From the Darkroom: Picture day for the Bears, Aug. 12, 1988, as expectations soared

It's picture day for the 1988 Southwest Missouri State University Football Bears.

As the Bears began practice Aug. 12, Beth Riaff photographed John Seratin at Briggs Stadium. There were high expectations on campus for a winning season. A preseason poll predicted the Bears would finish second in the Gateway Conference.

Forty-five players returned to a team that finished third the year before. Head coach Jesse Branch believed depth on both offense and defense would help them improve.

The Bears went on to finish the season at 5-5, but they were 4-2 in the conference, which left them tied for second.

This image is part of a much larger collection of historically rich photographs from the News-Leader’s photo archive. Each week, the Springfield-Greene County Library will tap into this vast collection and present an interesting image “from the darkroom" and share its history. This image is presented in partnership between the Springfield-Greene County Library District and the Springfield News-Leader. For more historical images of the Ozarks, visit: thelibrary.org/fromthedarkroom .

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: From the Darkroom: Picture day for the Bears, Aug. 12, 1988, as expectations soared