Prank calls, boos and digging up dirt: Former Jayhawks recall rowdy crowds at Mizzou

Ryan Robertson’s much-beloved father, Johnny — who three months before his death on Oct. 21 (at the age of 72) won the Wolf Laurel Golf Tournament in North Carolina with sons Ryan and Troy and one of his college football teammates — was a huge supporter of his boys’ high school and college basketball careers.

In fact, proud papa Johnny saved a box of more than 1,000 letters — many from rival hoops recruiters at the University of Kansas and University of Missouri and a plethora of other schools — and stored them in his and his wife of 50 years Angie’s Saint Charles, Missouri, abode.

In sorting through his dad’s belongings, Ryan, a combo guard who played at KU from 1996-99 (Troy was a St. Louis Billiken from 1997 to 2000), recently stumbled across the recruiting mailouts.

He noticed one piece of correspondence that actually was not a recruiting letter, but well-wishes from an employee at Mizzou who wanted to congratulate Ryan in the winter of 1999 for attaining victory in his fourth and final KU game in Columbia.

“It was from a professor at Mizzou who apologized for the behavior of the fans for the four years we played there,” said 1999 KU grad Robertson, who actually was booed each and every time he touched the basketball in games played against the Tigers in Hearnes Center, where his Jayhawk teams went 1-3.

MU moved into Mizzou Arena, site of Saturday’s upcoming Border War battle between KU and MU (4:15 p.m., ESPN) for the 2004-05 season.

“He reached out to me to say he felt bad about it, (that) it wasn’t representative of the school he knew. He said, ‘Good for me in the way I handled (the booing).’ I found him on LinkedIn and sent him an email yesterday to tell him I found this letter,” Robertson told The Star Tuesday in a phone interview.

“He was not only a professor, but also the track and field coach. I included his letter (in the email) and said: ’Thirty years after the fact I found this letter. I had never read it before and wanted to say thank you.’’’

Robertson, 46, who has yet to hear back from the professor, said he harbors no ill will toward MU fans who elected to boo the in-state former McDonald’s All-American during each of his appearances with the Jayhawks in Columbia.

“I have no hatred. I don’t have hate in my heart for ‘The Antlers,’’’ Robertson said of the MU cheering section that has been in existence since 1976.

The Antlers, who often screamed insults, some X-rated, at the Jayhawks during pregame warmups, also were known for finding the phone numbers of Jayhawk players and coaches and calling them days leading up to the KU-MU game in Columbia.

“I never thought they crossed the line. To me The Antlers were the least of my worries,” said Robertson, focused on defeating MU teams with talented players recruited by Mizzou coaching legend Norm Stewart.

“We kept it between the lines There were no wild incidents,” Robertson said. “I played in Hearnes Center. I’ve been to Mizzou Arena a couple of times. I said a couple years ago I miss the old Big Eight and Hearnes Center and some of the personalities in the old Big Eight Conference. I don’t have much of an opinion about Missouri basketball, but I will say I never heard Mizzou Arena like Hearnes Center. This year with a new coach (Dennis Gates) and whole new team, an undefeated team (MU is 9-0; KU 8-1), I’m interested to see what happens, plus the fact they were blown out by 40 last year.”

The Jayhawks, in the first of a six-game, six-year series that resumes Border War basketball after a nine-year absence, thumped the Tigers 102-65 on Dec. 11, 2021 in Allen Fieldhouse.

KU is 67-57 all-time in games against MU contested in Columbia. The Jayhawks are 89-33 against the Tigers in Lawrence, including a 43-14 mark in Allen Fieldhouse. KU is 19-5 versus MU in Kansas City.

Like Robertson, who now works as head of U.S. distribution for FS Investments — he’s married to Andrea, a former Mizzou soccer player by the way — former KU big man Eric Chenowith went 1-3 in games played at Hearnes Center.

Chenowith went 4-4 overall in games played against the Tigers from 1998-2001; Robertson was 5-4 overall vs. the Tigers from 1996-99.

“It was great. I loved it. I remember the seating was steep and the crowd was really into it,” Chenowith said of Hearnes Center. “I heard their new arena is nice. I always looked forward to playing in the other one.”

Chenowith did not enjoy competing in the same building as The Antlers, however.

“One year they called my high school guidance counselor trying to scrape up dirt, to see if I ever got suspended or in trouble. They contacted my AD who told them to buzz off,” said Chenowith, a graduate of Villa Park (Calif.) High School and 1997 McDonald’s All-American.

“They motivated us to want to win. It was kind of stupid on their part,” Chenowith added. “We lived rent free in their heads. We used them as motivation. I remember the marching band used to play in our (hotel) lobby early in the morning (of the KU-MU game in Columbia),” he recalled Tuesday in a phone interview.

“I think it’s the best rivalry in college sports. I like to see it being played out. You always want to beat Missouri. As long as KU is beating Missouri everything is right in the world,” added Chenowith, 43, who owns his own life and disability insurance firm in California.

A memorable KU basketball victory in Columbia

The Jayhawks responded to The Antlers’ antics after the final horn sounded on a 79-74 KU victory on March 10, 2003, in Columbia. The win clinched an undisputed Big 12 title for KU in the senior seasons of guard Kirk Hinrich and forward Nick Collison.

Once the victory was assured, Collison stood at halfcourt and placed an imaginary phone to his ear. He was mocking Antlers who made the prank calls to members of KU’s team in days leading to the game.

Hinrich, meanwhile, pulled at his jersey, pointing to the word “Kansas” in the faces of students in the Tigers’ cheering section.

Sophomore guards Aaron Miles and Keith Langford grinned and waved their hands at the fans they ran off the court.

“They can take their Antlers and put ‘em ... “ Langford said after the game, not completing the thought. “I like to see the look on their faces after we win. All they do — calling us on the phone — is a waste. Now they get to be sick until they play us another year.”

“The Antlers had my phone number on a poster here today. It was good to shut them up,” said Miles.

One year Miles actually caught an Antler putting up posters of the Jayhawks on campus trees and at Jayhawker Towers, former residence of the basketball players on KU’s campus.

“It’s funny. I caught these dudes posting up posters of me and Kirk and a couple other people with our phone numbers on there,” Miles said. “They also were posting up a poster of Nick Collison, saying he was selling PlayStations with his number on there. So Nick was getting calls for PlayStations.”

After scoring 28 points in a 95-92 victory over MU in Columbia his junior year, Collison had said: “Those fans are vicious. They had a sign about coach (Roy) Williams’ mother, who has passed away. That gets you upset and builds inside and at the end you just let loose. It’s a great crowd, but a little more mouthy and dirty than other crowds.”

Roy Williams experiences The Antlers

Williams-coached KU teams went 7-8 at Hearnes Center and 19-13 overall vs. MU. Current KU coach Bill Self is 16-4 vs. MU and 5-4 in games played in Columbia.

“The best thing about winning here is I don’t have to answer all those questions,” Williams said after the win Collison’s senior year. “I’ve said a hundred or however many times we’ve been here and lost is because Missouri is really good.”

Some years Williams was willing to discuss the annoyance caused by The Antlers. He told the media in March of 2003 that The Antlers phoned him at his Alvamar house at 2:27 a.m., two days before a KU-MU game, then at 2:45 a.m., then at 3:05 a.m.

“Last night I told them, ‘Fellas, it’s not going to get started tonight,’ and I just hung up,” Williams said. “They called a second time and I hung up. The third time I heard loud music in the background. It sounded like it was a pretty good establishment, and they were having a good time. I don’t sleep anyway. They are not disturbing me. They might as well call at noon.”

A friend of Williams suggested, “I need to check with the phone people to see if they could get call transfer and get all my calls between 12 midnight and 6 a.m. forwarded to Quin’s house (MU coach Quin Snyder),” Williams said. “I think that would be great. Last year it got so comical. They kept calling. They said I probably wouldn’t show up for the game. I told ‘em, ‘Look for the gray-haired guy down on the bench.’’’

KU coach Self also has acknowledged receiving phone calls from Antlers.

Before a game in Columbia in 2009, KU coach Self said: “They don’t care for us very much and the feeling is very mutual.”