Joe Robbie - Inducted 1975

Born July 7, 1916 in Sisseton. 1935 Sisseton HS grad. Northern State. 1946 USD law degree. Owner of the Miami Dolphins from 1966 until his death in 1990. His friendship with Sioux Falls' Joe Foss, a former classmate at USD and then commissioner of the American Football League, led to Robbie's securing a franchise in Miami in 1966. He soon became sole owner of one of the most valuable franchises in professional sports. In 1970 he hired Don Shula as coach. The Dolphins were one of the NFL's premier teams under Robbie's ownership, reaching the Super Bowl five times and winning Super Bowls in 1973 and '74. He built Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987 without the use of public money. Was influential in the building of the DakotaDome in Vermillion, serving as national fund-raising chairman. Among the many honors and awards received was the Horatio Alger Award, given to honor those who have attained success through personal perseverance (past winners included Dwight Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover, Eddie Rickenbacker and Bob Hope).