"I'd have driven for nothing"
Lester Friebe never got rich off his stock-car racing victories — of which there were many.
"The first race I ever ran in a late mode in Springfield, it was in a '51 Hudson and I made $51," Friebe said. "But I would have driven for nothing because I loved the sport."
Friebe was once a household name in the Ozarks' sports world when racing was a big, big deal. While he hasn't raced seriously in nearly 40 years, he was back in the news on Tuesday as one of six inductees named for the 2014 Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame.
The 28th annual banquet is scheduled for Sept. 23 at University Plaza Convention Center. Tickets are $40 and go on sale later this summer, but can be reserved by calling 869-4848.
Joining Friebe in the class are a pair of local coaching greats, Gary Stanfield and Bill Stringer; former high school golf standout Anne Cain, Evangel basketball all-America NaTasha Neal Moore and Central High multi-sport standout Gary "Peanut" Adams.
Friebe, 76, called it an honor to join those from other, traditional sports.
"I didn't race much from (1975) on, so nowadays I'm not too well-known," Friebe said, adding that "this is kind of like winning my last race."
Friebe came along at a time that racing mushroomed in interest locally, with crowds of 4,000 or more packing the old Fairgrounds Speedway on Friday nights throughout the warm-weather months of the 1960s and '70s.
They saw Friebe battle it out with the likes of Larry Phillips, Bud McKee and Willie Crane, to name a few.
"He was good. Really good and a master of soft-pedaling a car," local racing historian Harry Lightfoot said. "Then when (dirt) racing began to tail off at the Fairgrounds, he went up to Kansas City and won championships up there."
Friebe drove one of the most-recognizable and memorable cars, a purple 1956 Buick with the No. 13 on the side. He still has a replica of the car that's even street legal.
"When I get out and drive it, I get a lot of honks and thumbs-up," Friebe said.
The inductees in the more-traditional sports on hand for the announcement marveled at the connect-the-dots appearance of the class. For instance:
Stringer guided Central High to its only three state football playoff appearances in the mid-1980s — with Adams his premier player as a quarterback-defensive back. Stanfield, meanwhile, was coaching basketball a few miles away at Hillcrest, where he guided the Hornets to the 1984 state title — beating Adams and top-ranked Central along the way.
Stringer also noted Bill Rowe, the retired athletic director at Missouri State, was on hand. Rowe was one of his football coaches at then-Southwest Missouri State in the 1960s, where Stringer was an all-America lineman.
"This is such a great honors and you sit and reflect on how you got here," Stringer said. "You think about your family, about the guys you played with, about your coaches. I'd just like to share it with all who I came into contact with."
Added Stanfield: "This is a humbling experience. We get hired to do our jobs and all of a sudden we get honored for doing what we were paid for."
Tickets for the 28th annual banquet are $40 and, to reserve those or make inquires about sponsorships, call 869-4848. Proceeds go toward funding sports equipment for local youth groups, with $225,000 raised since Bonus Frost founded the Hall in 1985.
Hall of Fame class
A look at the 2014 Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame class. The banquet is Sept. 23 at University Plaza Convention Center in downtown Springfield:
Gary "Peanut" Adams: One of the most-honored prep athletes in city history, Adams went on to play four years at the University of Arkansas, first as quarterback and later as a free safety. Adams was all-state in both football and basketball at Central from 1984-88, leading the Bulldogs to three playoff appearances in football. The 1994 Arkansas graduate spent eight years as an Arkansas state trooper and since 2002 has worked as a United States Secret Service agent based in Little Rock.
Anne Cain: Now owner and operator of the Anne Cain Golf Academy in Amelia Island, Fla., Cain was a two-time state champ at Glendale High School and a Missouri Women's Amateur champ. She went on to play at the University of Georgia and earn all-America honors while winning a Southeastern Conference title as a senior, qualifying for the 1989 U.S. Open as an amateur. After a pro golf career from 1991-96, Cain established her golf academy at Amelia Island, where she manages the entire operation.
Lester Friebe: One of the leading stock-car drivers from 1955-75 on Ozarks-area dirt tracks, the Rogersville native won titles at the Springfield Fairgrounds, Bolivar, Nevada, Jopiln and Kansas City's Lakeside Speedway. His purple 1956 Buick with the No. 13 on the side was a staple for area fans and he remains visible, sometimes driving a replica of his race car on area streets. In 2000, Friebe and brothers Johnny and Earl were inducted into the Ozarks Area Racers Association Hall of Fame.
NaTasha Neal Moore: During her high school basketball career at Kickapoo and following at Evangel University, Moore was one of the city's all-time greats. A three-time Class 4 all-state selection, Neal went on to become a four-year starter and all-Heart of America Athletic Conference first-team honors at Evangel, finishing second in school history with 2,654 points. Her Evangel teams finished 118-30 overall and 74-6 in league play during her time there. She's now raising three sons with husband Anthony Moore, a pastor in Washington, D.C.
Gary Stanfield: Stanfield started and finished his basketball-coaching career on the high school level with a 20-season career at Drury, as assistant and head coach, sandwiched in between. After stops at Weaubleau and Willow Springs, Stanfield spent four years at Hillcrest, leading the Hornets to the 1984 Class 4 state title. He moved to Drury for seven seasons as assistant to Marvin Walker before starting a 13-season run as head coach. Stanfield retired from Drury after a D-II Sweet 16 run in 2004 and later returned to high school ball at Republic for four seasons, retiring in 2012.
Bill Stringer: Moving to Springfield as a ninth-grader, Stringer was a football, basketball, baseball and track standout at Central High. He played football at Southwest Missouri State, earning Associated Press Little All-America honors as a guard before starting a lengthy coaching career with stops at Willow Springs, Cabool, Kirksville, Sullivan and Central. In four years at Central the Bulldogs reached the football playoffs three times — a feat not achieved before or since. He retired from teaching in 2000 and resides in Dade County.