Those who know Lyndall Scranton realize that he would rather be the one telling the story than at the heart of it.
The former New Leader sportswriter has spent more than three decades chronicling some of the greatest moments in Springfield area athletics history. His job was to highlight others, not attract attention to himself.
He was there when the Bears went to the Sweet 16 in the 1999 NCAA Tournament, telling the stories of Steve Alford and Danny Moore. He was there during the Bears’ run to the College World Series in 2003 to write about Keith Guttin and Dant’e Brinkley.
He’s been there for countless others.
But whether Scranton liked it or not, Wednesday was a day to celebrate him and others who have been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, a well-deserved day in which his impact on the Ozarks sports scene was honored.
Those he mentored laughed at the idea that Scranton was the center of attention when it wasn’t something he was never looking for.
“He deserves it,” former News-Leader sportswriter Kyle Niedenreib said. “I can’t explain to you what it meant to have him as a mentor to me. I don’t know if he saw me as someone he was mentoring but when I went to Missouri State, I read the News-Leader every day. “I knew who he was when I first started working there and he took me under His ward and I tried to learn as much as I could about being a successful writer.”
Niedenreib needn’t have worried, as Scranton took great pride in mentoring others throughout his career, as was the case before.
When Scranton was inducted into the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, the Central and Missouri State graduate talked about how much he enjoyed learning the business from the likes of Marty Eddlemon and Larry Hazelrigg.
He also added that he wants people to remember him because he had a role in mentoring Neddenriep and former News Leader sportswriter Eric Bailey.
“When I think of a Hall of Famer, I think of someone who is the best at their profession,” Bailey said. “That’s just who Lyndall is. He’s the best at what he does. He’s covered Missouri State for many years and the respect he’s had from the fan base, from his peers, from the administrators speaks for itself. He’s always just had a calm demeanor. There’s been a lot of respect from “Turn it around.”
Bailey and Niedenreib have since moved on from the news leader position, but each considers their former coworker as someone who was as instrumental as anyone early in their careers. The Scranton influence has continued in their current jobs, despite being more than a decade removed from the Springfield newsroom.
Neddenriep, who wrote for the News-Leader from 2000 to 2008, is the Indianapolis Star’s high school sports reporter of the year and has received multiple Indiana Sportswriter of the Year awards in previous years. Bailey, who worked for the News-Leader from 1996 to 2004, currently writes for the Tulsa World and made his name known covering Oklahoma Sooners athletics.
Springfield Sports HOF Induction:Former News-Leader sportswriter Lyndall Scranton has been inducted into the Hall of Fame
Neither believes they would have been as successful without Scranton’s guidance.
“I just watched the way he handles things and I’ve never seen that before,” Bailey said. “He worked hard. He and Art Haines were the voices of the state of Missouri. If you wanted to know what was going on, this was the one you listened to or read. I was always impressed by the way Lyndall handled himself during some of the big stories.”
“Lyndal had a good way of not telling me what to do and letting me write stories that were basically at his pace,” Niedenreib said. “I thought we were a really good team. That meant a lot to me because I knew how much I respected him. It was all about just being a sponge when I was around him.”
Neddenriep attended Arch Madness with Scranton and recalled a road trip to UT Martin where he slept the entire way. He woke up to a laughing Scranton who wouldn’t let him forget it.
Bailey, after starting out as a junior college reporter, took over for the Lady Bears and had the opportunity to work alongside Scranton covering Missouri. He had to closely watch how relationships were built and how they could turn into better feature stories and enhance his coverage. There were times when he would play golf with Scranton in a group or sit with his teacher and think in the media room at the Price Cutter charity tournament.
Scranton upon his departure from the English Premier League:FOR THE LONG TIME: It’s been an honor to cover Ozarks sports for 36 years
“He was always very professional and calm,” Bailey said. “If you could make Lyndall laugh, he made your day because he was so calm. I was a little afraid of him at first but as the years went by, everything got easier and you came to have a real appreciation for the work he did. He was so professional that it was unbelievable”.
“He has this respect for him that is difficult to describe exactly,” Nedenreib added. “He was someone I really looked up to at that age, and I still do. I mean, I consider him, you know, a huge influence on my career, like everyone else.”
Scranton wrote for the News-Leader from 1979 until his retirement in 2015. He has remained active in the Ozarks sports scene while doing public relations work at Lucas Oil Speedway and through freelance writing for various publications.
An encyclopedia of Missouri history, Scranton also covered all seven games of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1982 World Series win over the Milwaukee Brewers. During his 36-year career, Scranton covered high school athletics, auto racing and bowling.
Mark Stillwell’s column in Scranton:The area’s sports scene is losing a true professional with the retirement of Lyndall Scranton
Fittingly, among those inducted into the Hall of Fame with Scranton on Wednesday was former Missouri State men’s basketball coach Barry Hinson, about whom Scranton told countless stories throughout his career. The sportswriter would have preferred that all attention be on the active coach and that others be honored instead of him.
But those who have read Scranton’s work or gotten to know him behind the scenes know how deserving they are of this honor. He has made his impact on the region, including being someone who past and present News-Leader sportswriters look up to.
“He was just an easy person for me to learn from in an important part of my life when I was just learning what I was doing at a daily newspaper,” Ndenreib said.
“He knew we were always watching,” Billy added. “He knew we were always learning and we were just kids when we worked there. He was the best journalist and always took time for young, up-and-coming journalists to help him. He will always be the best.” The first sportswriter I looked up to.”
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist for the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, via email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or @White Wheeler_NL. He is also the host of the weekly “Wyatt’s World Podcast” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming platforms
The world of sports journalism has a new Hall of Fame inductee as media leader and sports reporter Lyndall Scranton takes her rightful place among the industry’s greats. With a career spanning decades and a passion for telling the stories of athletes and their triumphs, Scranton has established herself as a respected and influential figure in the field. Her dedication to the craft and unwavering commitment to delivering compelling and insightful sports coverage has earned her this prestigious honor, solidifying her legacy as a true media leader.