MSHSAA'S FIRST CENTURY: 1926 to 2026 by Stacy Schroeder

Description:

Celebrate a century of excellence in Missouri high school activities with this comprehensive commemorative book. "MSHSAA’S FIRST CENTURY: 1926 to 2026" chronicles the growth, impact, and vibrant history of the Missouri State High School Activities Association from its founding in Columbia on February 4, 1926.

This book serves as a tribute to the Missouri schools, students, and programs that have shaped the association's first hundred years. From its origins rooted in regional athletic associations to becoming a nonprofit organization supporting 723 member schools and over 335,000 student participants, this volume captures the spirit of interscholastic competition and cooperation.

Key Features:

• A detailed look at MSHSAA’s evolution from its founding to its 100th year (2025-26).

• Coverage of 40 unique extracurricular activity programs, including sports, debate, music, speech, and dramatics.

• Historical insights into the administration of State Championships and Festivals across 25 sports and 100 classifications.

• Compiled by Stacy Schroeder, a longtime MSHSAA associate executive director and sports history enthusiast, ensuring an authentic and deeply researched perspective.

As MSHSAA enters its second century, this book is an essential keepsake for educators, alumni, student-athletes, and anyone who has been part of the MSHSAA family.

About the Author

Stacy Schroeder joined the MSHSAA staff in 1994 and retired as senior associate executive director in July 2025 after a distinguished 31-year tenure. A product of MSHSAA's programs herself, Schroeder is an amateur historian and dedicated collector of sports antiques with a lifelong passion for Missouri's interscholastic history.

Product Specifications

Published by MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) 2024-2025. Hardcover, 304 pages.

Author/Compiler: Written and Compiled by Stacy Schroeder

(Includes an abridged version of "A History - How The Missouri State High School Activities Association Came To Be" by Irvin Keller)

COVER PHOTO CAPTIONS

Front cover/dust jacket caption

• First row (left to right): Vianney versus SLUH in a rainy boys soccer game, circa early 1980s; Purdy girls volleyball team, circa 1950; Jasper Eagles football fan.

• Second row: The Liberty North catcher, Nick Fuller, encourages his pitcher, Brenner Maloney, during a game in 2018 (Photo by Colt Duncan); Latonya Tatum of William Chrisman wins the 4A girls high jump in 1984 and 1985; MSHSAA Board and staff lapel pin; Portrait of F. A. Kurtz; a Columbia High School cheerleader in 1928 (Photo by Wesley Blackmore, courtesy of the Boone County Historical Society at the Boone County History & Culture Center); The 1931 Humansville Sub-District Basketball Tournament trophy, located at the Webster County Historical Society (Photo by Stacy Schroeder); Parkview students perform a drama about Abraham Lincoln in 1959. David Holstein played Lincoln, Karen Ogborn played Mrs. Bixby, and Harry Spicer played Stephen A. Douglas (Springfield News-Leader archives, used with permission).

• Third row: Swimmers are set to start the 100-yard butterfly Consolation Final at the 2024 Swimming & Diving Championships; Gallatin High School Band.

• Fourth row: The Soldan boys basketball team is the State 4A Champion in 1981; A wrestler wins his match; Don Sawyer of Herculaneum leads the pack during the Boys State Cross Country run in 1982 (Photo by Dennis Davito); Noelle Jackson of Ft. Zumwalt South puts during the 2024 Girls Class 3 Golf Championships at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield.

Back cover/dust jacket caption

• First row (left to right): Macon’s first girls basketball team, 1907–08 (Courtesy of the Macon County Historical Society); Portrait of the Hickman debate team with Mrs. Williams, team leader, in 1935 (Photo by Wesley Blackmore, courtesy of the Boone County Historical Society at the Boone County History & Culture Center); Stanberry pitcher Alyssa Wallace in action during the 2024 Class 1 Fall Softball State Tournament in Springfield.

• Second row: A diver performs a twisting dive at the 2010 Girls Swimming & Diving Championships; Mo, the MSHSAA mascot; MSHSAA centennial logo; Hunter Bushnell (Sr.) of Eldon wins the Class L Para 100- and 200-meter dashes at the 2019 State Track & Field Championships held at Mizzou; Tim Fisher of Parkway South.

• Third row: A choral performance at the 2010 State Music Festival; Hardin Central pennant; Kris Keys of John Burroughs wins his 2A 100-meter dash preliminary heat; The Greenwood football team in October 1949. Front row, left to right: Dick Hank, Don Hoover, Walter Camp, Bob Brown. Back row: Richard Thompson, Wayne Niederhuth, and Warren Davis (Springfield News-Leader archives, used with permission); A basketball player and an official briefly discuss a call at State Basketball.

• Fourth row: Liberty North basketball fans celebrate during Court Warming in 2018 (Photo by Colt Duncan); Marshfield cheerleaders in 1951. Left to right: Darleen Gower, Beverly Bear, Shirley Renner, Shirley Dameron, and Marthann Shook (Springfield News-Leader archives, used with permission); Stanberry scholar bowl team at State in 2019.