Jim Thomas: Remembering Woody in his Mizzou years

Former Missouri football coach Woody Widenhofer with his sons, Ryan, left, and Ross, in a photo submitted by the Widenhofer family.

Former Missouri football coach Woody Widenhofer with his daughters Kim, left, and Stacy. (Photo submitted by the Widenhofer family.)

If I had to name one lasting memory from the coaching tenure of Woody Widenhofer at the University of Missouri, this is it. As the years rolled by, I haven’t thought about it much, but when I learned that Widenhofer had passed away at age 77, it came back to mind.

A group of sportswriters covering the Missouri football team had gone out for dinner and a few beers the night before the Tigers would face Oklahoma. Around midnight, maybe…