Quinn, Jim
From his first high school coaching job in 1940 to his death in 1993, Quinn was one of the best-known figures in South Dakota sports. The Sturgis High grad was a coach, a founder of several sports programs and an administrator of others, an executive and a chronicler of sports history. At his death, a […]
Dummermuth, Chris (Sandvig)
Dummermuth has spent virtually her entire life playing, teaching and coaching tennis – beyond what any woman has done in South Dakota. She grew up near the McKennan Park courts in Sioux Falls and started played tennis when she was 10. She was a two-time state prep singles champion (1971-72) at Washington High. She played […]
Wallman, Gary
The patriarch of the most famous wrestling family in South Dakota, Wallman was the state’s first four-time high school wrestling champion and the state’s first NCAA Division I wrestling All-American. And he was an exceptional coach and boxer as well. At Miller High, he won state titles from 1961-64 (at 95-112-127-133 pounds), compiling a 65-1 […]
Schwartz, Gary
An all-state football player at Wessington Springs, Schwartz was thinking about playing the sport in college. All that changed in a flash at the 1962 Howard Wood Dakota Relays. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder’s discus throw of 190 feet, 7 1/2 inches was the best prep throw in the nation at the time that year and broke […]
Thomas, Dave
The second youngest of the six famous basketball-playing Thomas brothers, Dave led Onida High and South Dakota State to championships. The 6-foot-6 forward was a three-year starter at SDSU. He was all-North Central Conference as well as all-district in 1972 and ’73, teaming with Lee Colburn to lead Coach Jim Marking’s Jackrabbits to the postseason […]
Rasmussen, Marv
A key player on the Claremont High football team that set a national six-man record with 61 consecutive wins, Rasmussen was a standout basketball player at Northern State and an outstanding prep basketball coach as well. The 6-2 1/2, 175-pound Rasmussen was all-state in football his last two seasons under Bill Welsh and played on […]
Schmidt, James
A lifelong Dell Rapids resident, Schmidt was a three-time all-North Central Conference basketball player for South Dakota State and twice led the league in scoring. The 6-foot-2 Schmidt was known as the “underhanded shooting wizard” for his abilities in dropping in layups and drawing fouls. “In my sophomore year at State I played varsity basketball […]
Piatkowski, Eric
The Rapid City Stevens grad was an NBA first-round draft choice who played 14 seasons in the league. Nicknamed the “Polish Rifle” for his deadly long-range shooting, Piatkowski was the first South Dakotan to be an NBA No. 1 draft pick. He was the 15th pick overall in the 1994 draft. The next day the […]
Koslowski, Denis
As a Doland High wrestler, Koslowski never made it to the state finals. That didn’t stop him from reaching the pinnacle in his sport, as he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009. Koslowski was the first U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to win two Olympic medals, winning a silver medal in 1992 […]
Hanten, Dave
One of the state’s finest amateur golfers, Hanten burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old when he finished second to Phil Donohue in the 1961 match-play championship. A three-time winner of the state match-play tourney (1969, 1974, 1976) and three-time winner of the state stroke-play event (1974, 1975, 1977), the Huron High grad was the […]