Ken Guenthner - Inducted 1998

Bridgewater. One of the most versatile sports personalities the state has ever seen. Guenthner owned the Sioux Falls Canaries baseball team from 1947-53. He also owned and operated the Black Hills Greyhound Track from 1964-82. He was twice elected national president of the Greyhound Racing Association. He worked as a sportswriter for the Argus Leader, was a play-by-play and color commentator for KSOO radio and KELO television. In 1960, Guenthner and Jim Burt did the first live TV broadcast of a South Dakota sporting event, the ESD basketball championship between Washington and Watertown. That same year, Guenthner was the lone announcer when KELO broadcast their first state tournament game between Washington and Rapid City Central. In tennis, Guenthner was half of the first state high school champion doubles team. In baseball, he led Bridgewater to one of the first state Legion titles. A left-handed pitcher, he rejected an offer to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals in order to attend the University of South Dakota. In golf, he was also outstanding with his best finish being runner-up in the 1949 state match-play tourney.