Oates, Bob

The 1933 Aberdeen Central and 1937 Yankton College grad was a sportswriter for 70 years, almost all of it in Los Angeles. Oates was an original member of the panel of sportswriters that since 1962 has annually chosen the inductees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.He covered the first 39 Super Bowls. In 2006, […]

Hilson, Norm

The sports director at WNAX-AM in Yankton from 1956 until his death in 1990, Hilson was the voice of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits for most of his career. He also did countless broadcasts of high school sporting events and even briefly did play-by-play of University of South Dakota games. Five times he was named […]

Fitzpatrick, Keith

The father of athletic training in South Dakota, Fitzpatrick was an athletic trainer/physical therapist for more than 50 years. A graduate of Sioux City Trinity High, Morningside College and the University of Iowa Physical Therapy School, Fitzpatrick started his athletic training career with the Sioux City Soos baseball team from 1950-53. He then served as […]

Zephier, Andy

The 1949 Flandreau Public High grad made the Flandreau Indian School one of the most successful cross country programs in the state. Zephier, a 1957 Augustana grad, coached and taught at the Flandreau Indian School for 33 years (1957-1990). He coached excellent teams in track and basketball, but it was in cross country where FIS […]

Strain, Dave

The White River High and South Dakota State grad guided Rapid City Central boys basketball to statewide prominence. In his 24 years as the Cobblers’ coach (1963-86), Strain’s teams won two state titles (1969 and ’80) and were runners-up six times (1965, ’67, ’74, ’75, ’79 and ’82). Strain guided Central to the state tourney […]

Ploof, Dave

With Ploof as its coach for 47 years, Rapid City Post 22 was one of the most successful American Legion baseball programs in the country. The Austin, Minn., native and Mankato State grad coached the Hardhats from 1965-2011, compiling a 2,483-808 record, making him the winningest coach in the history of Legion baseball. Under Ploof, […]

Titterington, Indy

Born on the Fourth of July in 1912, the Yankton golfer won five state women’s amateur titles and was runner-up four times. She was the champion in 1956, ’59, ’60, ’62 and ’67 and runner-up in 1955, ’57, ’65 and ’68. The first four titles came at match play with the fifth at stroke play. […]

Swanhorst, Bob

One of the leading scorers in South Dakota boys basketball history, Swanhorst was an outstanding coach and college player as well. At Cresbard, Swanhorst was a four-year starter and scored 2,404 points, which is now No. 4 in state history (it was No. 2 when he graduated). He led Cresbard to a state Class B […]

Hyde, Kent

In 1954 at Onida, the 6-foot-5 1/2 senior averaged an incredible 50.4 points a game. His point total (1,411) and average that season were national records. The previous year he had averaged 16.1 points in helping the Warriors win the state Class B title. He was the only returning player from that team. One newspaper […]

Diefendorf, John

The 1946 Irene High grad was named Mr. Basketball in South Dakota for the first half of the 20th century. By the time he graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1950, he owned or shared five North Central Conference records and seven USD records. A four-year starter, Diefendorf was a three-time all-NCC performer […]