By Ken Hansard

On Saturday, October 19th the Webb City Cardinals’ Boys’ Tennis Teams from the
years 1977 – 1979 was inducted into the Webb City Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 1977 Cardinals were conference champs and placed third at Districts. The
1978 team won conference and placed second at Districts. The 1979 team placed
second in the conference and were District champions, winning 35 consecutive dual
matches along the way.

Hall of Fame inductees were selected by a committee of district administrators
and coaches. Webb City’s Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 2016 to honor
individuals and teams who have been vital in defining Webb City’s athletic history.

Members of the 1977-79 teams are listed as follows: Coach Rick Utter and team
members Jim Hoovens, Roger Clark, David Bruner, Shawn McAlister, Frank Martin,
Brad Harding, Mark Poole, Scott Brown, Mike Cooper, Brett Swanson, Doug Franklin,
Troy Dilworth, John Porter, Chris Walls, Bill Vandiver, Keith Darby, Tony Dearing, Bill
Bohnhoff, Dan Bohnhoff, David French, Eric Carr, and Kyle Hickam.

The members of the team who were able to attend the ceremony can be seen in
the picture here, and stand from left to right as follows: Keith Darby, Dave Bruner, Brad
Harding, Jim Hoovens, Coach Rick Utter, Brett Swanson, John Porter, Chris Walls, Troy
Dillworth, and Doug Franklin.

Brad Harding remarked that, while he is obviously proud of the team’s
accomplishments and being honored, he really treasures the friendships that the team
members have built and the fact that those relationships have endured the test of time.

Coach Rick Utter, in his address to those in attendance, re-echoed those words,
and he went on to praise the members of those teams, and others that he coached, for
their dedication and perseverance, but also for the impact that they have had on their
community, and on society as a whole.

Keith Darby had this to say: “When I think about all of the great teams that came
both before and after us, this was certainly a humbling experience. It was absolutely a
great honor, but even more importantly, it was just a blessing to get to see these guys
again. It’s unfortunate that not everyone was able to attend, but they were definitely in
our thoughts. More than anything, I will always cherish the lessons we learned and the
bonds that we formed.”