MSSU News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2007

Lee Elliff Pound
(417) 625-9355

JOPLIN, MO (SNS) -Warren Turner, Joplin, will receive the Lion-Hearted, 2007 Award from the Missouri Southern Alumni Association according to Lee Elliff Pound, Alumni Association Director. The Award recognizes individuals who, although not Missouri Southern graduates, are outstanding supporters of MSSU.

Turner’s award will be unveiled at the Alumni Awards Dinner the evening of Friday, Oct. 12 at the Joplin Ramada Inn. He also will be recognized at halftime of the MSSU homecoming football game the next day.

For more than 40 years, the name Warren Turner has been linked with baseball in Southwest Missouri. In 1976, after 11 years of coaching baseball, football, and basketball in high school, Turner was named head baseball coach at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo. After two years at the helm, he took his team to the NAIA World Series in 1978. The Lions finished second, and Turner was named National Coach of the Year.

His teams made several more trips to the World Series, and he was named District 16 Coach of the Year in 1978, 1985, 1986 and 1987 and NAIA Area IV Coach of the Year in 1978, 1986 and 1987. In 1990, Missouri Southern joined the NCAA ranks, and during the 2005 season,

Turner’s team handed him his 800th victory. He has been a member of ABCA, NAIA, and NCAA committees and served as chairman of the rankings committee for his area. He has been inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, the Missouri Southern State University Hall of Fame, and the Joplin Sports Hall of Fame.

Turner has been named conference Coach of the Year three times (CSIC in 1986 and MIAA in 1991 and 1992). He was NCAA Division II Regional Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1992.

During his tenure at Southern, Turner also earned the rank of Professor, received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995, and was named a March of Dimes Man of the Year.

His dedication and service to baseball has earned him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater St. Louis Major League Baseball Scouts Association and recognition from the Missouri House of Representatives and the Missouri State Senate.

Turner has also enjoyed a long relationship with USA Baseball. He was a member of several Olympic Festival task forces and served as general manager of the Junior Olympic Baseball Team for many years. He has also traveled with the USA Senior Team and has represented Missouri Southern and USA Baseball on athletic fields in Mexico, Nicaragua, Sicily, Italy, Taiwan, Brazil, Canada, England, Japan, and Cuba.

In 2005, he was named to the technical commission of the International Baseball Association. He assisted with the World Games in Taiwan.

In addition to his leadership in baseball, Turner is involved in many civic events. He and his teams have been volunteers for Kiwanis apple delivery, Children’s Miracle Network, United Way, Chamber of Commerce projects, Missouri High School Christian Association, NALA, and Special Olympics. Turner is also a motivational speaker for civic, business, athletic, and youth leadership conferences. He has been recognized for his work by Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Missouri, Little League of Missouri and Kansas, American Cancer Society, and Kiwanis International.

Turner retired from coaching at the end of the 2007 season with a 852 career wins. He continues teaching college classes, supervising student teachers, and refereeing high school and college football and basketball. He will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame later this year.

Warren and his wife, Gloria, have been married 37 years and have two daughters: Tosha Schuller (and husband, Thomas) and Erin Braker (and husband, Teague). They have seven grandchildren: Sofie, 5; Josef, 2; Katelyn, 11; Jackson, 9; Jace, 10; Avery, 4; and Logan, 4.