Five people slated to be inducted into state softball hall of fame
SIOUX FALLS — Five people will be inducted into the USA Softball of South Dakota Hall of Fame during a banquet and awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 at the Holiday Inn City Centre in Sioux Falls.
The new inductees are Dan Roskup and Tom "Shriner" Shulte of Sioux Falls, Craig "Roller" Rollag of Beaver Creek (Minn.) and Bill Maher and his late wife Rosemary of Spearfish.
Events begin with a social hour from 5 to 6 p.m. The banquet and induction ceremony is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 and should be reserved in advance by contacting Mike Dykstra at 605-212-3139 or email: kdykstra@sio.midco.net.
Here are the biographies of the inductees:
Dan Roskup
Roskup was nominated as a coach/manager as well as an officer for leagues and the youth fastpitch state board.
He coached youth fastpitch, both girls and boys in the Sioux Falls leagues from 1985- 1999. In 1996, he started coaching a men’s fastpitch team and continued until 2009. Dan was one of the original coaches in the Sanctioned High School Club league as Sioux Falls Washington’s head coach from 1998-2008, then assisted for four more years before retiring in 2012.
Roskup coaches three men's state fastpitch championship teams, girls fastpitch state championship team in 1998 and high school girls championship teams at Washington in 2002, 2006, 2011 and 2012. He also coached a boys team to the Ringneck championship in 1996 and was named coach the Region 8 squad in the 12-and-Under All-American games at Oklahoma City.
He also teamed with Sioux Falls People for Youth to start a weekly pitching clinic for all ages in Sioux Falls in 1995. It continues yet today and runs for 8 to 10 weeks every winter. Roskup also does private pitching lessons in his spare time.
On the administrative side, Roskup served on the board of directors for Sioux Falls Hilltop from 1999-99, Greater Sioux Falls Boy’s Fastpitch from 2000 -04, Sioux Falls People for Youth from 1998-present. He was a founding member of the South State High School Club Fastpitch board, appointed to the state youth fastpitch board in 1995 and elected president in 1998, a title he continues to hold.
Hall of Fame member Gerry Bills said: "His dedication to the can be seen with all of the committees he is part of, with the most important the State Youth Fastpitch Board. Early on the kids called him 'Dan, Dan, the softball man.'” As you can see he is very deserving of the name.”
Craig Rollag
Rollag was nominated as both a player and as a manager in men’s fastpitch. He farms near the border of South Dakota and Minnesota but played the majority of his softball career in Sioux Falls, as well as the Border League which consist of teams from South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.
Rollag started playing fastpitch in 1972 with Wissink Realty and continued to play for 24 years, with stints with some of the notable power in Sioux Falls such as Stockman’s Bar, Gaslight, Coke, Taco Villa, Morell Credit Union, the Brass Rail, both Carlson and Thomas Distributing and Scarlett’s.
Rollag, a pitcher with a little outfield thrown in the mix won nine state championships as a player or player-manager. His teams played in eight Northern regionals, winning in 1996 and finishing, second, third and fourth from 1988-1990.
His teams also played in five national tournaments, playing in Mankato, Grand Island, finishing seventh out of 71 teams in Vegas. They also played in San Antonio and Rockford. He also received all tournament and MVP awards in various tournament over a 20 year span.
“Craig as a pitcher always kept us in games, he seldom let one get away. But he was more than the pitcher, he was instrumental with his knowledge of the game, leadership, recruiting talent and landing sponsors, everything you want as a player/manager," Hall of Fame Arnie Schmeichel said.
Tom Schulte
Schulte played men’s slowpitch softball for two of the top teams in Sioux Falls, John’s Shoe Repair from 1991-2001 and Chuk-n-Duk from 2003-06. He also had some short stints with Gayland, Bases Loaded, Principal Financial Miller Beer and the Last Chance.
He played in all the various slowpitch games, serving as an outfielder in 12-inch and 16-inch ball and as a shortstop-outfielder in 14-inch.
Schulte played on John's team that won state A titles from 1991-94, 1996 and 2001 and finished second in 1995 and from 1999-2000. He also played on four state championship teams with Chuck-n-Duk (2003-2006).
Schulte played with John's when they won the A regional in 1991 and also played in numerous national tournament, winning B nationals in Owatonna and finished fifth in Kileen, Texas. He was also a member of the Last Chance team from Aberdeen that won the 16-inch A Nationals, before he moved to Sioux Falls.
He was known for his ability in the outfield and his steady bat with average and power. He has the unique distinction of winning state titles in all four games of adult slowpitch • First Flight — 12, 14 and 16-inch as well as coed.
Hall of Famer Todd Anderson said: “After years of managing and sponsoring John’s Shoe Repair and Chuk-n-Duk, I feel there were 4 players that deserve to be Hall of Famers and he is one of them. Most of all, Tom was respected on and off the field. It did not matter what classification you played, he always had time for you. He was a true ambassador for South Dakota softball.’
Bill and the late Rosemary Maher
When talking about the great teams of South Dakota softball over the years, we forget what may have been the best team ever involved in the game in this state, Bill and Rosemary Maher.
State commissioner duties for Bill Maher started in 1972, when he lived in Pierre. The acting president and vice president asked Maher’s wife Rosemary if her husband would like to serve in the commissioner role.
Maher’s commissioner role complemented the playing, coaching and umpiring that he has done through the years. His playing days slowed as the state association started to grow and the paperwork that came with it. It was at this time that Rosemary became Bill’s right-hand man.
The Maher team enjoyed watching the game grow. When they started team numbers were around 350 total. As team numbers rose up to the 2,000 mark in the heyday of softball, so did the entities. Under their watch, softball in South Dakota grew from 16-inch slowpitch, men's and women's fastpitch and some youth to men's, women's and youth slowpitch and fastpitch (boys and girls), 14- and 16-inch and coed as well as high school.
The Mahers will also instrumental in helping South Dakota host a state or national umpire school annually, starting a Hall of Fame and eventually building a permanent structure for it at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls and creating a scholarship program in 1993 that has awarded nearly $90,000 to date.
Bill Maher stepped down as South Dakota Amateur Softball Association commissioner after 42 years in December of 2014.
Current SDABA commissioner Gary Young said: "Bill was a great commissioner, but he knew that he needed a “right-hand man” and was always quick to give credit to Rosemary. She served as his receptionist, secretary, chauffeur, and Bill’s private sounding board as well as a wife and mother. Most importantly they were partners and together they created a softball family and volunteer network that was one of the state’s best."
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: USA Softball of South Dakota ceremony set for Oct. 8 at Sioux Falls
