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2000 and 2001 state championship players and coaches – Frank DeLozier, Ryan DeMoss, Grant McDonald, Mike Smith, Garrett Taylor, John Roderique, Tyler White, Aaron Hafner, Kyle Mense, Robbie Gordon, Josh Belcher, Seth Younger, Ryan McFarland, Eric Younger, Chris Taylor… and his daughter Brooks.
Honorees: Lance Gosch, John Hoffmann, Kevin Crane, Bob Foos, Chris Taylor, Burl Wimsett and Joe Grisham.
The Webb City Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 was inducted during an awards celebration Saturday at the Cardinal Dome commons.
Highlighting the event was the appearance of members of the 2000 and 2001 state championship football teams.
An all-state player from both of those teams, Chris Taylor, was also honored individually. He was also an all-stater in baseball and went on to earn honors at Missouri State University. He returned to Webb City High School for a stint as a teacher and baseball coach.
Lance Gosch (Brenten Byrd, assistant superintendent for instructional services, is the presenter.)
Kevin Crane
John Hoffmann
Chris Taylor
Inductee John Hoffmann was a three-sport letterman from the early 1970s and went on to play football for Drake University.
He was on the 1973 basketball team that placed fourth in the state, and he was a state qualifier in track.
Lance Gosch was inducted for being an all-state linebacker his senior year. He also lettered in basketball and track. At Pittsburg State University, he played on the 1991 Division II National Champion team.
Kevin Crane was captain of the 1989 football team – the first to win a state championship. In that Show-Me Bowl, he rushed 100 yards and set a record with 19 total tackles. The team voted for him as the MVP in 1988 and 1989. He went on to play four years at Pittsburg State University.
Joe Grisham recalls the 1953 basketball team’s success.
Carterville Comet Burl Wimsett is finally OK with Webb City.
Burl Wimsett, wearing his Carterville Comet letter on his blue jacket, gave the speech of the night as he proclaimed that being named to the hall of fame caused him to cease his longtime dislike of Webb City. All’s good now, he said.
Wimsett’s dislike dates back to when Webb City retaliated against him for humiliating its runners by avoiding competition with him again.
He graduated in 1958, 10 years before Carterville consolidated with Webb City.
He was a state qualifier in track three years, 1956 – 58, and he also lettered in football and basketball.
Joe Grisham represented the 1952-53 basketball team. He told of the team’s dominance in scoring 1,840 points to go undefeated in claiming the Big-Eight championship and 26-2 overall.
High scorers on the team were Jim Hunter (449), Gary Huffman (430), and Eddie Nealy (346).
Wilbur “Webb” Morris was inducted posthumously for his accomplishments in football, basketball, baseball and track from 1927 to 1930.
After playing football and basketball at Ozark Weslyan College and Southwest Missouri State, he returned to WCHS to coach football, basketball and track from 1936-1941. He was a inducted into the Missouri State University Hall of Fame in 1978.
Bob Foos was inducted as a meritorious recipient for sports photography during his 41 years as editor of the Webb City Sentinel, while it was in print, and now that it’s a website.
Proceeds from ticket sales for the banquet support the Webb City R-7 Schools Foundation.
Tim Workman, director of finance and data management for the district, organizes the committee that selects the Webb City Athletic Hall of Fame inductees. He asked for nominations to make sure no one is being overlooked.
This was the first class to be inducted since the pandemic.
The Webb City Sentinel isn’t a newspaper – but it used to be, serving Webb City, Missouri, in print from 1879-2020. This “newspaper” seeks to carry on that tradition as a nonprofit corporation.
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