Cosgrove, Francis

Operator of a weekly newspaper in Garden City, Cosgrove was one of the founders of the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association (in 1933; he was secretary-treasurer) and the man regarded as most responsible for its glory days in the 1930s and ’40s. Except for service in World War II, Cosgrove worked in an executive capacity […]

Dozer, Dick

Born March 12, 1925, in Minneapolis. Sioux Falls (Washington High). 1950 Missouri grad. A nationally respected sportswriter for 30 years, mostly with the Chicago Tribune. In the early 1950s, he worked for KIHO Radio in Sioux Falls and made history in July 1950 by broadcasting the first remote play-by-play of the state amateur golf tournament. […]

Evans, Doug

As a coach and teacher at Washington High in Sioux Falls, Evans was a forerunner and leader in physical education in South Dakota and the nation. The 1937 University of Minnesota grad grew up in Wimbledon, N.D., where he competed in football, basketball, baseball and track. In 1939, he joined the Washington High faculty as […]

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 […]

Walseth, Russell “Sox”

Born in Aberdeen in 1926. 1944 Pierre HS. 1948 Colorado grad. The first person ever to coach the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the same NCAA school, Walseth did so at Colorado with outstanding results. He was the winningest men’s basketball coach in the school’s history, going 261-245 in 20 seasons (1956-76) at the […]

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 […]

Antonen, Ray

Born Oct. 14, 1917 near Lake Norden. Lake Norden High School. Huron College. Was president of the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association from 1967 until his death in 1987. At 14 he began playing baseball for the Lake Norden town team as a catcher and he competed for all but one season for the next […]

Antonen, Mel

The 1974 Hamlin High and 1979 Augustana grad was a national baseball reporter for USA Today for 24 years (1986-2010). The Lake Norden native covered numerous history-making accomplishments – including Cal Ripken’s Ironman streak, the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa Home Run Derby, eight players reaching their 3,000th hit, labor negotiations, the players’ strike of 1994, the […]

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 […]

Burt, Jim

Born in Melcher, Iowa, in 1914. 1936 grad of Melcher High School. Brown Institute in Minneapolis. A broadcast pioneer, Burt spent 40 years at KELO Radio and TV, retiring in 1987. To South Dakotans, no state sports figure was more recognizable. Burt started at KELO Radio in June of 1947. He did play-by-play of KELO’s […]