List of People from Springfield, Missouri

This is a list of notable people born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Springfield, Missouri and its surrounding metropolitan area.

Politics

* John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General
* Matt Blunt, Governor of Missouri
* Roy Blunt, U.S. House Minority Whip
* Sempronius H. Boyd, U.S. Representative and Ambassador to Siam

Arts, Literature, Humanities and Entertainment

* Bob Barker, former host of The Price is Right
* Aaron Buerge, "The Bachelor" in 2002
* Kim Crosby, Broadway performer
* William Garwood, actor
* Lucas Grabeel, actor
* Jay Kenneth Johnson, actor
* King's X, musical group
* Robin Luke, musician
* Ozark Mountain Daredevils, musical group
* Brad Pitt, Actor
* Tony Tost, Poet
* Kathleen Turner, actress
* Robert Westenberg, Broadway performer
* Lou Whitney, musician, record producer
* Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, musical group
* Sara Groves, Christian Contemporary recording artist.
* Brenda Lee, Singer (moved to Springfield in 1956 at age 11)
* John Goodman, Actor (Born in Afton, MO and attended Missouri State University)

ports

* Josh Kinney, First Springfield Cardinal (AA) to make the St. Louis Cardinals major league roster.
* Larry Nemmers, NFL referee.
* Payne Stewart, professional golfer.
* Jack Jewsbury, MLS player for the Kansas City Wizards.
* Lori Endicott, 1996 olympic volleyball player.
* Jackie Stiles, NCAA All-Time Leading Scorer in womens basketball.
* Scott Bailes, former American League pitcher in the 1980's and 1990's. Now the color commentator for the Springfield Cardinals baseball franchise.
* Ryan Howard, current MLB player, 2005 NL Rookie of the year, 2006 Home Run Derby Champion, 2006 NL Most Valuable Player
* Stan Musial, Hall of Fame baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals, played for the original Springfield Cardinals minor leauge baseball team in the late 1930's.
* Steve Rogers, Former MLB starting pitcher with Montréal Expos. Remembered as most successful pitcher in Montreal Expos history.

Business

* John Q. Hammons, Hammons Hotels founder
* David Glass - Former CEO of Wal-Mart and owner of the Kansas City Royals
* Roy E. Winegardner, Cofounder of Winegardner and Hammons, and former President and then Chairman of Holiday Inn Hotels, now a division of InterContinental Hotels Group.
* Johnny Morris - Owner and Creator of Bass Pro Shop, headquartered in Springfield

Criminals and Persons of Ill Repute

* John Gotti, Mafioso (incarcerated at United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, died in Springfield in 2002)
* Timothy McVeigh, bomber and antigovernment conspirator (incarcerated at United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, prior to his 2001 execution)
* Ramzi Yousef, 1993 World Trade Center bomber (incarcerated at United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners)
* Robert Franklin Stroud, Birdman of Alcatraz (incarcerated at United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, died in Springfield in 1963)
* Christopher Ryan King, notorious con man and swindler, [http://kansascity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/moneylaundering012207.htm] [http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_109182202.html] [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/news2007/king.ple.htm] was born in Springfield in 1974 and graduated from Kickapoo High School in 1992.
* Dugan Corsolini, serial child molester and murderer. Corsolini's ritualistic rapes and mutilations shocked Springfield and the Ozarks during the summer of 1985 until he was apprehended in November of that year.

Other

* Jimmie Angel, aviator, discoverer of Angel Falls, highest free-falling waterfall in the world
* Janet Kavandi, astronaut
* J. Alan Groves, Biblical Hebrew scholar, editor of Groves-Wheeler Hebrew morphology