CAPE CENTRAL WILL ADD FOUR TO HALL OF FAME

The four newest inductees in the Cape Girardeau Central High School Sports Hall of Fame will be honored Tuesday night during the Central All-School Booster Club Recognition Banquet at the A.C. Brase Arena.

New inductees are Paul Stehr, Don Koch, Alan Kesterson and Mike Price.

Tickets for the event, which will honor Central's top athletic and academic accomplishments, are $4 for students and $7 for adults.

Paul Stehr

(1950-54)

A basketball and baseball standout under legendary coach Lou Muegge, Stehr played on Central's 1954 state championship basketball team and also the Tigers' 1954 state championship baseball squad.

A three-year starter in basketball, Stehr was named most valuable player at the 1954 state tournament while earning second-team all-state honors.

Scholastically, Stehr was a member and president of the National Honor Society and served two terms as Central's student body president.

Stehr attended the University of Missouri on an athletic scholarship and lettered in both basketball and baseball.

Stehr served six years as a Cape Girardeau city councilman and three years as mayor of Cape Girardeau. He currently resides in Cape.

Don Koch

(1950-54)

Also a standout under Muegge on Central's state championship basketball and baseball teams in 1954, Koch led the Tigers with 26 points in the title contest against CBC as he earned first-team all-state honors.

In baseball, Koch home run at the St. Louis Cardinals' Sportsman Park helped lead the Tigers' 5-4 win over Lutheran North for the state crown.

Koch attended Southeast Missouri State and Murray State, where he played baseball.

After college, Koch coached high school basketball in Illinois before being serving as director of the Kaskaskia (Ill.) Special Education District. He was also elected to the school board and the city council in Carlyle, Ill.

Alan Kesterson

(1959-1963)

Another basketball and baseball star, Kesterson played on the Tigers' 1962 state championship baseball team that went 21-0 and also on the 1963 squad that finished as state runner-up with a 19-2 record.

A three-year starter in baseball, Kesterson played on teams that went 55-5. He batted .439 as a junior and .393 as a senior while also excelling on the mound.

In basketball, Kesterson was a two-year starter who played on teams that went 45-5.

Kesterson attended Southeast Missouri State, where he played baseball, then later coached baseball and tennis at Ferguson-Florissant High School in St. Louis. He has been working for the past 21 years for Allen Food Company and resides in St. Charles, Mo.

Mike Price

(1960-64)

A three-sport athlete at Central, Price earned eight varsity letters, three in football, three in track and two in basketball.

As a junior, Price played on the Tigers' football team that went undefeated and won the conference title. During his senior season, the Tigers went 7-2 and were conference co-champs as Price earned first-team all-conference and honorable-mention all-state honors.

In 1964, Price received the prestigious Lou Muegge Award. He also was elected student body president while at Central.

Price attended Southeast Missouri State on a football scholarship. He was a varsity letterman for the Indians and graduated with a degree in political science.

Following college, Price served in Viet Nam and was awarded the Bronze Star. In 1974, he earned a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is presently an Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Cape Girardeau.