Oct. 30, 2000
2000 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
On Nov. 4, five former Truman student-athletes will be inducted into the Truman State University Athletics Hall of Fame in honor of their athletic achievements.
The 2000 inductees will be recognized and introduced during halftime of the football game against Washburn University (Kan.) which begins at 1 p.m. A pre-banquet reception in their honor will begin at 6 p.m. at the Days Inn. Following the reception, the banquet and induction ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. at the Days Inn.
For the football game, reserved seats cost $7, general admission is $5 and tickets for senior citizens and students are $3. Banquet tickets are $15 each and are available through the Athletics Office, Pershing Building 213, (660) 785-4235.
Since 1983, the year the Truman Athletics Hall of Fame began, 177 persons have been enshrined. This year, the following athletes will be inducted:
Tamara Billerbeck (Des Moines, Iowa): After completing high school in Reinbeck, Iowa, Tamara Billerbeck starred for the Bulldogs from 1984-87 in softball, and also played on the basketball and volleyball teams as well. However it is her exploits on the softball field as a utility player that have etched her name into the Bulldog record book. As a pitcher, Billerbeck is second at Truman in both career earned run average at 0.85 and strikeouts with 392. She is also third in career wins (34), shutouts (22), innings pitched (373.3) and complete games (48), and fourth all-time with a winning percentage of .654 after posting a career record of 34-18. Billerbeck was more than just a pitcher, however. She also led the team in hitting with a .336 batting average her junior season.
These astounding numbers helped lead the Bulldogs to conference titles in 1985 and 1986. In '86 the Bulldogs finished fourth in NCAA Division II with a 34-14 record. Billerbeck erased five school records at the conclusion of her career and still holds Truman marks for single season assists with 171 and career assists with 380, as well as the single game mark for innings pitched, hurling through 16 innings in a game against Southwest Texas State in 1985.
She was a first-team all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association selection in each of her four seasons with the team, the only Bulldog to ever accomplish that feat, and was the conference MVP her final year. Billerbeck was an all-Midwest region pick as a junior and senior, and earned third-team all-America honors following her senior campaign. She completed her final year ranked third in the nation in strikeout average with 7.6 a game, and was 14th with a 0.84 ERA. In 1988, Billerbeck served as a graduate assistant coach for the softball team.
Billerbeck excelled in basketball as well. She started during her final three seasons, and as a senior earned honorable mention all-conference accolades. She played in 102 career games for the Bulldog basketball team, the eighth-most in school history, and put together a string of 73 consecutive games played during her tenure, which is the seventh-longest streak in school history. Billerbeck is tied for fifth all-time at Truman with 32 blocked shots, and is ranked 14th all-time with 726 points during her four seasons.
She earned two letters in volleyball in 1986 and 1987, and was an honorable mention all-conference choice in 1987.
Billerbeck earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Truman in 1988, and completed another bachelor's degree in fine arts at Iowa State University last December.
She is currently employed by E-WorldTrain in Des Moines Iowa, as a multi-media digital designer .
Darrell Buffington (Milwaukee, Wis.): Buffington finished an outstanding career at Hannibal High School and embarked on another fantastic career with the Bulldogs in 1975. He started at offensive guard each of his four seasons with the 'Dogs from 1975-78. After Buffington's freshman season, he added 15 pounds of muscle to an already sturdy frame. This added strength played a key role in his improved play over the next three seasons. Buffington played an important role in the Bulldogs' conference championship season of 1976. He won first-team all-MIAA recognition that year, as well as in his final two years, making him one of only 17 Bulldogs to ever capture the honor three or more times.
Buffington's leadership abilities through his first three seasons, earned him the honor of being named a captain his senior year. His outstanding play that campaign helped Buffington garner honorable mention Associated Press Little All-America honors, while paving the way for running back Mike Harris, the NCAA Division II rushing leader that year with 1,598 yards. During Buffington's first three seasons, he was also a driving force for running back Steve Powell, who ranks fourth in career rushing at Truman with 3,643 yards. Buffington was named to Truman's All-Century Football Team this fall, touted as the one of the best offensive guards to play for the Bulldogs during the last 100 years.
Buffington graduated from Truman with a bachelor's degree in physical education and a minor in math, and began a 13-year teaching career. He spent five years in Savannah, Mo., and eight in Hannibal as an Algebra instructor. Buffington dabbled in iron working between teaching jobs, and for the last six years has made that his main profession. This past summer, he moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where he is the foreman on the tension tie cables crew for Danny's Construction Co., on the Miller Park Project, the new stadium for the Milwaukee Brewers.
His wife, Lisa, is also a graduate of Truman and has been a teacher for the past 21 years. She is currently employed by Nativity Jesuit Middle School, a private school in inner-city Milwaukee for Latino boys. They have a daughter, Heather, who is 21 years-old and a senior at Southwest Missouri State University, while their son, Benjamin, is 19 and a freshman at ITT technical school in St. Louis.
Jim Burchett (Richardson, Texas): Burchett came to the Bulldogs in 1985 from Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, Mo., where he enjoyed an outstanding career. He was named to the all-district football team twice there, and also threw the discus for the track and field team. His efforts on the playing field and in the classroom led to him being honored a national merit scholar-athlete.
Burchett continued to excel in his athletic and academic pursuits as a Bulldog. He began starting on the offensive line with three games left in his freshman year, and continued to start at the center position the remainder of his career. One of only 17 Bulldogs all-time to achieve such a feat, Burchett earned first-team all-MIAA honors in his final three seasons, and was a unanimous choice by the conference coaches as a senior. He also earned honorable mention Associated Press Little All-America honors as a junior and senior. The Don Hansen Football Gazette named Burchett to its third All-America team during his senior season as well.
Burchett also served as the team's long snapper. His coach at the time, Bulldog Hall of Famer Jack Ball, said "Centers like Jim don't come around often. He was a very good pass and run blocker and had the ability to recognize defensive fronts. He made our calls at the line of scrimmage and played well against the nose guards."
In his final two campaigns, Burchett was the starting center for another of the 2000 inductees, Truman's all-time passing leader Jeff Frost. The Bulldogs won the outright conference championship during his freshman season in '85. That year, the 'Dogs led Division II in passing and total offense, while setting school records in those categories which still stand. During his senior season as a captain of the squad, the team shared the MIAA title with a record of 7-3.
Burchett was also recently named to the Bulldogs' All-Century football team as one of a handful of centers who distinquished themselves during the 20th century.
He graduated from Truman in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in communication. Burchett currently resides in Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, and is attending Baylor College of Dentistry where he will complete his D.D.S. in June.
Following his graduation from Truman, Burchett spent four years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps, eventually making captain. During his stint with the Marines, he served time in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope.
Burchett and his wife of 10 years, Connally, have a son, Wade, who is 5-years-old.
Mike Duffy (Netherlands): After a successful high school wrestling career in Fort Madison, Iowa, Mike Duffy joined the Truman wrestling team and left a permanent mark in the Bulldog record books. He qualified for the Division II national tournament in each of his four seasons. Duffy earned all-America status his junior and senior seasons, placing eighth in '79 and sixth in '80 at nationals. He is one of only three Bulldogs to earn all-America status twice during their careers. While leading the Bulldogs to two team MIAA championships, he won three consecutive individual MIAA titles, taking the 142-pound championship match in 1978 and the 150-pound matches the next two seasons.
He was named team MVP twice, and in his final season, became one of only six Bulldogs to win at least 30 matches in a season. He still owns the best career record at 93-20-1, charting 20-plus win seasons in 1977-78 and 1978-79 with 20-7 and 25-5 marks, respectively, those years, and is one of six Bulldogs to ever post at least 30 victories in a season, winning 30 matches to three losses and one tie during the 1979-80 campaign. His 150 career takedowns still tops the Bulldog career list as do his records of 14 consecutive dual wins and eight major decisions.
Duffy graduated from Truman in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and then attended Dallas Theological Seminary where he earned a masters's degree in theology.
He worked as a fireman for four years before becoming a missionary in the Netherlands for the Christar Missions Organization, from which he is currently on furlow.
Jeff Frost (Chicago): Jeff Frost came to the Bulldogs in 1986 from St. Peters, Mo., and Fort Zumwalt High School. Though he saw limited action as a redshirt freshman in 1987, Frost would go on to become Truman's career passing leader with 6,529 yards, still the fourth-best total ever in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. In 1988, he began laying the foundation for a brilliant career by leading the Bulldogs to their most recent MIAA championship, and would take the team to the NCAA Division II playoffs his senior year in 1990. Frost earned second-team all-MIAA honors in '88 and, despite a lack-luster season by the team in 1989, he was named honorable mention all-MIAA that year.
With expectations low for his senior season, Frost proved the critics wrong by leading the team to a 9-2 record and that spot in the Division II playoffs. He also led the team to a 43-42 come-from-behind win over Central State of Ohio, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation for most of the year. Frost earned first-team all-conference recognition that season and was selected as the league's offensive MVP.
He threw for 2,122 yards in 1988, 1,990 yards in '89 and 2,295 yards his final season. Frost set Bulldog career records for passing yardage (6,529), total offense with 6,504 yards, currently the sixth-best mark in league history, touchdowns passing with 50, passes completed with 484, passes attempted with 1,022, and offensive plays with 1,163, marks which all still stand today. As proof of his strong arm, he also still owns the team's bench press record for quarterbacks at 400 pounds.
Recently, Frost was one of just five quarterbacks from the last century to be named to Truman's All-Century football team.
Frost earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Truman in 1990 and then attended Central Missouri State University where he completed a master's degree in criminal justice administration in 1991. Frost came back to Truman and taught criminal justice for a year before being hired by the United States Secret Service. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in criminal justice/criminology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Frost and his wife, Jane, live in Chicago. He was recently assigned to the Forensic Services Division of the USSS and to the protection detail for presidential candidate, George. W. Bush.