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20th Century Top 50: Missouri
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Rank |
Profile |
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1 |
Yogi Berra ,
St. Louis
Three-time AL MVP holds records for championships (10), and World Series games (75) and hits (71) -- and malaprops (countless).
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| 2 |
Casey Stengel ,
Kansas City
Hit .284 in 14 seasons, but the Old Professor made his
mark in the dugout, guiding the Yankees to seven titles.
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| 3 |
Tom Watson ,
Kansas City
Won eight majors; was PGA Tour's leading money winner five times; won at least
three events every year from 1977 to '82.
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| 4 |
Bill Bradley ,
Crystal City
Averaged 30.1 points at Princeton; won Olympic gold in 1964; started on Knicks' title teams of 1969-70 and 1972-73.
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| 5 |
James (Cool Papa) Bell ,
St. Louis
Negro leagues star hit .391 in 54 games against major leaguers.
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| 6 |
Phog Allen ,
Independence
Coached college basketball
for 48 years; won 1952 NCAA championship at Kansas; mentored numerous coaches, including Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith and Ralph Miller.
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| 7 |
Henry Armstrong ,
St. Louis
In 1938, when boxing had only eight weight classes, he simultaneously held three titles.
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| 8 |
Cal Hubbard ,
Keytesville
Enshrined in Canton as most feared lineman of late 1920s for Giants and Packers;
in Cooperstown as an umpire.
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| 9 |
David Cone ,
Kansas City
Five-time All-Star won Cy Young in 1994; tossed perfect game in '99; played for four World Series winners.
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| 10 |
Horton Smith ,
Springfield
Won the first Masters, in 1934; also won it in '36; ranks 12th alltime with 29 tour wins.
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| 11 |
Roger Wehrli ,
King City
Seven-time Pro Bowl pick; had 40 passes as cornerback for Cardinals (1969 to '82).
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| 12 |
“Easy” Ed Macauley ,
St. Louis
Shone at St. Louis University before pro career with St. Louis Bombers, Celtics and Hawks; seven-time NBA All-Star.
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| 13 |
Henry Iba ,
Easton
Led Oklahoma A&M to NCAA titles in 1945 and '46;
only basketball coach to win Olympic gold twice (1964
and '68).
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| 14 |
Payne Stewart ,
Springfield
Won three majors, including 1991 and '99 U.S. Open;
won more than $1 million in a season three times.
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| 15 |
Earl Weaver ,
St. Louis
Oft-ejected fireplug managed Orioles to five 100-win seasons and 1970 World Series title.
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| 16 |
Norm Stewart ,
Shelbyville
Pitched on Tigers' 1954 NCAA title team; had a hand in 676 basketball wins at Missouri
as an All-America guard and, for 38 years, as coach.
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| 17 |
Jo Jo White ,
St. Louis
Played in seven consecutive NBA All-Star Games; helped Celtics to two NBA titles (1973-74 and 1975-76).
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| 18 |
Helen Stephens ,
Fulton
Won two gold medals in track and field at 1936 Olympics, setting a world record in the 100 meters.
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| 19 |
Jimmy Conzelman ,
St. Louis
Quarterbacked Great Lakes Navy to 1919 Rose Bowl win; NFL MVP in '28; coached Chicago Cardinals to only NFL title, in '47.
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| 20 |
Michael Spinks ,
St. Louis
Won Olympic gold in '76; held light heavyweight and heavyweight world titles.
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| 21 |
Andy Russell ,
Ladue
Steelers linebacker played in seven Pro Bowls in 12-year career during 1960s and '70s.
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| 22 |
Ken Boyer ,
Alba
1964 NL MVP; won five Gold Gloves at third base for Cardinals; hit .287 during 15-year career.
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| 23 |
Harry Caray ,
St. Louis
Holy cow! Former semipro infielder made a name for himself as voice of Cardinals from 1945 to '69, then became fan favorite in Chicago.
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| 24 |
Ben Jones ,
Parnell
Trained two Triple Crown winners -- Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in '48 -- and five Kentucky Derby winners.
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| 25 |
Pete Adkins ,
Mexico
Coached high school football for 44 years, including 37 at Jefferson City; his 405
wins are second nationally.
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| 26 |
Chuck McKinley ,
St. Louis
Top-ranked tennis player in U.S. in 1963, the year he won Wimbledon singles title.
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| 27 |
Zack Wheat ,
Hamilton
Dodgers leftfielder had 2,884 hits; hit .375 in 1923 and '24; won batting title in '18 (.335).
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| 28 |
Butch Buchholz ,
St. Louis
Ranked as high as fifth in the world in tennis, but legacy is the Lipton Championship, which he founded in 1985.
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| 29 |
Jackson Scholz ,
St. Louis
Two-time gold medalist and first man to reach a sprint final in three Olympics (1920, '24 and '28); immortalized in Chariots of Fire.
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| 30 |
Rusty Wallace ,
St. Louis
Won at least one NASCAR race every year from 1986 to '99; Winston Cup points champion in '88.
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| 31 |
Don Faurot ,
Mountain Grove
The Thin Man invented split-T during 19 seasons as Missouri coach (1935 to '56); Tigers' football stadium bears
his name.
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| 32 |
Archie Moore ,
St. Louis
Light heavyweight champion from 1952 to '62; knocked out more opponents (141) than any other pro fighter.
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| 33 |
Jake Beckley ,
Hannibal
Eagle Eye had 2,930 hits playing for Pittsburgh, the Giants, Reds and Cardinals from 1888 to 1907.
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| 34 |
Judy Rankin ,
St. Louis
Turned pro in 1962 at 17; in 1976 became first LPGA Tour player to win $100,000 in a season.
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| 35 |
Dwight Davis ,
St. Louis
National college singles and doubles tennis champion at Harvard in 1899; the next year he donated the trophy for his brainchild: the Davis Cup.
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| 36 |
Bob Kurland ,
St. Louis
Led Oklahoma A&M to NCAA basketball title in 1945 and '46; eschewed the pro game to
play AAU ball.
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| 37 |
Mike Todorovich ,
St. Louis
Starred in football and basketball at Notre Dame; NBL rookie of the year with Sheboygan from 1947 to '49.
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| 38 |
“Pitchin'” Paul Christman ,
Maplewood
All-America quarterback at Missouri in 1939 and '40; played 12 seasons for Cardinals and Packers.
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| 39 |
Bill Virdon ,
Springfield
1955 NL Rookie of the Year as centerfielder for Cardinals; won three division titles as manager of Pirates and Astros.
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| 40 |
Don Carter ,
St. Louis
Named greatest bowler in history by Bowling magazine
in 1970; 13 sanctioned
300 games.
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| 41 |
August Busch ,
St. Louis
Local beer baron bought baseball Cardinals in 1953 when team was considering a move to Milwaukee.
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| 42 |
Elston Howard ,
St. Louis
Successfully succeeded Yogi Berra (#1) as Yankees catcher; won AL MVP in 1963, hitting 28 homers and driving in 85 runs.
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| 43 |
Steve Stipanovich ,
St. Louis
Was alltime leading scorer and rebounder at Missouri; second pick in the 1983 NBA draft; played five seasons for Pacers.
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| 44 |
Dee Boeckmann ,
St. Louis
Ran 800 meters at 1928 Olympics; first U.S. Olympic women's track coach, at '36 Berlin Games.
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| 45 |
Nelson Burton Jr. ,
St. Louis
Won record nine American Bowling Congress titles (1965 to '79); longtime national TV commentator.
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| 46 |
Harry Keogh ,
St. Louis
Anchored U.S. defense in
1-0 upset of England in 1950 World Cup; coached at St. Louis for 16 years.
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| 47 |
Leon Spinks ,
St. Louis
Won light heavyweight gold medal at 1976 Olympics; hammered Muhammad Ali for heavyweight title in '78.
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| 48 |
Frank White ,
Kansas City
Product of Royals baseball school of the early 1970s, won eight Gold Gloves with Kansas City, most by any second baseman in AL history.
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| 49 |
Rick Sutcliffe ,
St. Louis
Righty pitcher won 171 games from 1979 to '94; won 15 or more games in six seasons.
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| 50 |
J.G. Taylor Spink ,
St. Louis
Turned The Sporting News into the bible of baseball by assigning a correspondent to each team in 1910.
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