springfield Cardinals. Many of our walk-in visitors recently have been excited to see the display and enjoy a game at Hammons Field.

What is your favorite thing about your work? Are you a sports nut?

I am blessed to work in a very professional, Christian environment here at the Hall of Fame. Our current team works so well together and, in my opinion, does an outstanding job in producing the highest quality sports experiences in this region with all of the activities and events that we host. As a “sports nut,” I am privileged to work in an industry that honors those who have achieved the highest levels of excellence in the sports world. And, to be just a small part of helping so many children through the Price Cutter Charity Championship is very rewarding.

When is the hall open? How much is admission?

The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students, $14.00 for a family of up to six people, and groups of eight pay only $2.00 per person. Our Web site is: www.mosportshalloffame.com.

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