Another Tiger Tale

Some may think it a coincidence that our local high school team mascot is a "Tiger." Such is not the case. In our town, the "Tiger" has a lot of meaning both locally and statewide. Today I am going to talk about a man who was twice a "Tiger," Charles Henke.

Charles Henke was inducted last year into the University of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. It should be noted here, that one of the other inductee's of the 2007 class was his former Freshman Basketball Coach at Mizzou, Norm Stewart. This is the online press release from the University of Missouri about Charles Henke: One of the first great "big men" in Mizzou's proud basketball tradition who was a dominant scorer and rebounder in his day....

Was an All-American as a senior in 1961, and also claimed All-Big Eight honors in both 1960 and 1961, for his play ... Scored 1338 points in his career, which stood as the MU record until 1973, and he still ranks 16th on the MU career scoring chart despite some 45-plus years having passed since he last played ... Gathered 725 career rebounds, and ranks 5th on MU's career rebounding average list, with a solid 9.8 rebounds per game... Led Mizzou in scoring rebounding and field goal percentage in both 1960 and 1961 ... Was voted a team co-captain during his senior season of 1961 ... Later was selected in the 4th round of the 1961 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers...

Now that is the "Tale" of a real "Tiger." But that is not where his association with "Tigers" would end. In fact some of his best years as a "Tiger" were spent right here in Nevada, Mo.

The story goes like this. Charles decided to not play in the NBA. He actually played one year for the old ABA Kansas City Steers before leaving active playing.

He decided to finish his degree in science specializing in conservation.

That is what led Charles to our area. His first assignment with the Missouri Department of Conservation was a beginning position at the Shell Osage Wildlife Area. Henke became somewhat disillusioned with his duties, and he decided to go back into the field of basketball. That's when he met Bill Wynn, the basketball coach here in Nevada at the time.

Henke coached our Tigers for four years from the '66 season through the '70 season. His first three years he was the assistant to Wynn, and during his final year he was the head coach.

Charles has fond memories of Nevada and in particular of a couple of post players he coached, Ed Emery and Mike Sheets. He got an opportunity to move to a bigger program and left after the '70 season.

Most of those years (22) were spent coaching in Carrolton, Mo., where he retired after a rewarding career. Charles is now retired and living in Concordia, Mo., with his wife Sandy. Charles Henke. like many a Mizzou Tiger was from a small town in Missouri, Malta Bend. That is sort of the way it is for young men who grow up in our state.

The Missouri Tiger means something to them.

Henke's records are all the more impressive, because he completed them in mostly 24 game seasons instead of the 31 plus games of most Mizzou record holders. It should also be noted, that he played in an era when freshman could not play, so he had only three seasons to make his marks.

As an example, he is still No. 2 on the all time season scoring average at 24.6 points per game in 1961.

Imagine what he could have done on totals if he played 32 or more games that year.

There are many stories about this famous Mizzou Hall of Fame Tiger and Nevada Tiger that I simply don't have enough room to write. If you want more stories look up Bill Wynn and some of the players from that era and they will be happy to fill you in.

I only knew Charles for that first year here in Nevada, but my memory was unforgettable.

In the early spring each year Nevada has always had a benefit student/faculty basketball game.

In the spring of my senior year, several of the players from our championship football team were asked to play. Randy Fellows, Jim Olson, and myself were mostly noted for our distinctive style of basketball play, which was more like football.

To make a long story short, we tried to get physical with Charles Henke during the game. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor looking at Randy Fellows beside me. Something did not work out just like we planned.

Charles learned that physical force style as a player at MU. The most famous story is about a fight between him an the dreaded Jawhawks center in 61, Wayne Hightower. This was the basketball season that had followed the fall when KU had beaten our number one ranked Mizzou Tiger Football Team and cost us a national championship. Needless to say feelings ran hard.

At KU, the fans had been really awful to the Mizzou players, even throwing things at the players (now why does that surprise you Tiger fans?)

When KU came to play the last game of the season at old Brewer Field house in Columbia, the favor was soon to be returned. After Henke fouled Hightower really hard, Hightower hit Charles with a punch, and the fight was on.

According to Charles, the melee lasted around fifteen minutes and was a real "donnybrook!"

Tiger fans, that is a "TIGER TALE" worth remembering, and so should we remember, Charles Henke. Former All-American, All Big Eight, NBA Draftee, and most important, a "NEVADA TIGER!!!!!"