James Muskopf will be honored by friends and peers for his commitment to education and athletics during a dinner next month.
Dave Loos, men’s basketball head coach at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., will speak at the James Muskopf Dinner set for 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13, at Bartolino’s South, 5914 S Lindbergh Blvd.
Muskopf, who finished his educational career at Fontbonne College as an administrator, is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a news release.
Loos stated in the news release that he was honored to speak because of the relationship he developed with Muskopf through the years. Loos coached the Fenton Post 400 Economy Baseball Team in the late 1970s. Muskopf was the general manager of the team and four others that served as a feeder system for the program.
Loos also served as B Team baseball coach and varsity basketball coach when he taught at Mehlville Senior High School while Muskopf served as a Mehlville principal and later as an assistant superintendent.
Muskopf currently is president emeritus of the Saint Louis Amateur Baseball Association, or SLABA, an organization he helped found that is designed to allow youth to participate in high-level amateur sports and tournaments throughout the United States.
Those wishing to attend the event are asked send a check for $35 per person to the James Muskopf Baseball Dinner, ℅ Jack Bender, 570 Fairway Oaks Drive, Eureka, MO 63025. The size of banquet room necessitates limited attendance on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Muskopf was a tennis and soccer varsity letterman at Roosevelt Senior High School in south St. Louis and also played baseball during the summer for local ball clubs.
He graduated from Harris-Stowe Teachers College in 1966, with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and began teaching for the Mehlville School District in 1967. Muskopf took time off from teaching to obtain a master’s degree in education administration from Michigan State in 1970.
He earned his doctorate degree from St. Louis University in 1996, the same year he retired from the Mehlville School District, where he had served as an assistant superintendent since 1989.
Other highlights of Muskopf’s career:
September 1970 — Russ Benack’s wife, Addie, was his teaching partner at Beasley Elementary School in the Mehlville School District. Muskopf took over the Fenton Post 400 American Legion Team from him because Benack was looking for a manager and a coach.
1980 — He led the first American Legion Regional in Missouri at Heine Meine Field in Lemay. The event was a huge success with more than 11,000 spectators over five days.
1982 — He again chaired a similar event. The post replaced the Minetonka, Minn., post as the sponsor when it could not get its field in order to host the regional tournament.
1987 — Muskopf founded SLABA along with Jim Medlock and Rich Hendel Sr. He served as president of SLABA until November 2010. He continues to attend monthly SLABA meetings.
