Ray Novak – Omaha Tech
Athlete. In 1949 this young man was called by many the best high school athlete ever seen in the Omaha area. And for good reason. That fall he helped lead Omaha Technical High School to an undefeated Class A football state championship as quarterback of the Trojans. He was an all-around reliable athlete, starring for […]
Stan Parker – Bellevue
Athlete. A 1982 graduate of Bellevue East, Parker excelled at football where he lettered for three years for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and was an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention in 1986. At Bellevue East he excelled in wrestling and track as well, going undefeated (25-0) in wrestling in 1982 and winning the state championship. He […]
Dean Steinkuhler – Sterling
Athlete–Not far from the Big Nemaha River in southeastern Nebraska is the village of Burr. From this small place came a young man with a large talent who graduated from Sterling High School in 1979. Fortunately for Cornhusker fans, Coach Tom Osborne was astute enough to discover the talent and he encouraged Dean Steinkuhler to […]
Dennis Smith – Papillion
Contributor. A huge, huge percentage of the credit for the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation goes to Dennis Smith. He had a vision of this organization and served the board from the organizational days of 1993. He’s been the treasurer since 1996. His 32-year career at Papillion-LaVista schools that included a position […]
Irving Thode – Loup City
Athlete (1949) Irv Thode was a dominating all-around athlete in high school. His 6-foot-3 high jump was the unofficial national schoolboy best in 1949. He was gold medalist in the long jump in 1948 (21-9) and 1949 (22-3) and the high jump in 1949 at the state meet. He was on the 1948 Class C […]
W.L. “Dutch” Zorn – Gothenburg
Coach–How to build a successful track & field program within Nebraska high schools could have been a book written by this winning coach of Gothenburg High School. The cardinal & white Swedes won the Class B state track meet five times, in 1949, 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1971. No doubt the ability to inspire a […]
Richard Beran – Omaha South
Coach. As Omaha South’s gymnastics coach from 1967 to 1988, Rich Beran coached Olympians Jim Hartung and Phil Cahoy (Hall of Fame inductees, too) among his 64 individual state champions. His boys teams won seven state titles and 12 Metro Conference titles and had a 158-27 dual meet record. His girls teams won two state […]
Nile Kinnick – Omaha Benson
Athlete–One of the most nationally known of all Omaha high school graduates, this Benson High product (Class of 35) became a football legend. His athletic skills were abundantly clear, for he starred in track & field, was named all-state in football and helped Benson nearly reach the top in Class A basketball. Attending college at […]
Dennis Logan – North Platte
Official. Inducted with officiating partner, Dan Newmyer. They officiated together for 40 years, so they will be inducted into the Hall of Fame together. They began officiating basketball while students at Doane College in the late 1940s and they retired in the late 1980s. They began officiating football games with Hall of Fame referee Dick […]
Cecil McKnight – Plattsmouth
Coach. Sometime during an outstanding track career at Peru State, Cecil McKnight decided he wanted to be in the coaching profession. He started at Morrill and then moved to Plattsmouth as track and cross-country coach where he spent 38 years. His teams won four Class B championships, of which three consecutive wins were in cross-country […]
