Larry Spiers Hazelrigg
Larry Spiers Hazelrigg was born to parents, Florence (Spiers) and Michael Earle Hazelrigg in Albany, Missouri, October 18, 1937, and departed this world on February 13, 2010, in Springfield, Mo., after a long illness. He was preceded in death by his father in 1990 and his mother on January 25, 2010. Larry is survived by one cousin, Max Spiers and his wife, Carolyn of McFall, Missouri, and a host of friends. He was a believer in Christ and attended the Methodist Church. Larry attended public school in Albany his first three years, then his parents moved to Rock Port, Missouri, where he graduated from high school. He was an athlete in baseball and track. He went to Tarkio, Missouri College for two years then transferred to the University of Kansas, completing requirements for news-editorial sequence at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Public Information. While there, he worked for the Leavenworth Kansas Times as an intern. After college, he went to Pratt, Kansas, as sports editor and photographer for the award-winning Pratt (Kansas) Daily Tribune, but spent less than a year there before being drafted into the US Army. In the Army, he landed in the office fo the Fort Carson Mountaineer, the fort-based newspaper, and finished his Army duty as assistant editor and sports editor of the Mountaineer. Hazelrigg was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, the Army’s second-highest non-combat honor, for his work on the Mountaineer. It was January 1963, when Hazelrigg joined the sports staff of Springfield Newspapers, Inc., assisting Marty Eddlemon on the afternoon-published Leader & Press, and covering events for the morning-delivered Daily News. For 38 years, Larry was a sports reporter and copy editor for the Springfield News-Leader. He covered everything from high school and college sports, to rodeos, including Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and Amateur Softball Association national events and collegiate football, basketball, softball, volleyball, and golf national playoffs. He retired in 2001. In the last several years of his long career, Hazelrigg specialized in coverage of women’s collegiate sports and probably is best known for coverage of the Southwest Missouri State University Lady Bears basketballs teams that reached two NCAA-I Final Four tournaments. He also closely followed the career of the NCAA-I women’s all-time leading scorer, Jackie Stiles. Larry was a demanding reporter. He tried to get the best out of everyone. He was a meticulous copy editor and always took the time to teach newcomers. In addition to reporting, Hazelrigg also served as official scorer, statistician and member of the All-America selection committees at several national ASA softball tournaments. He was inducted into the Springfield ASA Hall of Fame in 1994 in the meritorious service category, and the Springfield Area Sports of Fame in 2006. He also organized and coached women’s fast-pitch teams that won four Missouri state-championships and qualified for four ASA nationals, twice finishing in the top 20. He enjoyed working with young softball athletes and attending high school games. He also loved hunting and fishing. He could be found year-round in the woods or on the lake. Larry enjoyed time at the lake skiing with friends and co-workers. Larry will be greatly missed by many friends and family. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, February 19, in Greenlawn North Funeral Home. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, February 28, under the direction of Roberson Polly Funeral Home at Grandview Cemetery in Albany, Mo. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Missouri State University Foundation/ Intercollegiate Athletics at MSU, 901 S. National Ave, Springfield, Mo. 65807.