By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the record, the No. 1 men's spot on TopSports.news' list of the Top 100 Athletes in Shawnee County history wasn't decided by a coin flip ... but it was briefly considered.
Picking the top spot, and really the entire Top 10, was that tough of a task.
Topeka High baseball legend Mike Torrez and former Shawnee Heights basketball and golf star Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, had both been selected No. 1 in previous Top 100 projects and were both worthy candidates this time around as were several other nationally and world-renowned local greats.
In the end Torrez, a World Series champion and 20-game winner over an 18-year year Major League career, got the nod by the slightest of margins over Woodland, a two-time state basketball champ for the T-Birds and a four-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Former American League All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner Ken Berry holds down the No. 3 position on the TSN list followed by two-time Olympic wrestler Melvin Douglas and Silver Lake and Kansas State basketball icon Lon Krugeer.
The second five on the Top 10 include PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes, Olympic long-jumper Preston Carrington (Syed Abdul-Mutfi), former NFL veterans and Super Bowl participants Troy Wilson and Tom Dinkel, and two-time state high school and NAIA national basketball champion Tom Meier.
All of the Top 10 honorees are members of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame.
TSN SHAWNEE COUNTY ALL-TIME TOP 100 MEN’S ATHLETES
Topeka sports legend Mike Torrez was a 20-game winner and a World Series champion during an 18-year Major League Baseball career. [File photo/TSN]
1. MIKE TORREZ, Topeka High
Pitched 18 seasons (1967-84) in the major leagues with a 185-160 record and a 3.96 career earned run average and helped lead the New York Yankees to a world championship in 1977. The Topeka High graduate hurled a complete-game 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 to clinch the World Series title for the Yankees. Torrez also pitched for the Cardinals, Expos, Orioles, A's, Red Sox and Mets. Torrez was a 20-game winner for the Orioles and had seven seasons with 15 or more victories.
Shawnee Heights graduate Gary Woodland won the 2019 U.S. Open on the PGA Golf Tour after winning two state basketball titles and also starring in golf for the T-Birds. [PGA Tour]
2. GARY WOODLAND, Shawnee Heights
The 2019 U.S. Open champion was a basketball All-Stater and two-time Class 5A state champ at Shawnee Heights and went on to play basketball at Washburn as a freshman before transferring to Kansas and focusing on golf. Woodland has four PGA Tour victories on his resume and also made a President's Cup appearance.
Washburn Rural graduate Ken Berry (16), on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, was an A.L. All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner. [Sports Illustrated]
3. KEN BERRY, Washburn Rural
Berry was an American League All-Star in 1967 and a two-time Gold Glove-winning outfielder (1970 and 1972) in a Major League career that spanned 14 seasons from 1962 to 1975. Berry played in the Majors for the Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians. In 1972 Berry hit .289 and earned a Gold Glove with no errors, five double plays and 13 assists. Berry played football and baseball at Wichita State.
Highland Park grad Melvin Douglas was a state high school wrestling champ, an NCAA champ and a two-time Olympian. [File photo[
4. MELVIN DOUGLAS, Highland Park
Douglas was a three-time state high school wrestling champion for Highland Park (1979, '80 and '81), won a pair of NCAA titles for Oklahoma and made the United States Olympic team in 1996 and 2000. Douglas captured one world title and won seven U.S. Freestyle championships. Douglas compiled a 109-19-4 record at Oklahoma, capping his collegiate career with Big Eight Conference and NCAA 177-pound titles in each of his last two years.
Silver Lake multi-sport legend Lon Kruger was a two-time Big 8 Player of the Year for Kansas State before embarking on a highly successful college coaching career. [Kansas State Athletics]
5. LON KRUGER, Silver Lake
Kruger was the two-time Big Eight basketball player of the year for Kansas State and was a three-sport star who was selected in the Major League Baseball (St. Louis Cardinals) and NBA (Atlanta Hawks) drafts. Kruger went on to a Hall of Fame coaching career and is also a member of the Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame.
Chris Barnes played on a state basketball championship team at Topeka High before starting a PBA Hall of Fame bowling career. [PBA Tour]
6. CHRIS BARNES, Topeka High
A 2018 inductee into the PBA Hall of Fame and a 2023 inductee into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame, Barnes has won 19 PBA Tour titles and three majors. As a sophomore Barnes was a member of Topeka High's state championship basketball team. Barnes earned PBA Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors.
Preston Carrington, now known as Syed Abdul Mutfi, was a basketball and track star at Wichita State before competing in the 1972 Olympics. [Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame]
7. PRESTON CARRINGTON, Topeka High
Now known as Syed Abdul Mutfi, he may be best known for his fifth-place finish in the long jump at the 1972 Olympics but was also a basketball star for Topeka High and Wichita State. A 1967 Topeka High grad, Mutfi is a member of the Topeka Shawnee County, Wichita State and Topeka High halls of fame.
Troy Wlson was a multi-sport star for Shawnee Heights and Pittsburg State before playing in the Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers. [Fleer Cards]
8. TROY WILSON, Shawnee Heights
Was a champion in football, basketball and track and field at either the high school, college or pro level, including the 1994 Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers. Wilson was a Class 5A state champion in basketball and track at Shawnee Heights and a football All-American at Pittsburg State.
Tom Dinkel starred at Shawnee Heights and Kansas before a long career in the NFL, including a Super Bowl appearance. [Cincinatti Bengals]
9. TOM DINKEL, Shawnee Heights
After starring in football at Shawnee Heights and Kansas, Dinkel played for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals for eight years, including the 1982 Super Bowl. Dinkel earned All-State honors for the T-Birds in 1973 and is a member of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame.
Tom Meier was a two-time state basketball champ for Hayden and a NAIA National Champion at Washburn. [Washburn Athletics]
10. TOM MEIER, Hayden
Meier was an All-Stater and Mr. Kansas Basketball after helping Hayden win a pair of Class 4A state titles, including the city's first undefeated boys season in 1983. Meier became an NAIA All-American and led Washburn to the national title in 1987 and is a member of the Washburn, Kansas and Topeka Shawnee County Halls of Fame.
11. FRED SLAUGHTER, Topeka High
12. ELWOOD “BINGO” DEMOSS
13. MICHAEL WILHOITE, Highland Park
14. KYLE WEEMS, Highland Park
15. TEVEN JENKINS, Topeka High
16. COREY BALLENTINE, Shawnee Heights
17. JAMES PATRICK, Highland Park
18. AARON CROW, Washburn Rural
19. STEVE TILFORD, Topeka High
20. WARREN SEITZ, Topeka West
21. RON PARADIS, Washburn Rural
22. DELVY LEWIS, Washburn Rural
23. KYLE McNORTON, Seaman
24. TREY LEWIS, Washburn Rural
25. WILL GEARY, Topeka High
26. WYATT HUBERT, Shawnee Heights
27. DUFF "SIR RICHARD'' COOLEY
28. MARK ELLIOTT, Silver Lake
29. JERAD HEAD, Hayden
30. KY THOMAS, Topeka High
31. TANNER GARDNER, Shawnee Heights
32. TED EVANS, Topeka High
33. JOHN TETUAN, Hayden
34. MARK TURGEON, Hayden
35. DALE CUSHINBERRY, Highland Park
36. DAN DAVIS, Hayden
37. JAHMAL McMURRAY, Highland Park
38. JOHNNY JOHNSON, Seaman
39. DAN CNOSSEN, Shawnee Heights
40. AUSTIN HANSON, Seaman
41. “DODE” LESSER, Seaman
42. ED DELK, Highland Park
43. TONY LEIKER, Silver Lake
44. TOM BUNGER, Washburn Rural
45. MARCEL CARTER, Shawnee Heights
46. CARROLL RAY “DINK” MOTHELL
47. NICK STRINGER, Hayden
48. RYAN ZEFERJAHN, Seaman
49. JUSTIN GLASGOW, Seaman
50. JARED HUSKE, Highland Park
51. JOEL HOFFMAN, Topeka High
52. DAN O’MARA, Hayden
53. GLENN TRAMMEL, Topeka High
54. BOB BENOIT, Topeka West
55. ART GRIGGS, TOPEKA HIGH
56. DUANE "BLACKIE'' MELVIN, Seaman
57. SCOTT LEON, Shawnee Heights
58. BILL McDONALD, Topeka West
59. JIM GOLDEN, Silver Lake
60. JASON STUKE, Seaman
61. LAMAR MADY, Topeka High
62. WILL COKELEY, Washburn Rural
63. LEVI LEE, Topeka High
64. J.P. WRIGHT, Seaman
65. CHUCK NELSON, Topeka High
66. TROY SLUSSER, Topeka High
67. LUKE YARNELL, Washburn Rural
68. KEN “HOOK” JOHNSON, Topeka High
69. MILO MITCHELL, Topeka High
70. JOE DOUGLAS, Topeka High
71. CLARDY VINSON, Topeka High
72. C.B. MCGRATH, Topeka West
73. TOMMY HUNTER, Hayden
74. JOHN GRANTHAM, Topeka High
75. BENNIE SIMECKA, Rossville
76. THERON WILSON, Highland Park
77. DAVID PROCTOR, Topeka High
78. RICK DEHART, Seaman
79. SHANNON KRUGER, Silver Lake
80. TUCKER HORAK, Rossville
81. ANDREW BECKLER, Washburn Rural
82. TAGEN LAMBOTTE, Rossville
83. BISHOP MURRAY, Washburn Rural
84. MICHAEL HOFFER, Shawnee Heights
85. RAPHEAL POSEY, Highland Park
86. ZEKE METZ, Seaman
87. LAMONT AUSTIN, Highland Park
88. CHRIS CARLSON, Seaman
89. SHANE WRIGHT, Hayden
90. DUANE ZLATNIK, Rossville
91. AUSTIN HALSEY, Washburn Rural
92. JACOB MORGAN, Washburn Rural
93. LARRY MILLER, Topeka High
94. TANNER NEWKIRK, Hayden
95. TRE RICHARDSON, Highland Park
96. DESMOND PURNELL, Hayden
97. JORDAN COOPER, Shawnee Heights
98. ROB HAYS, Topeka West
99. BEN CARLSON, Seaman
100. JACK L. BYBEE, Washburn Rural
