Papendick, John
1978 Bridgewater/1984 SDSU graduate. Life-long SD sports journalist/historian who wrote his first newspaper story in 1975. Aberdeen and Mitchell sports departments he led always took a statewide approach to its coverage. Three-time SD Sportswriter of the Year, Heisman Trophy voter, Distinguished SDSU Alumni, SD Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, SDHSAA Distinguished Service, and more than […]
Fylling, Jeff
1974 Lennox/1978 Augustana graduate. For almost 50 years, Jeff Fylling painted pictures of Augustana football and basketball teams for radio audiences. Through his voice, he created some of the best sports images in state history. On Sept. 3, 1984, Fylling called his first game as the Voice of the Vikings’ football team as Augustana defeated […]
Dorman, Jim
Jim Dorman, a 1970 graduate of Castlewood High School and a 1975 graduate of South Dakota State University, has devoted more than four decades to education-based athletics as an athlete, coach, administrator and statewide leader. A four-sport standout at Castlewood, he was a three-time all-conference football player and a member of the school’s 1970 State […]
Rehn, Ruth
The Lyons High and 1966 South Dakota State grad was an assistant executive director for the S.D. High School Activities Association for 34 years, starting in 1974. During her tenure, South Dakota added basketball, volleyball, cross country, and competitive cheer and dance for high school girls, and she was the overseeing administrator for all the […]
Richards, Hobe
Born Aug. 9, 1923 in Aberdeen. 1941 Aberdeen Central HS grad. 1949 Northern State grad. An outstanding golf teacher, many of his students went on to become state champions. Richards won the 1943 state match-play title. Seven times he won the South Dakota Open, which was the biggest medal-play tourney in the state at that […]
Ricketts, Jim
The Sioux Falls man was an official in South Dakota for 39 years for football, basketball and baseball. The Ames (Iowa) High and University of Wyoming grad also officiated six years in Colorado and Wyoming before coming to South Dakota. He worked 49 prep football playoff games and four state football finals. He also refereed […]
Robbie, Joe
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 […]
Rudebusch, Tom
Tom Rudebusch has established himself as one of the most respected and hardest working sports broadcasters in South Dakota history. He began his career at KOTA Radio in Rapid City in 1974. He has been calling games ever since. Rudebusch is well known as the Voice of South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. He […]
Sheeks, Paul
A 1908 Mitchell High and 1913 University of South Dakota grad, Sheeks played two years in the NFL before gaining national fame in the 1920s and ’30s because of the success of the Firestone basketball teams he coached in Akron, Ohio. He helped found the National Basketball League and was named coach of the year […]
Stolze, Craig
Born Oct. 21, 1919 in Sioux City. 1938 (Sioux City) Central HS grad. 1949 USD grad. Stolze is the only person to be named South Dakota Sportswriter of the Year four consecutive years. He was sports editor at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader for 10 years (1953-63). While there, Stolze started the Associated Press basketball […]