Metro-east coaches headline St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020
Longtime coaches Gene Baker, Charles Rodman and Nino Fennoy are among those included in the 2020 class of inductees to the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.
Baker, who was the boys soccer coach at Granite City High School from 1973-99, winning nine state championships and over 500 games, is one of 10 metro-east sports personalities who will be enshrined as part of the Illinois class on Feb. 10 at Gateway Classic Cars in O’Fallon.
Rodman was the head volleyball coach at Belleville West for 28 years (1977-2005), leading the Maroons to 815 wins. His 1990 and 1991 teams won back-to-back state championships, compiling a record of 76-2 during that time.
Fennoy remains one of the top girls high school girls track in the nation. He led East St. Louis Lincoln to a remarkable 14 IHSA state track championships from 1977-93 and has been either the head coach or co-head coach East St. Louis since 1998.
He has coached East St. Louis to three state titles, including the 2A title last spring. In addition to his state championships, Fennoy was instrumental in the careers of East St. Louis natives and Olympic Gold Medalists Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Dawn Harper-Nelson.
Other inductees
Jerry Muckensturm: A Belleville native who went on to play linebacker at Arkansas State University and played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears from 1976-83.
Keith Pickett: Metro-east native who ran the highly-successful high school basketball shootout in St. Louis for many years. The event showcased many of the top high school teams and players in the nation on an annual basis.
Misi Clark-Jones: A native of Paris, Clark-Jones played college basketball at SIUE from 1997-2001. She is the Cougars all-tme leader in points with 2,164 points.
Jerome Heavens: A graduate of East St. Louis Assumption High School, he was a Parade Magazine All-American running back in 1974 and later starred at Notre Dame University.
Joe Ostermeier: A graduate of Althoff and longtime sports editor at Belleville News-Democrat, Ostermeier has been an instrumental member of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Lea Plarski: A native of Godfrey, Plarski was the longtime athletic director at Florissant Valley Junior College and a pioneer in the growth of women’s sports. She’s in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, among other awards.
Steve Trittschuh: A graduate of Granite City North, Trittschuh went on to play college soccer at SIUE. A member of the United State national team from 1987-95, Trittschuh played professional soccer from 1987-2001.
Special Awards
Metro Legends Award: Vern Moehrs Manager of the Waterloo Buds/Millers of the MonClair Amateur Baseball League since 1961, Moehrs has won over 2,000 games during his career.
Presidents Choice Award: Tom Calhoun Popular radio host and longtime public address announcer for St. Louis Blues. Calhoun is also the public address announcer for the Gateway Grizzlies baseball team.
Whitey Herzog Award: Belleville West High School state championship golf teams in 1969, 1971 and 1973.
Want to attend?
Tickets are priced at $90 for adult or $720 for a table of eight and $50 for those high school age and younger. Tickets may be purchased on line at www.stlshof.com or by calling (618) 616-4759. The evening begins with a cocktail reception at 5 p.m. followed by a buffet dinner at 6 p.m. and the induction program at 7 p.m.
The induction ceremony features the honorees being interviewed by members of the St. Louis media.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
