Gene McArtor was the head

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

coach at

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

from 1974-1994 and was the NCAA National Coordinator of Baseball Umpires for many years beginning in 2008.

Early life

A native of St. Louis, MO, McArtor graduated from

Webster Groves High School Webster Groves High School is a public secondary school in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It is located at 100 Selma Ave, Webster Groves, MO. The school is part of the Webster Groves School District and its current principal is Matt Irvi ...

in 1958.

Playing career

McArtor was a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

from 1961 to 1963 under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Hi Simmons John "Hi" Simmons (August 16, 1905 – January 12, 1995) was the head baseball coach at the University of Missouri from 1937 until 1973. During his tenure, Missouri won one national championship, finished runner-up three other times, appeared in ...

. In 1963, McArtor earned first-team All-

Big 8 Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

honors and All-District V honors. McArtor helped lead Missouri to back-to-back Big 8 Conference Championships and to appearances in the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

and 1963 College World Series.

Coaching career

After teaching and coaching in St. Louis, in 1969, McArtor returned to Missouri as an assistant baseball coach under

. Upon Simmons' retirement after the 1973 season, McArtor took over as head coach in 1974, a position he would hold for the next 21 seasons. In 21 seasons, McArtor suffered just one losing season. McArtor led Missouri to Big 8 Conference championships in 1976 and 1980 and to appearances in the NCAA tournament in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, 1978, 1980,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. McArtor coached 41 All-Big 8 Conference players and 13

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

. He coached a number of players who went on to play

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, including Jeff Cornell,

Tim Laudner Timothy Jon Laudner (born June 7, 1958) is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from to . Playing career After playing baseball for Park Center Senior High School ...

Ron Mathis Ronald Vance Mathis (born September 25, 1958) is a former professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of two seasons (1985, 1987) with the Houston Astros. For his career, he compiled a 3-6 record, with a 5.93 earned r ...

, Phil Bradley,

Scott Little Dennis Scott Little (born January 19, 1963) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played three games in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He currently works for the Colorado Rockies in the Player Develop ...

, Dave Otto,

Dave Silvestri David Joseph Silvestri (born September 29, 1967) is a former infielder in Major League Baseball from 1992 to 1999. He also played for the United States baseball team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Playing career Silvestri attended the University o ...

, and

John Dettmer John Franklin Dettmer (born March 4, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal ...

Legacy

McArtor was inducted into the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...

Hall of Fame in 1993. In 1997 McArtor received the Lefty Gomez Award from the

for his contributions to the game of baseball. In 1999 McArtor was inducted into the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2007 McArtor was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4, ...

. In 2010 the new indoor baseball facility at the University of Missouri was named McArtor Baseball Facility in his honor.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Missouri Tigers Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcartor, Gene Living people Missouri Tigers baseball coaches Missouri Tigers baseball players Webster Groves High School alumni Year of birth missing (living people)