Legendary Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart inducted into Hall of Famous Missourians

JEFFERSON CITY — Norm Stewart already had a connection to Samuel Clemens.

Stewart, the legendary Missouri basketball coach, and Clemens, better known as the world-renowned author Mark Twain, both draw common misconceptions about the town in which they were born.

“Everybody thinks of him as (from) Hannibal, Missouri. Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri,” Stewart clarified Wednesday. “So, what I have in common with him is this: Everybody relates me to Shelbyville, Missouri, which is fine. I'm proud of that. But I was born in Leonard, Missouri.”

Well, now Stewart and Clemons have two connections.

Stewart, 89, was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians by the Missouri House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon, becoming the 50th inductee and the first non-baseball coach or athlete to receive a bronze bust that will be displayed in the state capitol.

Together with House Speaker Dean Plocher, Stewart pulled the cover off his previously concealed sculpture, revealing a bust of the coach that took Missouri to eight Big Eight regular-season titles, six Big Eight Tournament titles, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances and a 634-333 record in his 32 seasons (1967-99) as the Tigers’ head coach. Stewart was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1989. His charity, Coaches Vs. Cancer, has raised millions of dollars for cancer research.

On Wednesday, his life, career and wider impact were immortalized in Missouri history.

Stewart spoke for more than 15 minutes at his ceremony, holding a cue card he never had to use. His path to the Hall is a distinctly Missouri — and that’s pronounced "Missourah," by the way — story all the way from his humble beginnings.

“I want to really enjoy this, but I’m telling you — it’s tough. I'm a sentimental guy, anyway” he said. “I’m looking out here and seeing all these people that have caused this great thing that is happening today.”

He took a long pause. Stewart appeared to be holding back tears.

But then, the legendary coach, as he so often did, cracked the code, and the stories and anecdotes flowed.

He joked that after his birth in Leonard, his parents moved to the “metropolitan area” of Shelbyville — a town with a population of 518 at the last census. It was small, and he didn’t have running water until he was a sophomore in high school, but he had a nice house, love in the home, and good food. Stewart said he became so fond of basketball, the sport that made him a Missouri legend, partly because it gave him a chance to take a shower.

Through the years, the humble beginnings made way for humblings. Those never go away, not even for a College Basketball Hall of Fame coach.

The coach joked about his own induction, which has typically required a vote since 2013.“I was going to mention something about all the reps from Boone County (encompassing Columbia) and Shelby County (encompassing Leonard and Shelbyville), and tell them that I assume they voted for me in this deal. If you did, thank you,” Stewart said. “If you didn’t, I think back to a team that I had in 1994. … They gave me a Christmas card. On the card, it said, ‘By a squad vote of 7-5, we wish you a Merry Christmas.’”

He remembers after a particularly good season in Columbia, he went back home and visited the local pool hall, “because that’s where you can get some particularly good instruction.” He ran into some familiar faces.

“Nobody said a word. One or two guys said, ‘Hi, Norm,’” Stewart said. … “I'm in there about 10 minutes, and finally one of them said, ‘Hey, Norm. You still coaching?’

“That’s why you’re humble. You learn that in a hurry. I love that town. I love this state.”

At the induction ceremony, the front two rows of the House chamber were filled with Stewart’s family, ranging from his wife, Virginia, to his three great-grandchildren. Elsewhere in the chamber, Missouri state representatives were joined by the likes of UM System President Mun Choi, chair of the board of curators Robin Wenneker, current Missouri assistant basketball coach Charlton ‘C.Y.’ Young, Missouri wrestling coach Brian Smith, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and a large group of his former players, from Derrick Chievous to Kim Anderson.

Before wave after wave of attendees formed a line to get their picture with Stewart and his sculpture that will take residency in the capitol among Missouri’s most renowned, the coach offered a reminder of why the recognition means so much.

“I love going to other parts of the country. I love going to LA, I have a daughter there. … I love going to New York, and always, the conversation led to, ‘Where are you from?’ I’d say ‘Missourah.’ Sometimes I’d say ‘Missouri’ like they do on the east side. … You get the rolled eyes. So, I’d always engage them in something.”

Something, like the most famous businessmen across the nation. Stewart then mentioned Missouri grad and Walmart founder Sam Walton and Marceline, Missouri, local Walt Disney.

Something, like the country's foremost movie stars, before bringing up Springfield, Missouri, native Brad Pitt.

“How about entertainment? How about Sheryl Crow? She's pretty good,” Stewart said. “That’s the thing, in Missouri, pretty good — excuse the language — but pretty good is a hell of a compliment, whereas if you go to LA or New York or something, the guy’s great; he’s fantastic; he’s wonderful; he’s out of sight.

“You know you're on top in Missouri when they say, ‘Hey, you’re pretty good.’”

Now, Stormin' Norman is No. 50 to enter the Hall of Famous Missourians.

The population in Leonard, Missouri, at last count, was 57.

Well … that’s pretty good, Norm.

“I've been accepted in this state, other states, other communities. When you’re accepted then you’ve got to have a little achievement prior to being successful,” Stewart said. “I don’t know how you define success. Only thing I know is, we left it a little better than we found it.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Stormin' Norm Stewart inducted into Hall of Famous Missourians