Our All-Star Lineup

Bats: Right, though not very well…
Throws: Right
Childhood Hometown: St. Louis at SLU hospital ( all comes full circle). I played ball for St. Jude parish as a kid. Appropriate since St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes.
Position: Ol’ Ball Coach or Skipper (Skip if you know me)

Favorite Youth Sports Memories: Honestly, I was so bad nothing stands out. I just loved to play. I was the guy that got the games up and scheduled games against other sandlot groups. One time I started a roller-hockey league with box scores. I was that nerd. But it was fun. I do remember the first curveball I ever saw when I was 12. Jimmy Freese threw it by me, and I headed straight to the broadcast booth.

Education: Played baseball at Lindenwood College and a couple of years of hoops. I have a Doctor of Humane Letters from Lindenwood…my wife calls it my Dr. Seuss degree.

Awards, Highlights, & Honors: Five Missouri Sportscaster of the year awards, four halls of fame, 33 years as the voice of the Billikens, two Emmys, and a partridge in a pear tree. Surprised you never heard of me? Did some Cardinals baseball too…until they caught on to me. First to call Karl Malone “The Mailman”…My first job was PBP of women’s pro softball…Called Jose Jimenez’ no-hitter vs Arizona and a dozen or so of McGwire’s homers in ’98…did a women’s NCAA hoops championship for Armed Forces Radio for which I am very proud.

Family: Wife and three kids. I’m very lucky. I’m the consensus worst athlete in the family. My wife played two sports at SLU and was their NCAA Woman of the Year… My oldest boy played baseball at Vianney (proudly one of the top programs in the state)… My daughter was an accomplished volleyball player and my youngest boy is at Vianney playing two sports.

Why I Love the Lake of the Ozarks: Business-wise it’s obvious that we love the Lake but, personally I love the people. They make it fun to be here and will make us successful.

Throws: Right – no speed but I’m a mean BP pitcher
Bats: With Authority
Childhood Hometown: St. Louis
Position: In baseball, I played catcher for most of my career – which is why I have had four knee and three rotator cuff surgeries. I also played second and third. In slow pitch softball, I’m just happy I can step on the field anymore but I can still drop bombs for an old man.

Favorite Youth Sports Memories: I loved playing baseball and did so through my freshman year of college. I went to Lafayette HS in Wildwood, MO, and I hit a grand slam in my first HS at-bat. I could always hit but I certainly could have been better in the field. But I always blamed either my equipment or bad hops so it really wasn’t my fault. I like to say that Ryan Howard, David Freese, and Luke Voit like to tell people they went to Jeff Vernetti’s High School. But it never gets more than a chuckle so maybe I should stop saying that.

My favorite memories as a fan were going to Mark McGwire’s 61st and 70th home run games during his 1998 season, seeing my favorite player Will Clark wear the Cardinals uniform and hit an HR in his first game, and seeing some amazing moments during the 2006 and 2011 World Series. Plus I was able to go to the last game at Busch Stadium II, the first game at Busch Stadium III, and the 2009 All-Star Game.

Relative Awards, Certifications, & Degrees: Certainly Rammer’s radio career is far more impressive, but I spent over ten years in broadcasting. I hosted thousands of shows in multiple dayparts in a top 25 radio market in the country on 590 The Fan, CBS Sports 920, and 1380 ESPN. I worked 7 Super Bowls, covered and traveled with the Rams for two seasons for the station, and over the years have done hundreds of play by play games (SLU women’s basketball, SEMO baseball, and women’s basketball, indoor football, Missouri Valley basketball, countless HS football, and basketball, STL TV, Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball, etc). I’ve had the chance to work every major sporting event college/pro except the NBA finals and NHL Stanley Cup – but got to go to the later as a fan. Worked Super Bowls, World Series, Final Four, Regional and conference tournaments, All-Star Game, PGA majors, etc. I won Missouri Broadcasting awards for play by play and production, Indoor Football League Announcer of Year.

If I miss anything in broadcasting it’s the chance to interview some of the greats. I’ve interviewed my heroes (Kurt Warner, Will Clark) dozens of NFL and MLB HOF (like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Reggie Jackson, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken), movie stars (like Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin Costner, Dan Aykroyd), wrestlers and boxers (like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Floyd Mayweather), Blues and Rams HOF (like Hull, MacInnis, Faulk, Bruce), and every Cardinal HOF (or will be) that is or was alive when I was in radio (Musial, Red, Gibson, Ozzie, Whitey, LaRussa, Brock, Torre, Albert, Yadi, Waino).

Family My wife Kelly is a teacher at School of the Osage and is also the dance coach. We’ve been together since High School and married since 2001. I took her to see the movie ‘A Few Good Men’ on our first date in 1992. She’s clearly the luckiest woman in the world. My son Dominick and daughter Isabella both go to the School of the Osage as well. Dom plays football and baseball, and he is an avid gamer. Bella loves to ride horses, is a member of 4-H, and also is a cheerleader.

Why I Love the Lake of the Ozarks? What’s not to love? We’ve lived here full-time since 2017 and we can’t imagine living anyplace else. The people, the food, the small-town atmosphere, the entertainment – it has it all. There’s nothing better than when you’re having a long day, filled with stress and the pressures of life than to go sit on our dock and take in the beautiful scenery and let all of that stress and pressure go. We live where people vacation and I don’t take that for granted.

Other noteworthy bio info: I love the St. Louis Blues, and I have had season tickets for the last ten years. Their Stanley Cup win was my favorite sports moment ever. Oh, and I’m 2-0 as a professional wrestler.

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Childhood Hometown: Wright City, MO 
Position: Outfield or 2B

Favorite Youth Sports Memories: We got to play baseball in the Khoury League National Championships when I was 15. This was before travel ball took off so it was a big deal for a team from a small town in Missouri to travel to Paducah, Kentucky to play against teams from other states. We won the state championship of our level, beating a team from St. Louis. 

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Communication from UMSL, Associate of Arts in Mass Communications from SCCCC, and Associates of Applied Science in Web Design from ITT

Awards, Highlights, & Honors: Proud veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Medic Badge

Family: Dad of a fastpitch softball pitcher and a youth baseball 2nd basemen; married to my best friend’s little sister, Erin.

Why I Love the Lake of the Ozarks: I love living where other people vacation. My life is about making memories with my family and friends, and there is no better to do that in the midwest.