Top 10 Athletes from South Dakota
It is a sparsely populated State with no major cities, but it's still produced enough great athletes to make a suitable Top 10.
One you won't see here is Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. He was born in Parade, South Dakota, but grew up in Walnut Creek, California, and that's where he was trained to play football, so he qualifies for California.
Honorable Mention to Clarence and Jack Manders of Milbank. Both brothers were running backs. Clarence, a.k.a. "Pug" Manders, was a made the Pro Bowl in 1939, '40 and '41, playing for the football version of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
His younger brother, also a running back, and a placekicker good enough to be nicknamed "Automatic Jack," began his career by helping the Chicago Bears win the NFL Championship in 1933. He ended it by kicking extra point after extra point as the Bears beat the Washington Redskins by a record blowout of 73-0 to win the title again in 1940.
Honorable Mention to Carroll Hardy of Sturgis. He was a very ordinary player in both Major League Baseball and the NFL, but he did play in both. In football, he was a backup to the 1955 San Francisco 49ers' "Million Dollar Backfield" running backs, Hugh McElhenny, Joe Perry and John Henry Johnson, behind quarterback Y.A. Tittle.
He was a major league outfielder from 1958 to 1967. In 1958, as a rookie for the Cleveland Indians, he was sent up to pinch-hit for Roger Maris. Big deal, nobody yet knew Roger was going to become a special player. But in 1960, he became the only player ever sent to pinch-hit for Ted Williams, in Ted's last season. Before leaving the Boston Red Sox, he also became the only player ever to pinch-hit for Ted's replacement as the Boston left fielder, Carl Yastrzemski.
Honorable Mention to Dick Green of Mitchell. The 2nd baseman played 14 seasons for the Athletics, the last 5 in Kansas City and the 1st 9 in Oakland. The last 3 seasons of his career, 1972, 1973 and 1974, he was a World Series winner, receiving the Babe Ruth Award as the postseason's most valuable player in 1974. He only batted .240 with 80 home runs in his career, and was never an All-Star. But he won those 3 World Series, and anybody who put up with Charlie Finley for 14 years has got to be worthy of at least an Honorable Mention.
10. Randy Lewis of Rapid City. He won a Gold Medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
9. Chad Greenway of Mount Vernon. The linebacker made 2 Pro Bowls with the Minnesota Vikings.
8. John Dutton of Rapid City. The defensive lineman, playing both end and tackle, had bad timing: He won 3 AFC East titles with the Baltimore Colts, in 1975, '76 and '77, but not reaching the Super Bowl, making the Pro Bowl each year, to the Dallas Cowboys after they won Super Bowl XII and lost Super Bowl XIII, and then losing the NFC Championship Game in 1980, '81 and '82.
7. Ordell Braase of Mitchell. The defensive end won 3 NFL Championships with the Baltimore Colts, in 1958, 1959 and 1968 -- although the latter was not a World Championship, as they lost Super Bowl III to the Jets, and that was his last game, so he was gone when the Colts won Super Bowl V. He was a 2-time Pro Bowler.
6. Billy Mills of Pine Ridge. Probably the most renowned Native American athlete since Jim Thorpe, he is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe (a.k.a. the Sioux), and won the Gold Medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.
5. Mike Miller of Mitchell. The guard is one of the leading 3-point specialists in NBA history. He was 2001 Rookie of the Year with the Orlando Magic, 2006 Sixth Man of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies, and won the 2012 and '13 NBA titles with the Miami Heat. He played with the Denver Nuggets last season, and while he hasn't been signed for this season, at age 37, he has not officially retired.
4. Garney Henley of Hayti. The wide receiver might be the best football player you've never heard of, because he played his entire career in the Canadian Football League. He was a 10-time All-Star, won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 1972, and won their title, the Grey Cup, in 1963, 1965, 1967 and 1972.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats named him to their Best-of-the-Century team, and he has been named to the South Dakota and Ontario Sports Halls of Fame.
In 2014, following her retirement as a player, she remained in San Antonio, and was named an assistant coach with the Spurs -- the 1st woman ever to be on the coaching staff of a major league sports team.
2. Adam Vinatieri of Yankton. A 3-time Pro Bowler, he's won 4 Super Bowls: XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX with the New England Patriots, and XLI with the Indianapolis Colts, for whom he still kicks, approaching his 45th birthday. His 1st 2 Super Bowls were won by his last-play field goals.
He holds the NFL record of 44 straight successful field goal attempts. The Patriots named him to their 50th Anniversary Team. His 2,423 career points are 3rd on the NFL's all-time list. He trails all-time leader Morten Andersen by 121 points. If he comes back next season, he could break the record.
But the man at Number 1 was long ago, and in a sport we mainly think of having been long ago.
1. Earl Sande of Groton. He won thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown aboard Gallant Fox in 1930. It was his only Preakness Stakes win, but he also won the Kentucky Derby in 1923 and 1925, and the Belmont Stakes in 1921, 1923, 1924 and 1927. That's 9 Triple Crown races.
Among his other major race wins were 4 Jockey Club Gold Cups, 3 Metropolitan Handicaps, 3 Saratoga Special Stakes, and the 1930 Wood Memorial. He also rode Gallant Fox to a Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Wood Memorial.
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