By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The 2022 St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame class was officially enshrined on Sunday night at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center.
The class is made up of 10 individuals, a Special Olympics Athlete of the Year and one team induction.
Included in this year's class is former Missouri Western basketball coach and Missouri Sports Hall of Fame coach Tom Smith, who led the Griffons to 448 total wins, five MIAA regular season and tournament titles and 11 NCAA tournament appearances.
As a member of several other Halls of Fame, Smith says this one is extra special.
"I walk around town and people still call me coach," Smith said. "With that, I think it's a really, extremely big honor. I think my ability to relate to my players and have them relate back to me was very important. So, from that aspect, having several ex-players in the room (Sunday) was very nice."
Smith is also in the Missouri Western Athletics Hall of Fame, MIAA Hall of Fame, Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and Valparaiso Athletics Hall of Fame.
The floor at the Looney Indoor Sports Complex was also named in his honor in 2019.
Also included is local football legend Michael Hill - a St. Joseph Central graduate and Missouri's Western all-time leading rusher with 4,969 yards. Hill says learning about the rest of this Hall of Fame Class made the induction all the more special.
"Seeing everything that they contributed and things that they've done, it was an honor to be in the same class," Hill said, "and really good to see a lot of people who have supported me along the way in this crowd, too."
Hill is a member of the 2012 Missouri Western team that went 12-2 and won the MIAA title along with two playoff games. That team is being inducted into the Missouri Western Hall of Fame this October.
"Looking forward to seeing them at the tailgate before (the game Oct. 29), and it'll be good to see all of the coaches and players."
After Missouri Western, Hill went on to play for four years in the NFL on five different teams.
The other members of the class are basketball coach Gary Filbert, women's basketball star Janet Clark Moody, NFL official George Hayward, St. Joseph based Herzog Motorsports, football legend Vic Eaton, USA Weightlifting Coach Dennis Snethen, wrestling promoter Gust Karras, area sports innovator Bill McKinney, world renowned sporting clays Shooter H.L. “Doc” Childress and Special Olympics athlete Tanner Hrenchir.
Also on Sunday, former Kansas State football coach and St. Joseph native Bill Snyder, a 2021 St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame inductee himself, presented Missouri Western women's basketball coach Candi Whitaker with the inaugural Woman of Impact Award, recognizing an outstanding achievement from a female athlete, coach, administrator or contributor over the past year.
You can read about the rest of the class in full here.
