Cape Girardeau waits out a pro dry spell

Some say it's simply the luck of the draw.

Most don't really know what to pinpoint.

But the fact remains: Cape Girardeau, population 35,665, has not produced a big-time professional athlete in any major sport in nearly 50 years.

In fact, records show Cape Girardeau has turned out big-time professional players only in baseball -- where four Cape Girardeau products have appeared in the major leagues, none after 1954 --among the traditional three major professional sports, including football and basketball.

No Cape Girardeau natives -- classified as those who spent the majority of their youth in the city -- have made it to the NFL or NBA, not counting those who participated in training camps or appeared in exhibition games.

The reasons? That's the question that leaves area sports figures scratching their heads.

"I'd say it's the water we're drinking," said a laughing Jess Bolen, who grew up in Cape Girardeau and has coached the Capahas -- the city's highest-level summer baseball team -- for the past 37 years.

Turning serious, Bolen added, "All it can be is a chance thing. That's all it can be, unless you want to say the coaching is so bad in Cape they can't help anybody when they go up the ladder. I don't think that is the case."

Former Cape Girardeau American Legion baseball manager John "Doc" Yallaly, who directed the program for 40 years and grew up in the city, said "there's no way I can figure out unless it just maybe kind of runs in cycles.

"I can't see anything our coaches are doing different than others. I'm sure our training is as good as anybody else's, and I don't know that that's got anything to do with it anyway. If a kid's got talent, it's God-gifted."

The last major-leaguer from Cape Girardeau -- excluding Southeast Missouri State University athletes -- was Bill Upton, a pitcher who appeared in just two games for the former Philadelphia A's in 1954.

By far Cape Girardeau's most successful major-leaguer was pitcher Elam Vangilder, who played 11 seasons -- primarily for old St. Louis Browns -- from 1919 to 1929 and compiled a 99-102 career record. He went 19-13 in 1922 and 14-8 in 1925.

Other major-leaguers from Cape Girardeau were Tom Upton, who played parts of three seasons with the St. Louis Browns from 1950 to 1952, and former Central High School coach Leon Brinkopf, who appeared in nine games for the Chicago Cubs in 1952.

There have been only two players from Cape Girardeau who even reached the Triple A level of professional baseball -- one step below the major leagues -- in the past 20-some years.

Current Central High School baseball coach Steve Williams did it with the Phillies' organization in the mid-1980s, and Talley Haines is putting up impressive numbers this year during his third season with Durham (N.C.), the Devil Rays' top farm team.

Odds are very long

Of course, the odds of a youngster from any part of the country advancing all the way to the top of a sport are minuscule to begin with.

"The odds are so slim it's scary," Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Gary Garner said.

Still, many area communities either of similar size or much smaller than Cape Girardeau have produced a host of professional athletes who have reached the highest levels of their respective sport -- quite a few of them in recent years:

In the NFL, Sikeston's James Wilder was a standout running back for 11 seasons, mostly in the 1980s; Charleston's Charlie Babb played on Miami's undefeated 1972 Super Bowl championship team; and Farmington's Kyle Richardson is still active as a punter.

In the NBA, Puxico's Win Wilfong played in the 1950s and 1960s and won a championship with the St. Louis Hawks; two players still active are Tyrone Nesby of Cairo, Ill., and Troy Hudson of Carbondale, Ill.

In Major League Baseball, several small area communities have turned out players who appeared at least briefly in the majors over the past 20 years or so, including Hayti (Jeff Stone), Scott City (Scott Little), Ste. Genevieve (Steve Bieser) and Charleston (Matt Whiteside, who is still active in Triple A).

Paducah, Ky., population 25,577, has had three major-leaguers in the last 20 years, including two -- Steve Finley and Terry Schumpert -- who are still active.

On the PGA Tour, Paducah has produced two players in recent times -- both still active -- in Kenny Perry and Russ Cochran. Perry, in fact, had been the tour's hottest player entering last week's British Open after winning three of four tournaments.

"You look at Paducah and the big-leaguers they've turned out fairly lately and you wonder what their secret is," said Yallaly, who butted heads many times with Kentucky's powerhouse summer team during his career running Cape's program. "I always wondered when it was going to be our turn."

An intriguing topic

Frank Hideg, Paducah's former longtime American Legion baseball manager whose teams featured the likes of Finley, Schumpert and other major-leaguers, said from what he's seen, Cape Girardeau's baseball coaching is as good as that of any community.

"I honestly think it's more of a luck-of-the-draw kind of thing," Hideg said. "Cape has a first-class program. In fact, when I came into this, I tried to model our program after Cape's.

"It's God-given talent. We've just happened to have some outstanding players."

Cape Girardeau appears to have solid youth-league programs in most sports. Said Bolen, "There are guys in the big leagues that come from little towns that don't even have little league programs, so that can't be it."

Most agree that when it comes to reaching the elite level of any sport, incredible physical ability is generally required -- and much of that appears to be innate.

"I think it's more of a chance thing when you get to that top level," Southeast football coach Tim Billings said. "You can have the best coaching in the world, but if you don't have great athletic ability, you're probably not going to make it."

Said Garner, "You have to be a great athlete to get to that top level. I don't think there's a rhyme or reason to where people come from. Coaching can help you get better, and there are a lot of other factors, but there are so few people percentage-wise that actually make it to the top."

Added Yallaly, "I don't know if most people realize just how good you have to be to get to that top level. In any sport, making the big leagues is the elite of the elite. You have to have the natural ability, you have to be tough and there's always a little luck involved as far as staying healthy, that kind of thing."

Possible factors

Terry Kitchen has been involved with sports in Cape Girardeau more than 30 years, first as a standout athlete at Central High School and Southeast and later as a successful coach and athletic director at Central. He had a few interesting takes on the subject.

First, Kitchen said he'll put Cape Girardeau's youth and high school programs up against those in any community. He points to the numerous championships won by the city's high schools, but said a couple of factors might weigh into the equation.

"We've had so many successful athletes and teams. I don't think Cape is doing anything different than any other community," Kitchen said. "I really think that in Cape Girardeau that we have offered our students an opportunity to excel in more than one sport, so we encourage students to play a sport in the fall, a sport in the winter, a sport in the spring.

"I think that's good. I like to see kids play as many sports as they can. But I think a lot of times now a days, kids really need to specialize in a sport to become a big-time player, although I'm not in favor of that. But the real super athletes, they can play several sports and still get to the top.

"And you look at the percentage of professional athletes that come out of the warm weather states like Florida, California, Texas. A sport like baseball, they can play all year and that's a big advantage."

Kitchen agreed with the others regarding how much natural physical ability it generally takes to reach the pinnacle of a sport and how it's hard to guess where those athletes are going to come from.

"Most kids can practice, practice and practice and they won't get to the top," Kitchen said. "Some things God blesses you with. I think it's just the luck of the draw where those athletes are going to come from."

Scheer hits the top

Cape Girardeau actually has produced one recent athlete who is playing near the elite level of his sport. Craig Scheer, a 1994 Central High School graduate, competes in the Major Indoor Soccer League and he was on this year's Baltimore Blast team that won the MISL championship.

Soccer in Southeast Missouri has become extremely popular in the past several years and still appears to be growing. As that trend continues, longtime Central High School coach Tom Doyle wouldn't be surprised if more local players follow in Scheer's footsteps.

"I definitely think you'll see it," Doyle said. "I can see every year how much better the soccer is getting."

Golf appears to be one sport perhaps in which learned skills is just as important as raw physical ability -- and perhaps even more important. As junior programs in Cape Girardeau continue to grow and develop, there might be an opportunity for the city to break through in that sport.

"It's a possibility," longtime Southeast Missouri State golf coach Carroll Williams said. "What people fail to realize from my viewpoint is just how good some of these players really are. It takes a lot of money to get to that top level, and a lot of people can't afford it.

"I think the junior programs in Cape are better than they used to be, but it's not as good as a lot of other places. I think Missouri as a state is somewhat behind in that area."

While there appears to be no rhyme or reason for Cape Girardeau's major-league sports drought, it doesn't keep the experts from wondering why it hasn't been the city's turn for so long -- and when it might next be.

"This is a town of about 40,000, so it makes you wonder," Bolen said. "The law of averages says it's going to happen sooner or later."

Yallaly also wonders but believes that perhaps Cape Girardeau's day will not be far off. He and Bolen both point out the impressive numbers Haines is putting up in Triple A and figure he'll be the city's next major-leaguer.

"It's a complete mystery to me," Yallaly said. "All these towns, like Paducah, Farmington, Charleston, even Scott City with Scott Little," who appeared in three major league games and had four at-bats for the Pirates in 1989.

"But we'll pop in there one of these days," he said. "We'll catch up with it."

mmishow@semissourian.com

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