“40 Years of Benchie History”
By
Jon Cunningham
Webb City, Missouri is officially known as the City of Flags but over the recent years it is probably better known as the City of Champions. When you think of Webb City you immediately think of the great championship teams that have come out of this small town located in the southwest corner of the state. The town may be small but not their school’s trophy case.
Since the late ‘80’s the mighty Cardinals from Webb City High have won state championships in multiple sports. In 1989 they won their first football state title and since that time they have added nine more. But football isn’t the only place Webb City shines. They have also had two state championship teams in baseball and both the boy’s and girl’s basketball teams have won state titles. They have even sent teams to the Little League World Series and the High School band has marched in the Rose Bowl Parade in California.
It is still mind boggling how a little town with less than ten thousand people can manage to put together so many championship teams, but they have and it seems they will continue to do so in the future.
Everyone loves a champion and stories about championship teams and tons of books have been written and movies made about championship teams and their players. For example stories about the superstar that carries the team on his back such as Michael Jordan did with the Chicago Bulls or that magical season when it all came together for the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team. Throw in the fact that the team was the underdog (’69 New York Jets) or a player overcoming huge obstacles (Notre Dames’ “Rudy”) and you might have yourself an Oscar winning movie.
But this article isn’t about a championship team. Heck it’s not even about an entire team at all. Just part of it.
40 years ago, in 1972 while the rest of the sports world was watching the Miami Dolphins work their way to the only perfect season in the NFL there was a Junior High basketball team in Webb City that was experiencing the “not so perfect” season. Well, maybe not the whole team. Just for eight of its players.
As the basketball season started that year everyone on the team had high hopes of making the starting lineup. They all dreamed of sinking the game winning shot and of course, impressing the cheerleaders. But as we know, not all hopes and dreams come true. So as the season rolled on it became apparent to eight of its members they were going to spend a lot more time on the bench than they were on the court. It was then, out of the ashes of dashed hopes and dreams came a group of guys known as, the Benchies.
Looking back I am sure each of the Benchies will tell you that Coach Richard Correll got it right when he picked his starting lineup. He put the best players on the court and they won a lot of games with guys like Keith Morris, Tracy Prigg, Wes Waggoner, Lloyd Walker, and John Wynne leading the way.

Those guys might have been the leaders on the hardwood but on the harder-wood, the bench, were the Benchies having the time of their lives. The Benchies consisted of Kent Williams, Jim Byrd, Bobby Lauck, Norman West, John Bailey, Bruce Hardy, Greg Storm, and Jon Cunningham.
With the pressure off of ever playing in any game of importance the eight young men turned to making the most of their time on the bench. Sitting on the bench, although not the desired place to spend the season, still had its advantages. Well, for 8th grade boys anyway. With the coach focused on the guys actually getting to play and trying to win the game this left the eight Benchies to do as they pleased.
Back in 1972 “tube socks” were the socks of choice when it came to athletic footwear and they were great for hiding gum, candy bars, Certs, Doritos, etc. With eight guys bringing their favorite snack they could end up with a preverbal smorgasbord on the bench. Besides snacking on their “smuggled buffet” the guys spent a lot of time on the bench making their favorite “armpit” noises. It’s amazing how 13 year old boys can entertain themselves.
But by far the greatest joy of being a Benchie was the fact they had the best seat in the house for watching the Cheerleaders. All through the game the Benchies would pass the time away by oohing and ahhing and whistling at the pretty young ladies. And also barking or howling at the, well, the other ones.
And so the season went. If that was all there was to the story it would just end there with each Benchie having his own special memories of sitting on the bench and always wishing for more from the season.
But knowing the actions of the Benchies would somehow change the world we live in; two of the Benchies had the foresight to put down on paper the antics of their fellow bench warmers. And with that, Greg Storm and Jon Cunningham created The Bench.
The Bench is a book that features ten chapters covering games from that eventful season in 1972. Following each chapter are “Comments of the Game” from each of the eight Benchies. Comments that are full of wisdom and insight that would baffle the minds of today’s scholars.
The handwritten version of The Bench was handed over to Jon’s parents for his mom to type up and to properly “censor” and for his stepfather to print at one of the local tech schools where he taught printing. Pictures of the guys and even a poem were added to the book which now featured a very “70’s” look to the cover. The Bench was sold for .50 a copy to help pay for the printing and to provide countless hours of fun on the pinball machine at the local West End Pharmacy.
Through the years The Bench would be mentioned from time to time by fellow classmates and would even show up at class reunions. But still the story doesn’t end here. Fast forward 38 years later and we find the original hand written copy of The Bench in the hands of Bruce Hardy. Bruce was given the original copy as a going away gift when he and his family moved to Oklahoma the year after The Bench was written. But now after nearly 40 years it had resurfaced again. With the news of The Bench being found and returned to one of the co-authors, Jon Cunningham contacted the rest of the Benchies to tell them the news. By this time there were Benchies living in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and West Virginia.
Through an odd chance one of the Benchies living in Texas was having dinner with a friend and somehow the story of The Bench came up. The friend was humored and apparently intrigued by the story and said, “This story could be made into a movie. I have a friend that has written and directed movies for Hollywood and he might be interested in the story.”
Well, Hollywood hasn’t called yet but just in case they do the Benchies are trying to get ready. No they aren’t working on their jump shots. Instead Jon has started writing a second book called, Back on the Bench which looks back at the shenanigans of the Benchies in more detail and continues on with the lives of the Benchies through High School and beyond. Jon along with fellow Benchie Jim Byrd have also put together a website to help promote the story and to keep the dream alive. And if truth be known I am sure they hope to catch the eye of some Hollywood big wig. Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Stone, Mr. Howard, are you out there?
The website, http://www.backonthebench.com/ features the original Bench book for those that couldn’t afford the high price back in 1972. Also included are pictures of the Benchies from that memorable season as well as a section called Meet the Benchies where you can see what your favorite Benchie is doing today. An honorary Benchie, Dave Martin is highlighted in this section as well. Also found on the website are the first three chapters of the new Back on the Bench book.
A year ago at a Class Reunion six of the Benchies were able to get together once again. It is their hope to get all eight guys back together for a Benchie Reunion in 2012 as they celebrate 40 years of Benchie history. Who knows, maybe they can all come back to Webb City for a basketball game and return once again to their proper position, back on the bench.
Front; Bruce Hardy, Dave Martin
Middle: Jon Cunningham
Back: Bob Lauck, Norman West, Jim Byrd