‘Destined for greatness’: Battle football player Rickie Dunn makes big plays on the field as he seeks justice for his late father
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Battle football standout Rickie Dunn is the first guy out on the field.
"I got to be the juice man," Dunn says.
The two-way player gets it done as a linebacker and running back.
"So proud to see Little Rick step up and be a man," Dunn's grandfather James Dunn Sr. said.
"He looks like a man and he’s really not," Dunn's mother, Reba Newman, said. "He's a man-child."
Football is Rickie's passion, but it's also a daily reminder.
"I guess where he gets the name Little Rick is because he’s a carbon copy of Big Rick," James said.
Big Rick is the first Rickie Dunn, father of the current standout junior at Battle. However, Little Rick, is not Rickie Dunn Jr. He and his father have different middle names.
"He didn’t want him to ruin his credit," James joked about his son's decision.
The younger Rickie is a reminder of the legacy of his father, who is no longer here to enjoy his son's success on the field.
On Nov. 30, 2014, officers responded to the 1400 block of Illinois Avenue just before 2:30 a.m. More than 100 people were hanging out at an after-party, according to assistant Columbia police chief Jeremiah Hunter.
"A fight ensued, a verbal argument ensued and everything and soon after that shots rang out and two people were hit, one being Rickie Dunn," Hunter said.
Big Rick was transported to University Hospital where he later died from his injuries. He was just 40 years old.
"I don’t really have any understanding," his son said. "All I know was he was trying to protect my mother."
Little Rick said his dad signed him up for football starting in kindergarten.
"He was my coach from kindergarten through third grade," Rickie said. "He was a beast in high school, and that’s why I want to follow his footsteps."
'Freak of nature'
Tolton assistant football coach Danny Spry knew the senior Rickie very well. He played with him at Hickman High School in the early 1990s.
"If you were a kid growing up in Columbia in the late 1980s through the early 1990s, you knew who Rickie Dunn was," Spry said. "Rickie was a ballplayer."
"You get hit by Rickie, you knew it, and I can tell you right now watching some of the highlights with his son, No. 21’s watching over him," Spry said.
Of course, the younger Rickie never saw this father play.
"All I know is that man was a freak of nature," Little Rick said. "He had newspapers on newspapers on newspapers, articles about him."
Spry said the way the elder Rickie died was unexpected given his personality.
"Rickie was loved by a lot of people. Rickie was not out looking for fights. That’s not who he was. Rickie was there and somebody took the coward way," Spry said.
Little Rick was just 10 years old when Big Rick died.
"I remember pausing and looking at my hands and they were shaking," Rickie said.
Following Rickie's death, there was a candlelight vigil at Hickman's football field.
"We got a football and put 'Justice For Rickie' on it," Spry said. "I put the ball down on the 50 (yard line) and said this ball stays on the 50 unless you want this, young man. Well, he took that ball and he's run with it."
Little Rick keeps the ball on his bed frame, along with other items to remind him of his dad.
"It means a lot honestly, but it would be even better if we actually find the culprit who did the killing," he said.
An enduring pain
Seven years following the murder, police still have not made any arrests.
"The frustrating thing for us is so many people witnessed that," Hunter said. "They know what happened."
Little Rick said it hurts him to not know who was behind the gun, and he has a message to the community.
"My message to people who know something is please say something because I’m really eager, and I’m really upset, and I don’t know how long I can take this for," Rickie said.
Rickie is now a junior in high school. He said he's really started to feel his dad's spirit this year.
"It’s not fair to that young man that’s out there on Friday nights, and the rest of his life with so many milestones that are being achieved, and nobody’s coming forward," Spry said.
Milestones like what happened in Week 1 against Ft. Zumwalt North. Dunn had the game-winning scoop-and-score and two-point conversion to complete a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback.
All season, Rickie has made plays on both sides of the ball. He had three takeaways against Rock Bridge in Week 7, including a pick-six to seal the game in the second half. The following week, Dunn scored three touchdowns against Jefferson City.
Little Rick has already broken his dad's middle school records.
"My eighth-grade year, I had 18 or 19 touchdowns in seven games," Rickie said. "I feel like he would just be smiling, just cheesing."
His mom added, "He would love to smile with his gold tooth and sit back with his glasses."
Rickie may wear a different number out on the field, but the resemblance is undeniable.
"We call him Little Rick, but he’s Rick now, Big Rick," James said.
Spry added, "He’s got those genetics."
And he's got that passion.
"Sometimes you’re just destined for greatness," Newman said.
"The things I’m doing right now, I just wish that he would be here in physical form, so I could just hug him," Rickie said.
Little Rick said he hopes to play football at the next level and beyond, but he also has other goals in mind. He'd love to go to Colorado to study geology and archeology.
"Ever since I was a little boy, he always told me he wanted me to be better than him," Rickie said. "So, I knew it was time for me to take the wheel and begin my own legacy."
