We usually offer a roundup of the week’s Missouri sports news on Tuesdays but before we do that, we want to observe how Donald Trump is not the only person in Washington who thinks history needs to be re-written.
(MIZTHEN)—I was there that day the Missouri Tigers lost to the Kansas Jayhawks 23-7 at Memorial Stadium (it was not then Faurot Field).
But that’s not the way Congress and the NCAA record it. Congress has done something the sportswriters and the coaches did not do in 1960 when Missouri lost a game it later won, later won a conference championship it had lost, and until recently a national championship it could not reclaim.
Kansas and Missouri fought for superiority in the Big Eight Conference that year. Kansas temporarily won its first outright conference championship in thirty years. The Jayhawks finished ranked 11th in the AP Sportswriters poll, only the second time the Jayhawks were ranked (the first time was 1947).
However—-KU running back Bert Coan, who scored the only two Kansas touchdowns that day was found to have been ineligible in games against Colorado and Missouri and on December 8, the Big Eight declared that KU big-bucks recruiter Bud Adams had illegally recruited Coan while he was at TCU. The two Kansas victories had to be forfeited. The Big Eight and MU consider the Tigers record to be 10-0 in the regular season. But KU and the NCAA still consider the record is 9-1.
Coan later played seven years in the American Football League, six of those years with (it seems appropriate) the Kansas City Chiefs, the team right between the two states. He caught a 19-yard touchdown pass and ran for 37 yard TD in the Missouri game.
Coan and most of the other players from both sides in that 23-7 Kansas victory are gone now. The AP and the competing UPI (United Press International) did not do polls after the bowl season—which concluded on January 2 in those years before the national championship playoff system came along. The last polls put Minnesota first and Missouri 4th and 5th.
But the Golden Gophers lost to Washington in the Rose Bowl. Ole Miss, which went 10-0-1 and Iowa (also with one loss) also got some championship votes.
Missouri went to the Orange Bowl to face a Navy team that was ranked 4 and 6, and starred Heisman Trophy winner Joe Belino. The opening minutes were electrifying with Navy picking a fumble out of the air and returning it 98 yards for a touchdown. Navy threatened again until the Tigers’ Norm Beal ran a pick-6 back 90 yards for the tie.
CBS television had the game that year with one of the greatest pairs in the booth at the time making the calls—Ray Scott and Paul Christman. Christman was Missouri’s first great star as a pre-war quarterback who later played for the Chicago Cardinals which he led to the NFL championship in 1947, the franchise’s only championship (they now play in Arizona after stop in St. Louis for a while). You won’t hear Christman but you can catch the game highlights with Scott making the calls:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zKUfYF84h8
(QB Ron Taylor hands off to Donnie Smith–who led the conference with 13 touchdowns—with Ed Mehrer (35) and Norm Beal (21) with Gordon Smith (89) looking to take out the right side of Navy’s defensive line)
Missouri stuffed Navy’s run game in the 1961 Orange Bowl while Dan Devine’s “student body right,” and “student body left” running game that featuring pulling guards and blocking backs ground out more than 200 yards and ate up a lot of clock.
The Tiger rush was led by Norris Stevenson and Mel West, the first two African-American Tiger football players.
Coach Devine always thought Missouri would have finished the year with the national championship if there had been a post-season poll, but the University has never claimed the national title. Missouri finished 11-0* with the asterisk noting the game on the last day of the regular season, that they actually lost.
Well, if the University of Missouri and the now-Big 12 Conference won’t claim the national championship, it’s time for the politicians to get all huffy and fluffy about it these 66 years later and say, “Ignore the asterisk.”
One of our intrepid United States Senators, Eric Schmitt, has stepped boldly forth and introduced a Senate resolution declaring the Tigers were undefeated national champions. Such resolutions have no force of law and certainly have no authority over the Big 12, the NCAA, or the history of the game (which Missouri played poorly, by the way). But the Senate has had bigger things to do than take time with this resolution and there were no objections, not even from Kansas’ Senators, so it stands as passed.
The University of Missouri will take the resolution for whatever value it has and will celebrate the 1960 national championship during its September 19 game against the Troy Trojans. The halftime event also will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium.
It would be greater fun if the celebration could be done when MU plays KU this year, but that game will be in Lawrence and the Jayhawks are not just about to let Missouri do any whoopeeing that day.
Memorial Stadium’s original capacity was 25,000. We were one of the 41,000 who watched Kansas win that loss in 1960.
With the new quarter-billion addition intended for use by high-roller Tiger supporters, the stadium will hold almost 65,000, including those sitting in 2,280 new premium seats, 628 loge box seats, 270 mezzanine club seats and mingling in 71 suites.
And in a few weeks there will be a celebration of a game that truly has become a political football.
(MIZZNOW)—The season kicks off Thursday night shortly after Mizzou alumnae Sheryl Crow sings the national anthem. The game is a sellout. Arkansas-Pine Bluff will give the Tigers someone wearing a different uniform to hit.
Ahmad Hardy won’t play but ESPN’s Pete Thamel says the Tigers hope he can be ready my mid-September. After the Thursday game, Missouri plays Kansas in Lawrence on September 11 and then is at home against Troy on the 19th. SEC play starts with Mississippi State on the 26th.
(MIZCUTS)—Twenty-five former Tigers will start the season on NFL 53-man rosters. On3.com lists:
- Kris Abrams-Draine – CB, Denver Broncos
- Tyler Badie – RB, Denver Broncos
- Nick Bolton – LB, Kansas City Chiefs
- Larry Borom – OL, Detroit Lions
- Luther Burden III – WR, Chicago Bears
- Jaylon Carlies – LB, Indianapolis Colts
- Kevin Coleman Jr. – WR, Miami Dolphins
- Brady Cook – QB, Miami Dolphins
- Jordan Elliott – DL, Tennessee Titans
- Akayleb Evans – CB, Carolina Panthers
- Javon Foster – OL, Cincinnati Bengals
- Ty’Ron Hopper – LB, Green Bay Packers
- Khalil Jacobs – LB, New England Patriots
- Drew Lock – QB, Seattle Seahawks
- Chris McClellan – DL, Green Bay Packers
- Isaiah McGuire – DL, Cleveland Browns
- Armand Membou – OL, New York Jets
- Harrison Mevis – K, Los Angeles Rams
- Toriano Pride Jr. – CB, Cleveland Browns
- Ennis Rakestraw Jr. – CB, Detroit Lions
- Darius Robinson – DL, Arizona Cardinals
- Keagen Trost – OL, Los Angeles Rams
- Josiah Trotter – LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Zion Young – EDGE, Baltimore Ravens
Players Waived or Released
- Marcus Bryant – OL, New England Patriots (injured reserve)
- Joshuah Bledsoe – S, Washington Commanders
- Stephen Hall – CB, Houston Texans
- Xavier Loyd – WR, Kansas City Chiefs
- Albert Okwuegbunam – TE, Las Vegas Raiders
- Cody Schrader – RB, Denver Broncos
- Theo Wease Jr. – WR, Miami Dolphins
Injured Reserve
- Jaylon Carlies – LB, Indianapolis Colts
- Yasir Durant – CB, New England Patriots
- Johnny Walker – WR, Denver Broncos
(TRAGEDY)—A William Jewell College football player who had; just scored the first touchdown of the year for his team collapsed on the sidelines Saturday and was pronounced dead at a Liberty hospital a short time later. MicahJo Barnett. He was 20, a business administration major. The game was suspended and later canceled.
Barnett was a home-town boy, the captain of the Liberty Eagles when they won their first state championship when he was a senior. He ran for 1,450 yards, scored 20 touchdowns and made the all-state team that year.
(MIZBB)—Former Tiger basketball star Mark Mitchell might be a Tiger basketball star again. He’s enrolled at the University of Missouri. The court system will decide if he can have a fifth year of eligibility.
Mitchell went undrafted by the NBA after his all-SEC year last year. He played for the Denver Nuggets Summer League team and appeared to be headed to the Nuggets training camp before he changed his mind.
He’s one of several players—more than 25—who were not grandfathered in by the NCAA’s “five for five” rule. His future is in the hands of a federal district judge in Colorado, Charlotte Sweeney, who has granted fifth years of eligibility in other cases before her. In all of those cases, the players had not signed a professional contract. The NCAA opposes such rulings and the SEC doesn’t like it either.
Financially, returning to Mizzou is a better deal. He made $45,000 playing in the G-league last season and would get as much as $85,000 if he goes to camp. Sources indicate he’ll make more at Mizzou under the NIL system.
(BASEBALL)—Baseball seems to be eternal during the summer months and it is something akin to a shock to realize there are only 25 games left for our two teams. One has a slight chance of making the playoffs but it’s going to have to get its act together in a significant way to do it.
Our two teams seem to be headed in different directions again. It’s the Royals that have been hot for the last couple of weeks. Although they were hammered by the Guardians on Sunday, they have won 11 of their last 13, 13 of their last 16, and remain in the playoff picture, as unlikely as that might seem. But they are playing in the weakest division in baseball.
Royals reliever John Schreiber, put on waivers during the weekend, was quickly snapped up by the New York Yankees. He had been in 55 games this year and had put up a 3.65 ERA. He held right-handed batters to a .143 average but lefties were hitting .326. Schreiber likely on his way out anyway. He was going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The Cardinals have dropped to two games under .500 again and now they’ve put J. J. Wetherholt on the IL. He’s been dealing with tendinitis in his right wrist. The Cardinals started the week 68-70.
One notable achievement, however—Alex Burleson, who was a much-discussed trade possibility in the offseason, has become the first left-handed Cardinals batter to drive in 100 runs since Jim Edmunds did it in 2004, with 111—a number Burlison has 23 games to beat.
He came into this week ranked number two among first basemen in all of baseball in batting , base hits, and doubles.
The Cardinals have decided during the weekend that Caleb Ferguson wasn’t such a good deal after all and cut him loose. He was designated for assignment three weeks after the Redbirds picked him up from Cincinnati. He pitched 8.1 innings in relief, gave up eight walks, 11 hits and eight earned runs in his short stint after doing pretty well for the Reds where he had 22Ks in 24.2 innings and a 4.01 ERA.
His roster spot will be taken by pitcher Hancel Rincon when rosters expand. Also coming up will be Leo Bernal. Rincon has spent eight years in the minors although he’s only 24. He’d been a starter but was moved to long relief this year. In 41 games this year in Memphis he has thrown 71.1 innings with a 4.04 ERA.
Bernal is a catcher prospect, a minor league gold glove winner last year and has been voted the best defensive catcher in the International League this year. He has hit .278 with 16 home runs and 77 runs batted in through 101 games. His callup leaves the Cardinals with some choices to make. Their roster already carries three catchers—Ivan Herrera, Padro Pages, and Jimmy Crooks.
—-Moving along, quickly:
TWO FOR PATO; FIVE FOR PALOU; AND A BIG ONE FOR PREECE
(NASCAR)—Somehow the NCAA Tournament phrase “Sweet Sixteen” isn’t appropriate for the field that will run for the NASCAR Cup Championship in the next ten races. But sixteen it is, the field established with a dramatic win Saturday night on the high banks of Daytona Saturday night with the sixteenth driver making it by winning while a big part of the field crashed behind him.
Ryan Preece had never won a Cup race until then. The win boosted him past Shane Van Gisbergen into the sixteenth and final playoff slot. It’s his first win in 249 races covering eight seasons.
The race, run with a new aero package for the cars, was fairly sedate for a Daytona race until four laps from the finish when a crash and subsequent cleanup sent the race into overtime. Zane Smith led at the start but when he tried to block an oncoming Tyler Reddick, he was turned with the rest of the field bearing down upon him. Preece got through the melee first and was leading when the caution flag was thrown, locking him into the position.
The sixteen drivers who will try to accumulate the most points in the next ten races to claim the cup are regular season champion Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, and Preece.
The field includes the winners of the last seven championships: Logano in 2018, 2022, and 2024; Larson in 2021 and 2025, Blaney in 2023 and Elliott in 2020.
The Chase begins at Darlington next weekend.
(INDYCAR)— Two for O’Ward; Four of Five for Palou
Pato O’Ward has won both weekend IndyCar races on the Milwaukee Mile but he had to do it on the same day. Saturday’s race was stopped by rain before the halfway mark, with O’Ward in the lead, forcing the race to be completed Sunday, after the regularly-scheduled Sunday race also went his way.
The day was a historic one for O’Ward, who became the first IndyCar driver to win two races on the same day since Rick Mears did it 45 years ago. Only six other drivers in the series have achieved that distinction—and they’re pretty big names. Mears, Mario Andretti, Al and Bobby Unser, Dan Gurney, and Johnny Rutherford.
“Those are heavy names. Then you hear mine, you’re like, ‘What?'” he said in a post-race interview. “I’m just writing my own story. I really don’t know what’s in store for my IndyCar career. So far I’ve dedicated my whole life to this. I always really dedicate myself to everything that I do to the best of my ability. I’m one hungry competitor. I love to go out there and compete and to challenge.”
His double victory was overshadowed by Alex Palou, who did not win but accumulated enough points to guarantee his fourth championship in a row, his fifth in six years. Only Scott Dixon, with six, and A. J. Foyt with seven, have more series championships than Palou, who is by far the youngest driver to win five.
“I never thought I would be, first of all, an IndyCar driver. Never thought I could make it. Never thought that I would have the chance to be a professional race car driver. That was my dream,” Palou said after the race. “When I had the opportunity to be an IndyCar driver, that was already a huge achievement for me. I was living the dream. I remember also then Chip (Ganassi) giving me that chance to drive for a championship-winning team at that moment. They just won in 2020 with Scott. That was mind-blowing. Since then I feel like I’ve been on this incredible cloud where everything has been so good for me… It’s just super fun.”
The last driver to win four straight titles was Sebastien Bourdais, who took his fourth one in 2007.
One race is left on the IndyCar schedule. It’s next week at Laguna Seca.
(Photo credits: Student Body Left—1961 Savitar; Stadium—MLR Group; Preece—Bob Priddy at Brickyard ’26; Palou—Rick Gevers, WWTR; O’Ward—Bob Priddy, Indy, 2026; NASCAR playoff field—Facebook)