Hall of Fame
For more than six decades, The Joplin Globe sports pages have been filled with stories of athletes, coaches, and teams across the Four States. Behind many of those stories were four dedicated sports writers: Wendell Redden, Anvil Welch, Jim Henry and Jim Fryar.
Beginning in 1951, they combined for 157 years of journalism experience. They observed nearly 100 high schools in the area, youth sports and local colleges. Their work helped The Joplin Globe sports section the most respected in the region and ultimately earned all writers a spot in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Wendell started there in 1951 before graduating from High School. He began his sports editor duties in 1952. Throughout his career, he covered everything from high school sports to college and professional events, including the Kansas City Athletics’ 1955 home opener, the 1969 Arkansas-Texas football national championship game and the Big Eight Conference football games.
His coverage also included the 1972 Missouri Southern NAIA National Championship Football Team (MSHOF 2020) and was also on the Big Eight Conference Skywriters tour for ten years. Later in his career, he worked for the sports information department at Missouri Southern, coached youth baseball and was tournament director for Golden Gloves. He was also president of the Joplin Boys Club and a founder of the Joplin Sports Authority.
Welch devoted 40 years to sports coverage, including 31 with the Globe. A 1964 Eminence High School graduate, he initially worked for the West Plains and Springfield papers, eventually joining The Joplin Globe. He became known for his coverage of the Webb City Football Program. His passion went beyond simply reporting scores, he cared about the teams, athletes and their fans. According to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, he would hurry back to the newsroom to be able to answer calls about other games in the area.
Henry, a 1971 Boonville High School graduate, has 54 years in newsrooms, including 39 years for the Globe. He focused primarily on Parkwood High School and Joplin High school, as well as Missouri Southern sports.
During his career, his he covered eight World Series games, a Little League World Series, Missouri Southern’s 1992 National Softball Championship Team (MSHOF), also covering Pittsburg State athletics. He became the sports editor of the Boonville Daily News right after high school and even covered hard news before moving to Waynesville.
Fryar started working for the Globe in 1975 a few years after graduating from Shaw Memorial High School in 1966. He remained with The Globe until 2017. His primary coverage included McAuley Catholic High School, Missouri Southern and high school track & field meets. He also helped manage the page design. Fryar started on the C of O newspaper staff and Branson-area papers.
He told reporters, “Part of the reason for the success of the Globe sports staff was the cooperation of the vast majority of area coaches. For years, until newspaper readership began to seriously decline, we would get results from most coaches … win or lose.”
