Meyr, Peiffer pleased to be in same class

The third class inducted into Southeast Missouri State University's Athletic Hall of Fame featured a unique connection.

Ryland "Dutch" Meyr, a Southeast football star in the late 1950s and early 1960s, was an assistant coach for the Indians in the late 1960s and for much of the 1970s -- and one of the players he successfully recruited and coached at Southeast was Dan Peiffer, who went on to play for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.

Meyr, a Chaffee High School product who resides in Fruitland, and Peiffer, an Iowa native who also lives in Fruitland, were reunited as two of the 11 individuals -- along with one team -- honored during Saturday's reception and induction ceremony at the Show Me Center. The group ranged in participation from the early 1900s to the 1990s.

"It's great to go in together because we're very close friends," said Meyr. "We live about two miles from each other, and we see each other quite a bit."

Added Peiffer: "I was very excited about it, to go in with him. Without Dutch Meyr, I would have never played in the NFL. He believed in me."

Meyr was a four-year starter at tackle at Southeast from 1958 to 1961, earning Little All-America honors in 1961, and he played on three MIAA championship teams. Meyr was an assistant coach for the Indians from 1969 to 1977, during which time he took part in five MIAA championships.

"I played here. I coached here. It's a day of thanks for me," said Meyr, who also compiled a 25-7 record as the head coach at Cape Girardeau Central High School. "This was certainly never my goal when I started. This is the accumulation of a lot of people who helped me."

Peiffer was Southeast's starting center from 1970 to 1973 and spent six seasons in the NFL, including three with the Bears. He was Chicago's captain in 1975. Peiffer grew up in Iowa but moved to the area after his professional playing days were finished.

"It's very special to me," said Peiffer of being honored by Southeast. "You have to be proud when you've been out of sports as long as I have."

Peiffer said he weighed 237 pounds when he played at Southeast and 251 pounds during his NFL days. Asked about the size of today's NFL players, he smiled.

"They're monsters," he said. "I never dreamed they could get as big as they are. When I was playing, there were a few 300-pounders. Now they're all that way."

Local connections

Several of the other individuals honored Saturday had strong local connections as they starred at area high schools before entering Southeast.

Steve Williams, Central High School's current baseball coach who has led the Tigers to a state title, was a standout all-around athlete at Central before playing baseball and football for the Indians from 1981 through 1984.

Williams still holds Southeast's career home run record of 52, and he earned All-American honors in 1983 and 1984. He later played professionally in the Phillies' organization, reaching the Class AAA level. In football, Williams led the Indians in punting in 1981 and 1983, and he holds Southeast's record for best average in a game with a 56-yard mark against Murray State in 1983.

Williams was unable to attend the induction ceremony because he is also an assistant football coach at Central and the Tigers had a game in St. Louis, but he said in a videotaped message, "For me to be selected is truly a special honor. It's probably the best honor I've had athletically in my career."

Kelvin "Earthquake" Anderson starred in football at New Madrid County Central and became arguably the premier running back in Southeast history while playing for the Indians from 1992 through 1994.

Anderson rushed for over 1,000 yards each of his three seasons and holds Southeast's career rushing record with 3,392 yards. He was a Division I-AA All-American in 1992, when he set the Southeast single-season rushing mark of 1,371 yards.

After leaving Southeast, Anderson went on to a standout career in the Canadian Football League, becoming the only player in CFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons. He retired from football this year and now lives in Charleston, Mo.

"It feels real good. This is a great honor," Anderson said.

Of his decision to retire even though he believed he still had at least a few more productive seasons left, Anderson, who is married with two young children, said, "My family became involved. And I wanted to walk away without having any kind of an injury."

Otto Porter was a basketball standout at Scott County Central High School who became one of the most prolific scorers in Southeast history while playing just two seasons for the Indians, in 1979-1980 and 1980-1981.

Porter averaged 27 points per game as a junior and 25.1 points per game as a senior for a two-year mark of 25.8 that ranks as the best ever in the MIAA. The 10th-leading scorer in Southeast history was a second-team Division II All-American in 1981. Porter, who still lives in the area, was unable to attend because of work obligations.

Other individuals inducted Saturday were F.J. Courleaux (football, 1904-1907, football coach, 1915-1929); Bill McLane (football and track, 1934-1937); Rex Miller (track and cross country, 1955-1958); John Diepenbrock (football, 1965-1968); Rob Thomas (track, 1981-1984); and Lizz Barringer (track, 1986-1989). Courleaux and McLane are deceased.

Courleaux had the longest football coaching tenure in Southeast history and also coached basketball, then became athletic director in 1930 and was involved in the building of Houck Stadium. McLane held 27 school or MIAA track records when he completed his eligibility in 1937. He also played football.

Miller was Southeast's first cross country All-American, in 1957; Diepenbrock led the MIAA in receiving yardage in 1967 and 1968, and he had 110 career receptions for 2,073 yards; Thomas ranks as Southeast's only Division I national champion in any sport, winning the indoor 600-meters in 1984; and Barringer captured the 1989 Division II heptathlon title.

"It's a great honor. I cherish it very much," said Miller, another area native who graduated from Oak Ridge High School. He has lived in Colorado since 1962 and spent many years as a high school coach. One of his ex-athletes is Southeast Hall of Famer Mike Vanatta, a track and cross country star at Southeast in the early 1980s.

Diepenbrock, a St. Louis native who still lives there, also has a connection to Meyr, who was in his first year as a Southeast assistant during Diepenbrock's senior season with the Indians.

"This is very humbling," Diepenbrock said. "Everything was just for the team. Honors and recognition were way in the back of your mind."

Thomas, who lives in St. Louis, seemed to echo the sentiments of all the inductees.

"I feel privileged and honored," said Thomas, whose daughter Whitney is one of the nation's top high school track athletes, attending Hazelwood Central.

Barringer, who lives in California, gave plenty of credit to Southeast track coach Joey Haines.

"Coach Haines believed in me," she said.

Also inducted was the 1987 gymnastics team coached by Bill Hopkins that won the USGF Division II title and was led by Diana Morris, who won four All-America awards at the national meet. All but one of the squad members attended Saturday's affair.