Capahas manager Jess Bolen enters Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Jess Bolen was treated like royalty Sunday.

The Cape Girardeau baseball icon might not have felt like he deserved it, but the people who rate the state's legendary sports figures begged to differ.

Bolen, the longtime Plaza Tire Capahas manager, was among 17 individuals inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mo.

"It's a tremendous honor, and it really is very humbling," Bolen said following the induction ceremonies. "There have been other people from our area get in, but they told me I'm the only person from Cape to get in as an individual. It makes it even more humbling.

"It's the type of thing where you feel like you don't deserve it."

Bolen's large cheering section on hand -- about 40 people featuring family members, friends and players, both current and former -- obviously don't feel that way.

Kevin Phillips is a Cape Girardeau lawyer who as a side job has both written about and broadcast local sports since the 1970s.

Phillips has covered many of Bolen's Capahas teams, including broadcasting some of their numerous championships, and he attended the induction ceremony.

"It's a really great honor for Jess and very well deserved," Phillips said. "People in Southeast Missouri have known for years what type of person Jess is, how much he's done for baseball in our area. Now the rest of the state also knows.

"Jess has meant so much to baseball in Southeast Missouri. He truly is a Southeast Missouri institution. He and his wife Mary have kept the Capahas tradition alive all these years, giving young men a chance to play a high level of baseball during the summer. It's an honor for me to consider him a friend."

Jess Bolen receives his plaque into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame from Jerald Andrews, the organization's president and executive director, on Sunday in Springfield, Mo. Bolen, who has managed the Capahas for 44 years, was among 17 individuals inducted Sunday. (Wayne McPherson ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian)

Bolen said he not only was humbled by his induction but also by those who made the trip to support him.

"We had a great contingent from Cape. I can't say enough how much I appreciate all the people who came," Bolen said.

Bolen thanked various local people for spearheading his induction cause by bringing his accomplishments to the hall's attention.

At the top of the list are Wayne and Joan McPherson, ardent supporters of the Capahas who nominated Bolen and were persistent over the years in sending letters and presentations to the hall touting Bolen's candidacy.

"I mentioned them in my speech, not that they nominated me but how important they are to our ballclub," Bolen said.

Bolen, born and raised in Cape Girardeau, took over as manager of the Capahas in 1967. In those early years he continued to play for the club before eventually becoming manager only.

In 44 seasons directing one of the nation's oldest amateur baseball teams, Bolen has led the Capahas to a 1,384-372 record, 17 state or regional titles and 29 consecutive National Baseball Congress World Series berths.

The Capahas have posted numerous top-10 NBC World Series finishes, including fourth in 1988 and seventh in both 1995 and 2007.

"I really don't need any honors or awards. I've always got out of the game as much as I put in it," Bolen said. "But it is an unbelievable honor. I am very grateful and appreciative.

"This is a tremendous hall of fame. You've got people from all the top professional sports in there, hall of famers from the top professional sports. It really is great company to be in."

Bolen said he doesn't consider Sunday's induction an individual honor.

"Any time you get something like this, you had to have a lot of great help and support, a lot of great athletes who played for you," said Bolen, also a member of the NBC Hall of Fame. "My wife Mary has had as much to do with this as I have."

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted its first member in 1951, features the state's legendary sports figures. That includes numerous people also enshrined in major professional sports halls of fame.

Among those inducted Sunday along with Bolen were former NFL stars Johnny Roland and Priest Holmes, and former Cardinals baseball players Tom Herr and Mike Matheny.

"You sit up there and see the people that are going in with you. ... you felt like you were in the company of greatness," Bolen said. "I felt a little bit overwhelmed with those types of people going in."

Bolen and the other inductees were treated to day-long festivities, with a morning reception followed by the early evening banquet and induction ceremonies. 

"It was a really professional, first class," Bolen said. "It was a great day, everything I thought it would be and probably more."