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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
With 849 victories, Turner ranks eighth overall among active Division II
baseball coaches and 12th overall on the all-time Division II
coaching list. Turner s 1986 and 1987 squads competed in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, finishing seventh and fifth, respectively. He coached Missouri Southern to two NCAA Division II World Series in Montgomery, Ala. The Lions finished second in 1991 and tied for fifth the following year. Turner was elected to the NAIA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004 and has been nominated for induction into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Missouri Southern Hall of Fame and the Joplin Sports Authority Hall of Fame. I ve been very fortunate to have been at Missouri Southern these past 30 some years, Turner said. Dr. (Leon) Billingsly hired me and I ve continued to work under the leadership of Dr. (Julio) Leon. I ve worked for two athletic directors, Jim Frazier and Sallie Beard, and they ve been great to work for. Over the years, we ve had some outstanding players, many of whom have gone on to play professional baseball. You don t win 800 games without good players and the help of some dedicated coaches, many of them volunteers. Tim Doss, a former Missouri Southern player, was one of my first coaches, Turner recalled. But Steve Luebber has been a fixture during the winter months and Mike Hagedorn helped me more than 25 years. Other assistants over the years included Kermit Luebber, Jeff Velliquette, Ted Flora, Bob Tignor, Loren Olson and the two young men we have this season, Will Ramos and Drew Endicott. And, although he never was a coach, the late Ferrell Anderson used to conduct clinics for our team. He was a great friend. Also, I would be remiss if I didn t thank those people who helped behind the scenes, people like Mutt Miller, Leroy Wilson, Kelly Meadows, Cotton Dye, Barbara Hereford, Ray Younger and Lisa Phelps who worked in the concession stand. There were other friends who helped me work on the field at Joe Becker Stadium and provided indoor practice facilities for us during the winter months when we couldn t get outside. The 203rd Engineer Battalion of the Missouri National Guard helped me with work on Joe Becker Stadium and Jim Wilkinson, Gary Hall, Rob Clay and David Taylor provided indoor practice facilities for us. Looking back on his career at Missouri Southern, Turner said the national tournaments were highlights, but competing against numerous NCAA Division I schools were exciting challenges for the program. Over the years we played Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas Christian, Illinois, Texas Tech, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas State, Kansas, Iowa State and Oral Roberts, Turner recalled. We lost more than we won, but I believe our players enjoyed the competition. Many of Turner s players entered the coaching field and have enjoyed success at the high school level. Some of them are coaching more than baseball, but most of them have been successful in the coaching field, Turner said. He listed Kirk Harryman, Scott Madden, Bryce Darnell, Flave Darnell, Tim Casper, Kevin Marsh, Tony Tichy and Jonathan Wengert as players who immediately came to mind who entered the coaching field. I m proud of the players who gave pro baseball a shot, Turner said. Kenny Grundt (left-hand pitcher) reached the majors with the Boston Red Sox and others did well in the minor leagues, players like David Fisher, Tim Casper, Rich Cannon, Chuck Pittman, Danny Rogers, Rick Berg, Scott Wright, Jim Baranoski, Randy Braun, Danny Pinkerton, Tim Luther, Jeremy McMullen and Jeff Taylor. Will Warren Turner enjoy life without baseball? It s been a big part of his life since playing Little League ball on a team coached by his Dad, Floyd (Boney) Turner, a former minor league player. I was so small Dad gave me a uniform with the number one-half on it, he laughingly recalled. When I got bigger, he gave me the number 21. That was (Hall of Fame pitcher) Warren Spahn s number. I was named after him. I want to spend some quality time with my grandchildren when I retire, he said. Maybe that will make up for the time I missed with my two girls (Tosha Schuller and Erin Braker) when I was coaching. I may stay on at Southern and teach some classes and I have a couple other business opportunities I m looking into, one in pro baseball and the other in business. Turner and wife Gloria have seven grandchildren and as well as spending time with them, he said he also plans to continue refereeing high school football and basketball games. Turner won t leave the player cupboard bare for his successor. We have a pretty good group of players coming back, he said. The new coach will have to bring in some junior college pitchers and another player or two. The schedule should be exciting because we ll be playing several more home dates. Warren Turner has been a great asset to Missouri Southern State University and the athletic program as a whole, said Athletic Director Sallie Beard. He is an icon within the baseball community and the sport of baseball has been enriched because his lifelong commitment to the game. No one who knows Warren can ever doubt that his 30 plus years as an educator and a coach have been a labor of love. For those of us that have had the pleasure of working with him, the hallmark of his career has been his commitment to community service. The way he coached his players has been a day to day testimony to that fact. There will be no press conference announcing the retirement. Southern will begin a nationwide search for Turners successor immediately. |