Gene Bess, 50 years, 1300 wins!!
Back in 1971 when Gene Bess became the Head Coach at then Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, MO, he figured he’d be there for about five years if he did a good job. Well, at least that’s he told his wife, Nelda. Keep the bags packed, he instructed, just in case things don’t work out.
Well, fifty years and 1300 wins later, the guy simple known as “Coach” around these parts of the country, is still roaming the sidelines, coaching, teaching, intimidating officials (mildly), and smiling. I’d say things turned out pretty well for “Coach”….don’t you think? Coach Bess is the winningest collegiate coach in the history of basketball, at any level, period. Maybe you should unpack the bags Mrs. Bess.
Rumored to be 84, Bess reached his milestone 1,300th victory on February 22, 2020 with a home win over Western Kentucky Community and Technical College, located in Paducah, KY. It was an easy win, much like many of the other 1,299. Of course, he’s not perfect. There are a few losses on his resume, 417 to be exact. The Raiders 2019-20 season came to an end in the Semifinals of the Region 16 Post-season Tournament with a seven point loss to rival Moberly Area CC (MO). It was the third time this year the Hounds beat the Raiders, who finished at 19-12. Allegedly, there are only two seasons (maybe 3) in which the Coach, and his Raiders, finished at .500 or below. That in itself, is absolutely remarkable, but realistically mind-numbing.
An icon not only at Three Rivers College, and in the region, but throughout the entire Junior College Basketball circle of coaches and fans, Bess has won 75.8% of the games he’s coached, and 85.2% of games played at home. To me, that’s phenomenal. And to Coach Gene, while always his own critic, is just as proud of the 50 years at TRC as the 1300 wins. “Nobody will ever do this again, go into a community and stay for 1,300 games on the level we had to play at. That just makes this community so special. There will be coaches who win more games than this, but they won’t go stay in one place and accomplish this. It just won’t happen.”
Like many, Gene started his coaching career in the high school ranks. After getting his degree in math and physical education at Southeast Missouri State University, he had stints at nearby High Schools, Lesterville, Anniston and Oran where he accumulated 250 additional victories in 12 seasons. After posting a 34-1 record and second place finish in the 1969 Class M Missouri State High School Championships, Bess was hired as an assistant by then Three Rivers Head Coach Bob Cradic for the 1970 campaign. The following season, Cradic left to become the Head Coach at SE Missouri State, and Bess took over at TRCC. And the rest shall we say, … is history. In his first season at the controls of the Raiders, certainly a forecast of the good things to come, Bess tallied 27 wins.
As only the second coach in TRCC’s storied history, Coach Bess has seen a few changes in the program. In the early years at TRCC, the team played all of it’s home games at Poplar Bluff HS. Not until 1982 did the college open a new gymnasium on the college campus. With over 300 wins and already becoming a legendary coach, the new gym was named The Bess Activity Center. For big games, because of the limited seating at the BAC, the Raiders played at the Black River Coliseum, a state of the art civic center. Now the team plays in it’s own state-of-the-art arena, on Gene Bess Court, in The Libla Family Sports Complex, which opened in February of 2019. Also, in the last decade, Three Rives Community College, officially dropped the Community from their name, and are now Three Rivers College.
Coach Bess, a 1989 NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, has led the Raiders to 17 NJCAA tournament appearances, where his career mark is 41-19. The Raiders have reached the final four 9 times while winning two national championships in 1979 and 1992. His last trip to “Hutch,” in official capacity, was in 2010 in which the Raiders finished second.
Coach Bess has been recognized as NJCAA Coach of the Year twice, Regional Coach of the Year 23 times, and MCCAC Conference Coach of the Year 19 times, and in addition to the NJCAA Hall of Fame, he also is a member of the Poplar Bluff Sports and the Missouri Sports HOF’s. Next up, at least through my eyes, has to be an invitation into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
(Credits to Scott Borkgren, Sports Editor for the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, MO and the Three Rivers College athletic webpage for some of the content of this story).
