As can be seen from the picture, the only other class with three inductees is the class of 1953. Those three members not only played on a state championship basketball team, as Tom did, but they also tied Sioux Falls Washington High School 14-14 for the mythical football championship in the fall of 1952 in a game that many sports historians consider one of the finest ever contested in the history of South Dakota. At that time, Washington was the only public high school in Sioux Falls, with an enrollment considerably larger than the enrollment of BHS. Duane Rykhus, our 9th grade science teacher, has many memories of that game. The Bobcats had only 12 players who regularly saw action, while Washington undoubtedly had many more players than that see some playing time. A number of years ago, I ran into Bob Burns, the legendary Washington football coach in 1952, at a coaches clinic in Sioux Falls. He vividly remembered that game and the talented Bobcat athletes, especially. Arnold Johnson, the son of coach and later Athletic Director "Nig" Johnson. The younger "Nig" was an all-American high school football player that year, and later played at South Dakota State. Dave Christensen would become head of Raven Industries in Sioux Falls. They were famous for making scientific and recreational hot-air balloons before branching out to other areas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_Industries).
A couple of stories from the Register of the day indicate the significance of that game.
Bob Burns, Washington high school coach from Sioux Falls, was scouting the Brookings contingent. Brookings and Sioux Falls will clash Friday, Oct. 31, in the State college field. The game is said to be the battle of the ESD champions with an unprecedented crowd from all over Eastern South Dakota expected.
Attendance was later determined to be almost 5,000, which was almost the population of Brookings at the time.
Another article asserts that it will be the game of the year.
Game of the year
Whatever it is, it will be the game of the year in South Dakota high school football.
Total ESD offense by the two squads has been nearly equal, Sioux falls counting 205 points against its opponents, while Brookings has tallied 201. On points by opponents, Sioux Falls has the advantage, 45 points to 26.
The game by game record:
Against Aberdeen--Sioux Falls 35-0; Brookings 26-0
Huron--Brookings 49-6; Sioux Falls 41-6
Madison--Sioux Falls 35-0; Brookings 26-7
Mitchell--Sioux Falls 28-13; Brookings 14-0
Watertown--Sioux Falls 34-0; Brookings 34-7
Yankton--Brookings 52-25; Sioux Falls 32-7
Excitement must have been high in those days, just as it was when we played in the basketball tournaments.
As an inductee, Tom received a plaque with his picture and a brief summary of his athletic achievements.
The other inductees are listed below.
They are pictured at the awards ceremony during the half-time of the football game.
Nason Fishback is an older brother to Bob and Van, whom many of us may know. He graduated in 1949, and was a champion high jumper for the track and field team, as well as playing key roles on the football and basketball teams. He went to college at Stanford, but did live in Brookings for a while during the 70's and perhaps early 80's. His son "Chip" was one of my students, and became an excellent tennis player in addition to playing some football and basketball. "Chip" is now a college tennis coach in Geneva, New York, and has some sons who are also quite skilled in the sport. Nason lives near Chip in Geneva, but was unable to attend the ceremony, so Bob, at the far left, filled in for him. His biography reads as follows:
Nason Fishback was an
accomplished student-athlete at BHS.
Fishback was an honor student and student body president as well as a
member of the choir and various clubs. He
was a two-year starter at quarterback and the punter as the Bobcats compiled an
11-3 record, and were 1948 ESD Football Co-Champions while outscoring their
opponents by a 169-18 margin. The final
three games of the '48 season were cancelled due to the polio epidemic. He was also the starting center on Bobcat
basketball teams that qualified for two state tournaments. The 1949 hoopsters battled to a 15-6 record,
and won the Section Championship before losing in the state championship game by
a single point. Nason broke the Dakota
Relays record in the high jump, and won SDHSAA championships in 1947 and 1948 (a
PR of 5'10 3/4"). Fishback went on
to jump for Stanford University.
In the middle is Matt Krogman. His father Dean was a football and baseball player at SDSU when we were in college. Dean actually taught and coached at BHS for a couple of years after graduation. I was fortunate to have coached Matt in middle school. Matt was a multi-talented athlete, as was his fathe . His biography reads as follows:
Matt Krogman won 11 varsity
letters in five sports at BHS. He was
All ESD in football as both a quarterback with 253 pass completions (45%) for
2538 yards and 18 touchdowns and placekicker (30 PAT and 8 FG) during three varsity
seasons. In the fall, Krogman also
golfed (posting an 82.5 stroke average over two seasons) as the Bobcats placed
third at the State Golf Meet during his junior year and won the ESD and Region
titles when he was a senior. Matt was a
versatile, three-year basketball letterman at point guard; distributing the
ball as well as scoring and defending.
In the spring, Krogman participated in track & field as a freshman
and tennis as an upperclassman. He was
also an outstanding baseball player; selected two times to the American Legion
All State Team. Krogman was an All NCC
baseball player at South Dakota State University.
The female inductee this year is Eva Nsereko. She, too, was a multi-talented athlete, participating in cross-country, volleyball, track and field, tennis.She is also a former student of mine. She presently resides in Minneapolis. Her biography reads:
Eva Nsereko earned 15 varsity
letters in four sports at BHS. She was a
member of Bobcat tennis teams that won four ESD titles and SDHSAA Championships
in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Nsereko won the
State #2 Singles Championship four consecutive years, and teamed with Amy Hatch
to win five State #1 Doubles Championships. In the fall season, Eva also ran
cross country for three seasons and was selected team Co-MVP as a sophomore
while placing 9th at the State Meet. As
a senior, Nsereko was chosen by her volleyball teammates as MVP, and was named
to the All State Team. She was a middle
distance runner for the Cats when they won the 1989 State Girls "AA"
Track & Field Championship; running on the State Champion 4x800 meter relay
team. Nsereko was a member of the
National Honor Society, and played tennis at St. Cloud State University.
The final inductee is Steve Berseth. He started teaching at Central Elementary in 1972, replacing Mr. Dolan as PE teacher. He was also a part-time guidance counselor there. That was my senior year in college. I became acquainted with him when I was student teaching, so we decided to do some basketball officiating during the winter. We refereed all of the sophomore games for the high school that season. It seems that we were paid $7.50 per game. May not seem like much now, but it was good spending money at the time. We also coached together at the middle school for a few years in both basketball and track and field. He later taught at the middle school. When Jim Holwerda, the athletic director who replaced "Nig" Johnson retired, Mr. Berseth was named athletic director. He was the one who initiated the Hall of Fame; he has put in a great deal of time researching the history of all of these athletes; and played a major role in the design of the additions to the high school. His biography reads:
Steve Berseth earned bachelor's
and master's degrees from North Dakota State.
He served as a teacher, coach or administrator in the Brookings School
District for 39 years. Berseth became
the director of student activities in 1992.
He transformed the Monogram Club into a leadership organization for
student-athletes, developed the sports marketing program, planned several
school sports facilities and managed numerous SDHSAA State Events. Steve also accepted leadership positions in
professional development programs that led to years of service to a number of
state and national sports organizations.
Berseth was honored as NHSACA National Athletic Director of the Year and
was inducted to several halls of fame, including the South Dakota High School
Coaches Association and both the South Dakota and National Interscholastic Athletic
Administrators Associations.
Before the football game, there was a tour of the high school. As has been mentioned previously, the school is much different than when we attended. More classrooms, a larger library and administrative offices, a new lunchroom and band rooms, and additional gymnasium space are some of the most noticeable features. There is also a hallway decorated with pictures from various years. It is rather exciting to see photographs from our day displayed on those walls.
After the tour, there was a little dinner and a chance for the inductees to speak. In attendance were many previous hall of famers and the families of those being inducted. Below is Walt, Tom's brother, making his way through the line. Since Tom was a classmate and teammate, I was asked to help out, and gladly accepted. You may recognize the man to my right as Mr. Tlustos. He came our senior year and replaced Mr. Sherrill as wrestling coach, and promptly guided the wrestlers to a state championship, just as Mr. Thury did in his first season with the basketball program a year previously.
Below is some of Tom's family. His daughter Kristin (her head is visible just to the right of Walt's head) was an outstanding gymnast and runner for Madison. Tom's son Bill (in the camo hat at the far left)was also a fine all-around athlete for Madison. It appears that Bill's wife, holding Tom's grandson, is to the left of Walt, while to Walt's right is Kristin's husband.
After we had finished eating, the inductees were given a chance to speak. Tom is quite good at reminiscing, and related a number of stories about his days as a Bobcat.
A better picture of his daughter can be seen in this photo above. She is seated just to the left of the column, and looks as if she could still compete yet today.
At half-time of the football game, all of the inductees were recognized.
Tom is shown receiving his plaque. A picture of the plaque is shown above, but if you are like me, you may not want to scroll back up, so it is repeated again. Tom is accepting his award from Paul von Fischer, the BHS principal.
