Guenthner, Ken

Bridgewater. One of the most versatile sports personalities the state has ever seen. Guenthner owned the Sioux Falls Canaries baseball team from 1947-53. He also owned and operated the Black Hills Greyhound Track from 1964-82. He was twice elected national president of the Greyhound Racing Association. He worked as a sportswriter for the Argus Leader, […]

Desautels, Larry

Stricken by polio at age 17, Desautels went on to a 44-year career as a sportswriter, almost all in Aberdeen. Was a co-founder of the South Dakota Sportswriters Association. He began his sportswriting career in 1929 with the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. He became sports editor of the Aberdeen American-News in 1935. Desautels would broadcast […]

Hoover, Gayle

Born Dec. 15, 1934. Washington High and 1958 Sioux Falls College grad. Ranks as one of the state’s finest both as a player and as a coach. At SFC, the 6-foot-2 Hoover became the first South Dakota college player to score over 2,000 career points (2,069). He averaged 28.5 points during the 1956-57 season. Forty […]

Forseth, Lolly

Born Sept. 9, 1947, in Mitchell. 1965 Canton grad. 1969 SDSU grad. Was a head gymnastics coach for 19 years in Sioux Falls, leading Lincoln High to seven state titles and Washington High to four. Three other teams were state runners-up. Her teams had an incredible 154-9 record in dual meets. She coached Lincoln from […]

Langer, Jim

Born May 16, 1948 in Little Falls, Minn. Royalton, Minn., H.S. SDSU. Only athlete from a South Dakota college in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Langer was the center for the 1972 unbeaten Miami Dolphins, snapping every offensive play that season. Undrafted out of college, Langer was signed as a free agent in 1970 […]

Heier, Carold

1949 McLaughlin HS grad. 1953 Huron College grad. He coached Huron High’s basketball team to an unbeaten season in 1958. He became a coach at Rapid City Central in 1962. In 1969, he became Rapid City Stevens’ first activities director, a position he held until his death in 1977 at age 45. In eight seasons […]