The Poplar Bluff High School Boys Golf program is being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021, joining over 800 all-time elite athletes, sports teams and programs throughout the state, it was announced today.
“It is our desire that this honor will be one of the most significant highlights in your career and it gives us great pleasure to recognize your contributions to Missouri sports,” stated MSHOF Executive Director Jerald Andrews in a letter to R-I Athletic Director Kent Keith on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
Only the third PBHS inductee in district history, Mules Golf is the first male golf program in Missouri to be chosen as a whole. Girls programs in Kansas City and Sedalia have been recognized in recent years. The selection committee receives between 250-300 nominations annually, according to officials.
“Since I first started nine years ago, I have heard about the tremendous history of the Boys Golf program, and I have heard of many names in the community who have contributed to making our boys successful,” Keith said. “This is not only an honor for Poplar Bluff Schools itself, but for the whole town.”
Now led by Billy Pyland, PBHS Boys Golf has earned six state championships sanctioned by the Missouri State High School Activities Association during the following years: 1939 under coach E.T. Peters; 1980 and 1981 respectively under coach Dave Porter; 1988 under coach Bruce Powers; and 1995 and 1996 respectively under coach Bill Caputo.
In addition, the team has placed 19 times in the top four—the third-most in Missouri history—out of 39 total tournament finishes, and was named runner-up five times. Individual state champions have included Craig Caringer in 1980; Brent Pennington in 1986; Colby Robertson in 1994 and 1996 respectively; and Tyler Hillis in 2004.
While Caputo served as coach over the team during the most recent, consecutive state titles, he credits the late Tom Hoover, former coach and R-I administrator, for the program’s long-standing success, along with Buddy Godwin, Missouri Golf Association Hall of Fame member, who helped “put golf on the map” in Poplar Bluff, he noted.
“I would like to say it’s because of me, but let me be perfectly clear, those guys [the student-athletes] made me a good coach,” said Caputo, who retired as district athletic director in 2008. “Put it this way, they helped my game a whole lot more than I helped theirs.”
Caputo recalled being approached by Hoover and Godwin to serve as Boys Golf coach in 1990 based on his leadership abilities, with the understanding that talent development of the team would be a community effort. He pointed out that the students were always allowed to forgo dues to practice at Ozark Ridge and Westwood Hills golf courses.
“I was more of a supervisor than a coach. That’s about the extent of my [contribution]. I was brought along for the ride,” Caputo humbly continued. “I’m just honored to be a part of it. It’s a real honor for our community.”
The MSHOF opened its Springfield headquarter in 1994. Derland Moore, who played for the New Orleans Saints, was inducted in 2004 and Eddie Moss, who played for the St. Louis Football Cardinals and later the Washington Redskins, was inducted in 2016. Both Moss and Moore played Mules Varsity Football in the mid-1960s.
The 2021 Enshrinement is slated to take place on Sunday, Jan. 31, at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. The MSHOF will commemorate the Class of 2021 with a plaque featuring short bios on each honoree, as well as a framed artistic rendering containing the school logo.
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Cutline: When Bill Caputo (forefront) was hired as R-I athletic director during the 1995/96 school year, he opted to remain golf coach for an additional year, then was succeeded by Billy Pyland (back) over the Boys Golf program.