Jameson native and 40-year Head Coach of William Jewell, Larry Holley, died Thursday.
Coach Holley was 76 years old. After playing high school basketball at Jameson and college basketball at William Jewel, he then coached at Harrisburg High School, Central Methodist, Northwest Missouri State, and then William Jewel. He won 919 total games and ranks 10th all-time among men’s college basketball coaches.
He had retired from William Jewel in 2019 after coaching 40 seasons.
William Jewel won 20 games in 25 season with Coach Holley. They won 11 Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships and finished with 832 wins at William Jewel. His teams reached the NAIA Division II Fab Four four times. They also had a 45-game conference winning streak and 43-game home winning streak.
Holley was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the Pinnacle Award from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in Show-Me State athletics in 2020.
He also has been selected to the Greater Kansas City Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, the NAIA Hall of Fame and the William Jewell College Athletic Hall of Fame.
He also received the Gary Filbert Legacy Award, the highest honor given by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, in 2014.
Holley was presented the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame’s SCB Lifetime Achievement Award last month.
He remained active at Jewell as chair of the Hall of Fame Committee and on the Alumni Board of Governors after his retirement. William Jewel recognized Holley with the William Jewell Citation of Achievement Award, Jewell’s highest alumni honor, in 2009.
Photo credit – William Jewell College / Liberty, MO
