Morrison, Pat
A 1944 Mobridge High grad, Morrison’s career as an athlete, referee and broadcaster has spanned seven decades. He started refereeing high school basketball in 1951. Pollock at Glenham was his first game. “My God, there were more guys at the scorers table than live there,” Morrison recalled. “Got a good start. Called three seconds on […]
Bierle, Don
Co-founder of the South Dakota Sportswriters Association and the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, Bierle’s love of athletics as a measure of character began early. Although a childhood injury put him on crutches or in a wheelchair for more than 60 years, Bierle lived and breathed sports. A 1946 Yankton High and 1951 University […]
Sherrill, Marv
The most successful high school wrestling coach in state history, Sherrill guided Watertown for 35 years before retiring after the 2003 season. Sherrill’s Arrows earned eight state Class A titles and had nine runner-up finishes. No coach has won more state wrestling titles. Watertown also won 14 Eastern South Dakota Conference championships and was region […]
Luitjens, Larry
The state’s winningest boys basketball coach, Luitjens has won more than 70 percent of his games over 36 seasons, most of them at Custer. His career record (entering the 2005-06 season) is 617-249. In 29 of his 36 seasons, his teams won district titles. He has coached one unbeaten team (Custer, 25-0, 1990) and five […]
LeMair, Jeffrey
One of the most outstanding boxers to come out of South Dakota, LeMair started in the sport at age 13. Over the next 12 years he participated in more than 200 amateur bouts, boxed against two Olympic gold medalists and two world pro champions, and represented the United States in international competition 11 times. The […]
Jefferson, Pat
One of South Dakota’s greatest boxers, Jefferson had a 249-24 record as an amateur from 1965-80. He had a streak of 42 consecutive wins from 1970-73. The 1975 Rapid City Central High grad was the first South Dakotan to win a national boxing title, at the 1973 Junior Olympics. Jefferson participated in the national Golden […]
Johnson, Clint
A 1974 Spearfish High grad, Johnson dominated the saddle bronc riding competition on the pro rodeo circuit in the 1980s. He was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world saddle bronc champion four times – in 1980 and 1987-89 – and he was runner-up in 1983, 1985 and 1986. He started his pro rodeo career in […]
Klein, Mel
One of Northern State’s greatest basketball players, Klein was an outstanding coach as well. The 1957 Aberdeen Central and 1961 Northern State grad played on four South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference championship teams, three of which advanced to the NAIA national tourney. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Klein was a two-time all-SDIC player under Coach Bob Wachs, and […]
Gassman, Dave
Every summer for almost 50 years Gassman played baseball, nearly all of it in his hometown of Canova. For most of those years he did not just play, but dominated in spectacular fashion. In a 40-year amateur baseball career, the 6-2 1/2, 190-pound right-hander won more games (376) and struck out more batters (5,591) than […]