Missouri House of Representatives Newsroom

The latest inductee into the Hall of Famous Missourians is Norm Stewart, a man whose name is synonymous with Mizzou basketball. 

Norman Eugene “Norm” Stewart coached the University of Missouri basketball team for over three decades.  He played at Mizzou from 1952-1956 before briefly pursuing professional baseball and basketball and coaching at the University of Northern Iowa. Stewart’s 32-year tenure at Mizzou yielded 734 wins, eight Big Eight titles, and 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, earning him Coach of the Year honors.

Diagnosed with colon cancer in 1989, he founded Coaches Vs. Cancer, a renowned initiative that has raised millions of dollars in the ongoing fight against cancer.  Today, Norm Stewart remains a beloved figure in the Mizzou community, his legacy serving as a constant source of inspiration for Tigers past, present, and future.

“I really am so proud to be a Missourian and to join such an illustrious class of people,” Stewart said of being inducted into the Hall.  “It just makes you feel so good, it makes me feel so good … to join such an illustrious group.”

Stewart was chosen as an inductee to the Hall by House Speaker Dean Plocher (R-St. Louis), who said “Today … we celebrate more than championships and victories.  We honor a man whose legacy of passion and excellence inspires us all.  Norm Stewart:  forever a Tiger, forever a legend.”

Stewart was born in 1935 in Leonard, Missouri, a village that at the time had fewer than 200 residents.  He said he spent the first five years of his life in a one-bedroom home with three siblings before the family moved to nearby Shelbyville.  They didn’t have running water until he was a sophomore in high school. 

“I say this humorously but I really think maybe some of it’s true.  The reason I liked basketball was I got to take a shower … we did not have running water until I was a sophomore in high school.  Up until that time you heated your water, put it in a pan, and you took your bath, usually on Saturday.  If you had a bad week you got one on Wednesday, also.”

Stewart thanked and praised his family, particularly his wife. 

“Like the preacher who went on and on about how good a person was, who had just passed away, and his neighbor got up and said, ‘Reverend, you’re talking about the wrong person.’  You’ve been talking about the wrong person here.  The person that should be [in the Hall of Famous Missourians] is this little girl here, Virginia.”

Stewart said no matter where basketball took him, while he loved visiting other parts of the country, he was always proud to be from Missouri. 

“In Missouri, ‘Pretty good’ … is a hell of a compliment, whereas if you go to New York or LA or something, the guy’s ‘great,’ ‘Oh, he’s fantastic,’ ‘He’s wonderful,’ ‘He’s out of sight!’  You know you’re on top in Missouri when they say, ‘Hey, he’s pretty good.’”