Kary Booher, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Media Relations, Submitted

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame will soon induct the All-American Red Heads women's basketball program, along with former Missouri Southern State University Athletic Director Sallie Beard and two womens basketball coaches Evangel Universitys Leon Neal and the University of Missouris Joann Rutherford and former Lockwood High School volleyball coach Cheryl Shores.

The Hall of Fame also will honor Jodie Adams, a longtime leader in the Springfield Greene-County Parks and Recreation Department, who will be the first woman to receive the Presidents Award.

Its all part of the fourth annual Womens Sports Luncheon presented by the Bee Payne-Stewart Foundation, set for 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 30, at the University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center.

Founded by C.M. Olson in the southwest Missouri town of Cassville, the All-American Red Heads Basketball Program was one of the first professional womens programs in the country. The Red Heads barnstormed across the country for 50 years (1936 to 1986), operating three teams annually as they played 133 games in six months, all covering 30 states.

Eventually, the team was coached and owned by Orwell Moore. Players from Missouri included Cairos Brenda Koester and Kay Burk, and Edinas Pat Overman.

The Hall of Fame will also recognize the Wynn Awards, named in honor of Dr. Mary Jo Wynn, the longtime Senior Womens Administrator at Missouri State University, a 1999 inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and a 2014 Missouri Sports Legend. The awards are presented to former high school, college and pro standouts who made an impact in their sports.

This years Wynn Award recipients will be Tara Bailes (Springfield Catholic High School/Missouri State soccer), Teresa Baird Beshore (Springfield Catholic High School/University of Tulsa tennis), Chelsea Taylor Corp (Sarcoxie High School/Missouri State-West Plains), Aleah Hayes (Ozark High School/Texas Tech University/Columbia College volleyball), Tonya Choate McCall (Mount Vernon High School/Drury University/Cactus Tour golf), Amanda Newton Plotner (Republic High School/Drury University basketball), Melissa Hoffmeister Sanders (Joplin High School/University of Arkansas tennis) and Sophie Cox Stagner (Rolla High School/University of Tennessee-Martin soccer).

A sponsorship table of eight is $400 and includes associate sponsor recognition in the printed program and an autographed print. An individual ticket is $40, while a head table ticket is $100. Numerous other sponsorships, including congratulatory ads, also are available. Call the Hall of Fame at 417-889-3100.

Jodie Adams will be the first woman and 10th recipient to be honored with the Presidents Award, given to someone who promotes sports across the state and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Adams has served on the Hall of Fames Board of Trustees since 2004, supporting numerous efforts that have helped the Hall of Fame achieve more successes.

A 2004 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee and graduate of then-Southwest Missouri State, Adams worked 37 years in leadership positions for the Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation Department.

Joann Rutherford is the winningest coach in the history of the University of Missouri womens basketball program, with a 422-263 record (.617) in 23 seasons including 19 winning seasons.

Her 422 wins ranked among the NCAAs Top 35 all-time at the time of her retirement. Rutherfords teams captured four Big Eight Conference regular-season titles and five conference tournament championships and reached six NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1982. She was the Big Eight Coach of the Decade in the 1980s, when her teams were 213-98 (.685). Rutherford also was Mizzous Senior Womens Administrator in the latter part of her career and is in the MU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Sallie Beard worked for the Missouri Southern State University athletic department for 37 years. She was the director of womens athletics for 25 years and was athletics director from 2001 to 2009, becoming the first woman A.D. in the history of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Beard created womens sports on campus in the 1970s following the passage of Title IX and was the first coach of the universitys womens basketball, softball, tennis and track and field teams.

As athletic director, she oversaw upgrades or construction of numerous facilities, helped steer the department from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and served on national committees. Beard also was a coach for the U.S. in the 1981 World University Games and in the 1983 National Olympic Festival.

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All-American Red Heads to be inducted into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame - Moberly Monitor Index