From Springfield Daily Citizen
By Lyndal Scranton
Stan Melton took six months of ice skating lessons. He figured it was the least he could do as he began to build the Missouri State Ice Bears club hockey program nearly 25 years ago.
But the man often called the Godfather of Hockey in Springfield was never quite able to grasp the coordination and complexities of the skill. After twisting his knee and winding up in a brace, Melton gave up the slippery pursuit for the betterment of his recreational softball career.
“They gave me some flack,” Melton said of his hockey-playing friends. “But I said, ‘Boys, you do things on ice stakes I could never do on dry land. I’ll leave it with the experts.’”
Melton is proof, though, that you don’t need to excel in a sport to make a huge difference. In Melton’s case, it was a Hall of Fame difference.
For his contributions to not only building the Missouri State hockey program, but for helping to bring the Jordan Valley Ice Park (now known as Brightspeed Ice Park) to downtown, Melton was one of six individuals inducted into the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
The ceremonies at the Oasis Convention Center also honored the Dick Birmingham-coached HIllcrest High School baseball teams as the Era of Excellence Award winner.
Love for hockey developed after a snowy night in Kansas City
Melton, a native of Cassville, developed a love for ice hockey when he attended his first game, as the Kansas City Blues minor league professional team played in the American Royal Arena in 1970.
“It was snowy and crazy weather,” Melton said. “We made it in and there were about 500 people there. But I fell in love with the sport.
“Hockey is the sport that is the biggest difference between seeing a game on television and seeing it live, just for the speed of the game. There is action all over the ice continuously. TV does a good job, but they just can’t translate everything that you see live. I was hooked.”
Melton began attending St. Louis Blues games along with minor league games in Tulsa and Kansas City as his interest in the sport grew exponentially.
“I just loved the sport and had a passion for wanting to see it come to Springfield,” Melton said.
Bringing ice to the Ozarks
By the late 1990s, while working as assistant general manager at Mediacom in Springfield, Melton was a founder of the Springfield Citizens Committee that advocated for an ice facility downtown to serve the region recreationally and competitively.
The Jordan Valley Ice Park opened in 2000 and Melton was named general manager for the new Missouri State Ice Bears. He helped build the roster and run the business side of the operation for 16 years until retiring. He now serves as a consultant.
Melton said he was confident that a club hockey team at Missouri State would work because about 30 percent of the MSU student population at the time was from the St. Louis area, where hockey was played at most of the high schools.
“Our first practice was about a month and a half before the arena opened,” Melton said. “We did that in Springdale, Arkansas, the nearest facility to us. Once the rink opened, the grand opening was in the fall of 2001 and our first official season.”
The grand opening featured a four-team exhibition that included the Ice Bears, a St. Louis Blues Alumni team, Saint Louis University’s team and a youth club from the St. Louis area. The teams played a round-robin format using both rinks in the new arena.
“When they skated out onto the ice, it was an amazing feeling. I don’t have children of my own, but I kind of knew what the feeling was like when that team skated onto the ice,” Melton said. “We had the arena packed on both sides.”
‘His involvement was monumental since day one’
Ryan Armstrong, a former Ice Bears player and assistant coach, succeeded Melton as general manager. He said Melton’s impact on not only the program but hockey in this region is unquestioned.
“Stan’s goal was to have a collegiate program. His involvement was monumental since day one,” Armstrong said. “As a player, coach and general manager, Stan has been several things to me. He’s been a father figure to me and a lot of players — and a savvy businessman who understood how to work with collegiate students.
“As a coach and general manager, I’ve been able to get a great sense of appreciation for everything that he does behind the scenes.”
As general manager, Armstrong said he often asks himself “What would Stan do?” when facing a challenging decision.
Melton said he looks at his role these days as being available when needed.
“I like to say my title is, ‘Ask the old man for advice once in a while,’” he said with a laugh. “But we’ve got a great GM in Ryan Armstrong.”
The Ice Bears have continued to grow and prosper
Melton said he has taken a lot of pride since the start of the program and how it’s advanced from the Division III club level to Division I. Capacity crowds often pack the arena when the Ice Bears play.
“It has continued to grow and prosper,” Melton said. “We have been able to get to the level of having a full-time paid head coach and a full-time general manager in Ryan. The program has grown beyond what I had dreamed about, for sure.”
The 38th annual Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame induction class brought the total membership in the Hall of 166 individuals, plus four teams from the Era of Excellence.
Since its establishment in 1986 by the late Bonus Frost, the SASHOF has provided $4.6 million of sports equipment to more than two dozen area youth organizations.
Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame 2024 induction class
Christie Blasi. The native of Sedalia has been a Springfield resident since 1992. During that time, she has dominated on the local women’s amateur golf scene. She has been city champion three times, Millwood Golf Club champion eight times, a three-time Hickory Hills Country Club champ, won numerous state and national amateur golf awards and qualified for USGA Women’s Senior Amateurs.
Rob Evans: The Springfield native and Missouri State grad has been a radio and television sports announcer for 40 years while calling high school, college and professional sports. In recent years, Evans has called prep sports in the Kansas City area as he earned the best play-by-play award in a large market six times from the Missouri Broadcasters Association.
Dennis Heim: One of the all-time great defensive players in Missouri State football history, the Monett native played for the Bears from 1974-77. Heim still owns MSU records for sacks in a season (41) and career (133). Heim was drafted by the NFL’s New York Giants and played two seasons with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1980.
Holly Hesse: Just a few months removed from the final of 36 seasons as Missouri State head softball coach, Hesse finished with 922 career victories, the second-most in Missouri Valley Conference history. The Waukon, Iowa, native is a 1982 Creighton University graduate. She coached MSU to six Valley tournament championships plus an MVC regular-season title in 1992.
Jon Leamy: For 30 seasons, starting in 1992, Leamy guided the Missouri State men’s soccer program and turned it into a national contender. Leamy compiled a 309-189-66 career record, with the Bears winning 10 regular-season MVC titles and making six NCAA Tournament appearances. The winningest coach in league history was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
Stan Melton: The Cassville native is a founder of the Missouri State Ice Bears and founder of the Springfield Citizens Committee that helped bring an ice-skating facility to Jordan Valley Park in downtown Springfield. Melton is a long-time sports super fan who became an avid hockey follower prior to helping start the Ice Bears in 2000.
Era of Excellence, Hillcrest Baseball under Dick Birmingham: Springfield high school baseball has long been known for its top-quality play, with the late Dick Birmingham a big part of its history. Birmingham coached baseball at Hillcrest from 1960-85, with five state American Legion titles from 1970-79. Six players from the 1966 Hillcrest team were pro draft choices and four players off the 1972 Hillcrest team were drafted.
(Originally published at https://sgfcitizen.org/springfield-sports/stan-melton-the-queen-citys-godfather-of-hockey-inducted-into-springfield-area-sports-hall-of-fame/)
