A Hall of Fame baseball voice, a Pro Football Hall of Famer turned broadcaster, and a co-founder of MTV are among the Missouri Broadcasters Association’s 2026 Hall of Fame inductees, honoring leaders in radio, television, and public media.
A Ford C. Frick Award recipient from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Denny Matthews has called Kansas City Royals games since their inaugural 1969 season and also broadcast nationally for the CBS Radio Network in the 1980s. Dan Dierdorf, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, began his broadcasting career at KMOX-AM in St. Louis, where he hosted talk shows and called Mizzou football, Cardinals football, and Blues hockey before joining Monday Night Football and later CBS’s NFL coverage.
Les Garland, a Springfield native, helped launch MTV, VH1, RKO Radio Network, and The Box Television Network after starting his career at Missouri stations KSWM, KWTO, and KICK. John Beck, known for his leadership at KSHE-95 in St. Louis and executive roles in both Kansas City and St. Louis radio, is a past MBA board chair, former NAB Radio Board member, and current chair of the MBA Legislative Committee.
Lisa Rose, who retired in 2025 after 41 years at Springfield’s KY3, spent most of her career as evening anchor, covering environmental, medical, and investigative stories. Sharon Bonnett, longtime general manager and program director for KXCV/KRNW at Northwest Missouri State University, earned multiple MBA and Corporation for Public Broadcasting awards, and the university later renamed its radio studio in her honor.
John Coffey, general manager of KXCV/KRNW since 2019 and a 1982 Northwest graduate, has called 500 consecutive Bearcat football games and helped launch the Bearcat Radio Network in 1999.
MBA President and CEO Chad Mahoney said, “These are individuals who made a real impact on people throughout their broadcasting careers. I commend the selection committee on identifying an outstanding Class of 2026. These broadcasters truly embody what it means to be an MBA Hall of Famer. We look forward to inducting this new class during the MBA Hall of Fame ceremony in the spring.”
The 2026 MBA Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held Friday, June 5, at Margaritaville Lake Resort in Osage Beach. The event will be emceed by MBA Hall of Famer and Voice of the St. Louis Cardinals John Rooney.
