Mizzou Hall of Fame Feature: Ralph Hochgrebe
11/4/2019 3:00:00 PM | Baseball, General
Ralph Hochgrebe didn't flaunt his accomplishments as an All-American second baseman at Mizzou. Most of what his wife, Sarah, knows about her late husband's baseball career has come from friends and former teammates.
When Sarah met Hochgrebe in 1962, he was three years removed from a standout college baseball career. In his tenure at Mizzou from 1957-59, Hochgrebe had become a decorated player, earning All-Big Eight honors and, as team captain in 1959, first-team All-America recognition.
Under the wing of Tiger skipper John "Hi" Simmons, Hochgrebe was also a part of Mizzou's 1958 team that finished as runner-up in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
After college, he competed for Team USA in the 1959 Pan American Games. He also continued to play semi-pro baseball for teams in South Dakota and St. Louis, Mo., before eventually moving on from the sport he loved when his arm started to bother him.
Sarah speculated that Hochgrebe's favorite black and gold memory was his trip to Omaha.
"He really didn't talk a lot about it," Sarah said. "I did not know him when he was at Mizzou. I didn't meet him until 1962, so what I've heard is all hearsay, but I think probably his most exciting thing he did was play in the College World Series in 1958."
The second half of Hochgrebe's life was filled with work, both professionally at General Metal Products/Wozniak Industries, and as a volunteer coach for community baseball teams. In retirement, he also became a substitute teacher at Lutheran South High School.
While the Hochgrebes were Mizzou football season ticket holders for a number of years — Sarah says Hochgrebe had season tickets when they started dating in 1962 — they weren't too involved in the University until around 10 years ago when his former teammates and their wives decided to begin holding reunions in Columbia once a year.
"We started to have a reunion at Mizzou for the players and the wives, and we kind of became a family," Sarah said. "The wives got to know each other, and that's where you hear a lot of stuff and a lot of stories."
In addition to the baseball family, Hochgrebes's two nephews and his niece all went to Mizzou. The last time Hochgrebes attended a team reunion was right before he was diagnosed with cancer. After his death in 2016, Sarah continued to go to the reunions to see how the rest of their friends were doing.
Hochgrebe will be inducted posthumously into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame alongside former baseball player Kyle Gibson (2007-09). He is also a member of the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.
"I was really excited and proud of it," Sarah said. "It's kind of a semi-sweet thing with him not being here to enjoy it, but he kept track of the buddies that had gotten that honor. Then he'd say, 'they really deserved it,' and then he'd tell me all about them. I think down deep he'd be very proud of it."
Hochgrebe is remembered as a hard worker that, while not outwardly vocal, set a strong example for the rest of the team.
"He really enjoyed it in his quiet way," Sarah said. "He wasn't one of these ra-ra guys, but he had a lot of respect for what he had done there and the people that were there."
***
Hochgrebe is part of the 2019 Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame class. He is one of six outstanding former University of Missouri athletic figures who have been selected for induction into Mizzou's Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. They will represent the 29th induction class since the Hall's inception in 1990.
The class will be formally inducted Fri., Nov. 15, in a ceremony and celebration to be held that evening in Columbia. The group will also be recognized at the Mizzou Football home game the next day against Florida.
Tickets for the reception can be purchased through http://www.tsfmizzou.com/halloffame. If fans have questions, please mail (flakerl@missouri.edu) or call the Tiger Scholarship Fund office at (573) 882-0704.
