by Kary Booher, MSHOF Media Relations
Jerry Armstrong, a Missouri native who was part of Texas Western’s memorable NCAA national championship team, will soon be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame along with Mizzou’s Charlie Henke, Drury’s Nate Quinn, Missouri State’s Jeanette Tendai and the 1990 Raytown South High School boys basketball team.
President and Executive Director Jerald Andrews on Thursday announced the inductions, set for the Hall’s annual Basketball Luncheon presented by Mercy at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Oasis Convention Center in Springfield.
An individual ticket is $40, and a head table ticket is $100. A sponsorship table of eight is $400 and includes an autographed print and recognition in the printed program. Numerous other sponsorships, such as congratulatory ads, also are available. Call the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame at 417-889-3100.
The Hall’s Filbert Five will be announced in a few days. The Filbert Five, named in honor of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Legend and longtime coach Gary Filbert, recognizes five women and five men who made contributions in the sport in high school, college and professional leagues.
Jerry Armstrong
Jerry Armstrong has enjoyed a tremendous basketball career, both as a player and as a coach. He played at North Harrison High School, where Armstrong earned all-conference three years, all-district two years and All-State his senior year. A 6-foot-5 standout, Armstrong led North Harrison to the state championship game in 1962 before falling to Bradleyville, 59-49. Encouraged by his high school coach, George Kling, to be a factor at a small college, Armstrong went on to play for Texas Western in El Paso. There, he became part of one of the most memorable teams in college basketball history. The 1966 team won the NCAA championship, fielding an all-black starting lineup in the finals against the Kentucky Wildcats, then coached by Adolph Rupp, who did not integrate his team until 1972. Armstrong did not play in in the NCAA title game but later was quoted as saying that, had he played, Texas Western and coach Don Haskins, would never have made such a historical statement. The 2006 movie “Glory Road” was based on that team. However, Armstrong played a key role in the tournament semifinals, holding Utah’s Jerry Chambers to only a few points in the second half after Chambers scored 24 before halftime. Many, including Oklahoma State coach Hank Iba, credited Armstrong with the 85-78 win. Armstrong was a three-year letterman at Western and went on to coach at Trenton, King City, Richmond and Mansfield high schools in Missouri. In 21 years, his teams won seven conference titles and made the state playoffs six times. His King City team reached the state semifinals in 1987 and finished third. Overall, Armstrong was 329-195 before retiring in 1996, and is an inductee of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Mary, reside in Mountain Grove.
Charlie Henke
Charlie Henke was one of the first great “big men” in the University of Missouri basketball history and later became a successful high school basketball coach. He graduated in 1957 from Malta Bend, just west of Marshall. Henke was a three-year starter, plus earned All-State, All La-Saline Conference and all-district. As a senior, he averaged a conference-best 23 points and 23 rebounds. He went on to become a consensus All-American by the Associated Press, United Press International and Helms Foundation and was a senior co-captain at Mizzou in 1961. Additionally, he earned All-Big Eight honors in 1960 and 1961 when he led the Tigers in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. Henke is all over the Mizzou record books. His career 1,338 points stood as the team record until 1973 and, although that figure now ranks 20th, Henke achieved the total in only 74 games – whereas 15 players ahead of him played in at least 105 games. Meanwhile, his career scoring average (18.1), career free throws attempted (554) and free throws made (396) are all sixth-best in school history, while his career rebounding average (9.8) is fifth best (based off 725 rebounds). Additionally, Henke’s 24.6 single-season scoring average in 1960-1961 and his 11.5 rebounds the year before rank, respectively, second and sixth all-time in program history – with the scoring average leading the Big 8 that season. Henke, who was invited to a tryout with the U.S. Olympic team in the summer of 1960, was later a fourth-round draft pick of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and was selected for the College All-American Team vs. the Harlem Globetrotters. Henke also played in the Arrat Shrine All-Star Game in Kansas, only other all-star game at that time. He played one season for the Kansas City Steers of the American Basketball League. Henke, a wildlife biology major as a Mizzou undergrad, returned to Mizzou and earned a master’s degree in physical education. He was a basketball coach from 1966 to 1996, working for Nevada (1966-1970), Mehlville (1970-1975) and Carrollton (1975-1996) high schools. He was inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007, and is part of Mizzou’s All-Century team.
Jeanette Tendai
Jeanette Tendai was the first woman, in any sport, whose jersey was retired at Missouri State University. A 6-foot forward/center for the Lady Bears, Tendai scored 1,769 points in her career between the fall of 1982 and March 1986, graduating as the program’s all-time leading scorer (she now ranks sixth). Tendai, who also was the third Lady Bear ever to score 1,000 career points, was a two-time All-American. Additionally, the Glendale High School standout was the Lady Bears’ first All-Gateway Conference pick as a sophomore in 1984, when she shattered the then-school record for scoring (597 points) in a single season en route to earning honorable mention All-America honors. Her 21.4 scoring average remains the fourth-best single-season mark in MSU history, and the highest for any Lady Bear not named Jackie Stiles. Tendai was a three-time all-conference selection, earning first team honors as a sophomore and junior before receiving second team recognition in 1985-1986. She also owns the third-best career field goals converted (726) and the fifth-most field goal attempts (1,468) in school history. In high school, Tendai was a three-time All-Ozarks selection and all-district as well. She was All-State as a senior after leading Glendale to a 26-1 record and the state quarterfinals. Tendai, who recently retired after a 30-year career in education, is working as an educational consultant, providing school districts assistance in the areas of human resources and educational leadership.
Nate Quinn
Nate Quinn was one of Drury University’s best ever on the basketball court and later coached the Hillcrest High School boys basketball program for 14 seasons. Many remember that he rose to prominence between 1976 and 1980 at Drury as Quinn helped the Panthers win the 1979 NAIA national championship, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the quarterfinal. In his career, Quinn scored 1,935 points. That figure is now fifth-most in Drury history but actually stood as the program’s second-most until the early 1990s. When he graduated, Quinn also held the second-most career assists (514) and the sixth-most points in a single season (569) in program history. He was voted NAIA All-American honorable mention in 1980 and twice earned First Team All-District 16 honors, with an honorable mention all-district during his junior year. At Hillcrest, Quinn was an assistant coach on the Hornets’ 1984 state championship team and then was head coach the next 13 seasons. He became Hillcrest’s career leader in wins with a 223-145 record, including a school-record mark of 26-2 in 1992. Eventually, he went into administration, serving as assistant principal at Hillcrest for seven years and then three years as principal at Jarrett Middle School. He then was Coordinator of Cultural Diversity and Expanded Learning Opportunities with Springfield Public Schools for six years and, in recent years, has served as a Missouri State University professor in the Educational Administration Graduate Program.
Raytown South High School’s 1990 boys basketball team
The Raytown South High School boys basketball team that won the 1990 Class 4 state championship is arguably the best in state history. Led by Missouri Sports Hall of Fame coach Bud Lathrop, the Cardinals finished 31-0 and featured future two Division I recruits in Jevon Crudup, who starred at Mizzou and was a first-round draft pick of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, and Chris Lundley, a Kansas Jayhawks commit. However, Lundley lost a foot in a train accident midseason. Crudup scored at least 50 points four times that season, shooting 60 percent from the field. That winter was special all around the Kansas City area, as the metro featured eight D-I commits, including several at Lee’s Summit, whose only three losses that season were to Raytown South. The Cardinals beat Vashon in the Final Four and then capped their season with a 66-47 victory against De Smet at the Hammons Student Center in Springfield. The team also featured Jesse Battles, Steve Aldrich, Scott Fidler, Deric Scofield and Bryan Harris in the rotation. Other team members included Andy Nicholson, Les Saunders, Ryan Nicholson, Vince Leigh and Sonny Williams. Assistant coaches were John Hursman and Kurt Morrison. Lundley, who went on to work for a non-profit in Lawrence, Kan., passed away at age 34 in 2007.
