Coach–Success as a coach in at least three different sports and at different high schools throughout a career from 1934-1972 shows the versatility of this fine coach. Prior to World War II, Maurice “Skip” Palrang helped develop the basketball skills of the Creighton Prep Blue jays in Omaha, leading them to winning state tournaments in Class A and top ranking in 1935 and 1940. After the war, Skip shifted west to coach the Boys Town High School in Douglas County. His success as a basketball coach, winning state in 1953 and 1956, was but one aspect of this great coach. The Boys Town Cowboys under his guidance also became a powerful football power, traveled the country and took on all comers, usually winning. Palrang teams played in 21 states and the District of Columbia, sometimes drawing crowds as large as 40,000. In 1939 this talented gentleman as a baseball coach brought a rare national American Legion championship to Nebraska while coaching the Omaha McDivitts.
Besides being a great coach, known for his compassion almost as much as his intensity on the sports fields, Palrang was a top-flight classroom instructor. He taught chemistry, Spanish, English and math. He held a bachelor’s degree from Regis College in Denver, Colo., and a master’s degree from Creighton University in Omaha. His awards included 1949 Coach of the Year, Pop Warner Foundation, 1965 Nebraska Coach of the Year, Omaha World-Herald; and 1967 Rockne Club citation. He was head coach of the victorious South team in Nebraska’s inaugural Shrine Bowl in 1959.
Palrang died Feb. 8, 1978 at the age of 71. His picture and records still grace the walls of the Field House named in his honor in Boys Town, Nebraska.
