John Coffey Named to Missouri Broadcasters Hall of Fame

On Monday, December 15th, the Missouri Broadcasters Association named John Coffey and six others to the Missouri Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Mr. Coffey has been an institution at KNIM and later KXCV, where he broadcast Bearcat football and basketball, other local sports, and newscasts. He is now the KXCV/KRNW general manager, a post he has held since 2019. He was recently honored for calling 500 straight Northwest Missouri State football games. He is one of the most unflappable people around, telling us one time that broadcasting was fun for him to do, even in tight games or when the Bearcats were struggling.

Among other inductees were:

Sharon Bonnett, who passed away in 2023, was a producer, program director, and general manager of KXCV and KRNW for more than three decades, winning multiple awards. Mr. Coffey gave her a lot of credit for his development in a recent Facebook post.

Denny Matthews, the voice of the Kansas City Royals since 1969. He is approaching 60 years on the job, and has dedicated his life to the organization. He has turned down seven-figure job offers to remain with the Royals. He has a no-frills style, calling the plays and nothing else. For that, he has been a fixture in many living rooms even when the Royals are struggling.

John Beck, a long-time institution at KSHE in St. Louis.

Dan Dierdorf, who started his career at KMOX in St. Louis, called Mizzou football, Cardinals football, and Blues hockey, and joined Monday Night Football and CBS’ NFL broadcast team. Mr. Matthews also got his start at KMOX.

Les Garland, who started off at KSWM, KWTO, and KICK before being a co-founder of MTV and other networks.

Lisa Rose, who started at KODE in Joplin before serving at KY3 in Springfield for 41 years, most of that time as the evening news anchor before retiring in 2025.