Hall of Fame
Terry Wemer is the only four-year letterman in the history of the Joplin Parkwood football program, and he posted monster numbers as a senior when the Bears went 14-0 and won the Class 4A state championship.
A wide receiver, Wemer accounted for 2,051 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. He caught 50 passes for 805 yards, gained 521 yards rushing and 686 yards on kick returns and threw a 39-yard touchdown pass in a total of 164 plays -- an average of 12.5 plays each time he touched the football.
Wemer caught a 33-yard touchdown pass -- a play he suggested for Coach Dewey Combs to call -- in the 20-13 victory over Hazelwood Central in the state championship game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. That Parkwood team outscored its opponents 653-33 with 11 shutouts.
In college, Wemer was a four-year letterman at Oklahoma State (1981, 1983-85), playing for coach Jimmy Johnson three years and Pat Jones two years.
He appeared in 36 games, catching 47 passes for 550 yards (11.7 average per reception) and one touchdown, a 16-yarder from Ronnie Williams in a 17-10 victory at Kansas on Oct. 26, 1985.
In the season opener in 1985, Williams left with a broken jaw and was replaced by Rusty Rankin. Rankin apparently was nervous coming to the huddle, and he credited Wemer with helping him get focused.
According to a story in the Daily Oklahoman, Rankin said, "(Terry) told me, 'Hey, you didn't come here to sit on the bench for four years.' That hit me hard. It stuck with me. I decided it was my time."
Wemer played in two Gator Bowls for the Cowboys. He had three catches for 24 yards in a 21-14 victory over South Carolina in 1984 and four receptions for 30 yards in a 34-23 loss to Florida State in 1985.
Wemer also was part of the Oklahoma State teams that went to the 1981 Independence Bowl and 1983 Bluebonnet Bowl. He and offensive lineman Paul Blair were the first two players to be a part of four bowl teams while playing with the Cowboys.
