Wahl, Kermit

Born in Columbia, S.D. Played youth baseball in Columbia and Aberdeen. 1946 Indiana University grad. Played pro baseball for 11 seasons, including four-plus years (1944-45, `47, `50-51) in the major leagues with Cincinnati, the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns. His best season was 1950, when he hit .257 in 89 games for Philadelphia. His […]

James, Milo

Milo James Wepking graduated from Avon High School in 1940 and earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern State Teacher’s College in 1951. He later obtained a master’s degree in education from the University of South Dakota and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota. A multi-sport standout in high school, Wepking led Avon to […]

Luce, Jim

Always one of the smaller players in the game, Luce was always one of the best as well. The Sioux Falls Washington High grad quarterbacked Augustana to the 1959 North Central Conference title – the Vikings’ only football title in a span of nearly 70 years. The 5-foot-11, 160-pound junior was all-NCC that year for […]

Macy, Ralph

The Vermillion High grad was a great booster of amateur athletics in South Dakota, and teams he sponsored, mostly in Rapid City, were among the most successful in the state. The Rapid City Macy’s basketball team played in numerous state amateur tourneys, reaching the finals four times and winning titles in 1979 and ’81. Twice […]

Meile, Mark

Mark Meile, a 1972 West Central graduate with degrees from NDSU-Bottineau (1974), USD-Springfield (1976), and SDSU (1992), was a pivotal figure in Sioux Falls athletics. As the Sioux Falls School District athletic coordinator from 1993 to 2018, Meile transformed the city into a national sports hub by spearheading the development of new facilities, programs, and […]

Minder, Dean

Dean Minder graduated from Wilmot High School in 1945 and Northern State College in 1955. He contributed to the sports scene in the Mitchell area in many ways. Minder coached American Legion baseball and was a Legion and amateur baseball umpire for 25 years. He worked in 15 state amateur baseball tournaments. He was the […]

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 […]

Roger, Nelson

A 1954 Brookings High and 1958 University of South Dakota grad, Nelson has been a referee/official/umpire for more than 50 years in a host of sports: football, boys/girls basketball, volleyball, wrestling, track, baseball and softball. And he was an outstanding athlete and coach as well. He began officiating in 1955 while in college, mainly football […]

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, […]

Olson, Danny

Born April 8, 1922 in Story City, Iowa. 1941 Mason City (Iowa) HS grad. 1949 Luther College grad. A Sioux Falls radio institution, Olson broadcast the state high school basketball tournaments for 50 years and state amateur baseball tourneys for 40. He did play-by-play for Sioux Falls high school games for 31 years, for Augustana […]