Southeast Missouri State inducts Athletic Hall of Fame class

The wide grins and big smiles said it all for those comprising Southeast Missouri State's 2011 Athletic Hall of Fame class.

They expressed great pride and honor that the university they still hold in high regard deemed them fit for induction into the exclusive club.

"It's something else," said Greg Brune, a football and baseball standout from 1964 to 1968. "It's a great feeling."

Added Jeremy Johnson, a baseball star from 1996 through 2000: "This is awesome. To be in here with so many great athletes ... it's a tremendous honor."

Others inducted during Friday night's ceremony at the Show Me Center were the late John "Hap" Bernard (basketball, football, baseball, 1908 to 1913), Bobby Ferguson (track & field, 1983 to 1986), Tom Thrower (football, basketball, track & field, 1958 to 1960) and the 1991 softball team that advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four.

Brune's involvement with Southeast spans more than 45 years. It started when the Cape Girardeau native and Central High School graduate came to the university as a student-athlete in 1964.

Brune ranks among Southeast's career leaders in passing yards, passing attempts, passing touchdowns, passing efficiency, average yards per pass, average yards per completion, punting yards and punt attempts. He was a four-year starting infielder in baseball and earned seven varsity letters.

Brune was the Southeast Booster Club president in 1985 and 1986. He later served as Southeast's director of athletic development from 1993 until earlier this year. All three of his sons (Brent, Brian and Bobby) played football at Southeast. So did his late father Charlie, also a Southeast Hall of Fame member, while his brother Lance was a standout Southeast quarterback.

"This place has meant so much to me and my family," Brune said. "My kids are here tonight. My grandkids are here. A lot of my old teammates are here.

"Being in the Hall of Fame with my dad, it's super. It means so much. We're also in the Central [High School] Hall of Fame together. We got put in the same day."

Johnson was the 2000 Ohio Valley Conference baseball player of the year. The two-time first-team all-OVC outfielder and OVC all-tournament selection is Southeast's career leader in hits (287), games played (216), runs scored (214) and total bases (521).

"I never even thought about something like this. I never thought I would be included with all these tremendous athletes," Johnson said.

Johnson was the OVC tournament MVP after leading Southeast to its first NCAA Division I regional appearance in 1998. He had the winning hit during a dramatic OVC tournament win at Capaha Field that spurred Southeast to the championship.

"Hitting that double, helping us get to the NCAA tournament, that had to be my biggest memory," Johnson said.

Ferguson, part of the 1985 national championship track & field team that is in the Southeast Hall of Fame, was a five-time NCAA Division II All-American and eight-time MIAA indoor and outdoor champion in the pole vault.

Ferguson, the 1987 NCAA Division II outdoor pole vault champion, was a world championship team member at the 1987 Pan Am Games and won a silver medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. He still holds the Southeast school record, which set the Canadian national record at the time.

"It's a great honor. Any time you go back to your school and they want to honor you, it's a great accomplishment," said Ferguson, a native of Canada who lives in Toronto. "It meant a lot to me to come back for this. I've still got a lot of good friends here."

Thrower was a two-time all-MIAA performer at three positions (running back, defensive back, special teams) in football. He led the conference in rushing with 7.5 yards per carry in 1959. He was his team's top punter and punt returner, third-leading scorer and third-leading receiver. He also was the 1958 MIAA javelin champion.

Thrower returned to Southeast to become an assistant football coach under Kenneth Knox and later was coach. Thrower compiled a 37-22-2 career record with three MIAA titles (1968, 1969, 1973).

"It's a big honor," Thrower said. "Being in a dual role, as an athlete and coach, it's a little different than most people.

"I remember all the great teams I played on and coached. Seeing a lot of those people here tonight is special."

Bernard was a quarterback and kicker in football, a shortstop and pitcher in baseball and a forward in basketball.

He scored 32 points in a game during the 1911 basketball season and was voted the best quarterback on Missouri's All-State College Football Team.

Bernard went on to earn first-team all-conference honors as a quarterback at Washington State in 1913 after his football days at Southeast.

"He was a great all-around athlete," said Rich Eichhorst, a Southeast Hall of Fame member who played a major role in starting the hall and does the bulk of the research for potential inductees from the school's early athletic days.

The 1991 softball team went 38-14, won the MIAA title and made it to the NCAA Final Four during the program's final year as a Division II member despite having only 2.5 scholarships and suffering several key injuries.

"This team had so many variables going against them," said coach Lana Richmond, who still is in charge of the program and ranks among the nation's winningest coaches. "These kids certainly did not come here for the [scholarship] money."

That squad had a distinct local flavor, led by ace pitcher Alice Marler from Jackson and third baseman Karen Hudson from Perryville. Both earned second-team All-American honors.

"This is just amazing. It hasn't really sunk in yet," Hudson said. "We were underdogs all the time, but we would never give up."

Marler set program records with 30 wins, 34 complete games and 263 innings pitched, all marks that still stand. Her 14 shutouts that year rank second in school history.

"So many memories," said Marler, the MIAA MVP who also was a key hitter for Southeast. "Just a bunch of good girls to play with. Just a good team. This is a big honor."

Cape Girardeau high school products on the team were catcher Cathy Retherford from Central and infielder Kathy Knaup from Notre Dame.

Both earned MIAA honorable mention.

"What an honor," Knaup said. "This is probably one of the most wonderful times of our lives."

Friday's inductees also were introduced during Saturday night's men's basketball game at the Show Me Center.

Southeast's Athletic Hall of Fame now includes 71 individuals and 14 teams since its inception in 2002.