Toland, Roger
In a 43-year sportswriting career, all at the Rapid City Journal, Toland was No. 1 when it came to numbers. A graduate of Rapid City High and National College of Business in Rapid City, Toland began working at the Journal in 1964. He retired in 2007. The 43 years is thought to be a state […]
Zulk, Gene
South Dakota State men’s basketball had many of its greatest days while Zulk was a player and coach at the school. The 1965 Spencer High grad helped the Jackrabbits to North Central Conference titles in 1968 and ’69. In 1969 he was all-NCC. That season the 6-foot-5, 215-pound forward averaged 18.5 points and 7.4 rebounds […]
Grebin, Don
The “godfather of tennis in South Dakota,” Grebin has spent more hours coaching, promoting, supporting, volunteering and contributing to the growth of the sport in the state than any other individual. At 76 (as of 2008), he still is coaching, running leagues and organizing tennis tourneys at Sioux Empire Fitness. And he was a pretty […]
Durfee, Mike
For someone who had never seen a wrestling match before he got to college, the 1963 Highmore grad was a quick learner in the sport. While at Southern State, he was a three-time South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference heavyweight champion. And in nine years as head wrestling coach at his alma mater, then called USD-Springfield, Durfee’s […]
Welsh, Bill
The Aberdeen native and 1930 Northern State grad coached Claremont to a national record of 61 consecutive six-man football victories from 1947-53. The previous national record was 42. No South Dakota football team has ever come close to matching that feat. In December of 1943, Welsh’s only son, 5-year-old Jean, died in an accident. This […]
Booher, Jim
One of the founders of the South Dakota Athletic Trainers Association, Booher was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 1998. The Ashland, Neb., native and 1965 Nebraska Wesleyan grad has been an athletic trainer and instructor/professor at South Dakota State since 1967. He split time between the university and Brookings […]
Thomas, John
The second oldest of the six famous basketball-playing Thomas brothers, John led Alexandria High and South Dakota State to championships. At Alexandria, Thomas was a two-time all-stater in football and basketball. He led the Beavers to state Class B basketball titles in 1963 and ’65. He was the South Dakota High School Athlete of the […]
Thormodsgaard, Robin (Anderson)
With South Dakota girls basketball in its infancy, Anderson was the state’s first great pure shooter, leading Clear Lake to the state “B” tournament four years in a row. The Gale Lundberg-coached Cardinals were state champs in 1976 (24-0), runners-up in ’77 and ’79 and sixth in ’78. She scored 286 points in the state […]
Johnson, Bob
One of the greatest sprinters in South Dakota high school track history, the 1938 Washington High grad held the state record at three distances. “In the fall of 1934 as a freshman I went out for football,” Johnson recalled. “I was with C.R. Beck over at the other end of the field in about the […]
DuPris, Terry
The first South Dakota basketball player to score more than 2,000 points both in high school and college, DuPris was a point guard without peer. He scored 2,323 points at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School and 2,084 at Huron College. He still is among the all-time top 10 scorers in South Dakota prep and college history. […]