Craig Mattick:
Welcome to another edition of In Play. I'm Craig Mattick. Today's guest is an all-timer. That's an all-timer, not an old-timer, an all-timer. He was a great athlete at Sioux Falls Washington. He was the all-time leading scorer playing basketball at Sioux Falls College. And he was at one time the all-time winningest boys basketball coach in South Dakota.
He's an all-timer in softball. He's in the ASA Softball Hall of Fame. He's dedicated over three decades to education in South Dakota, coaching for 34 years for Parker High School. He's one of the all-time greats. The Parker Pheasant, Gayle Hoover. Gayle, welcome to In Play.
Gayle Hoover:
Well, thank you very much for being part of this today. This is a real honor. I thank you.
Craig Mattick:
Well, congrats, by the way, recently on your 90th birthday. That's awesome. Congratulations to you.
Gayle Hoover:
Who would've ever thought, huh? That just goes to tell you that there's no pressure coaching. You just go through with the motions, that's all.
Craig Mattick:
Gayle, there's a lot of history of Sioux Falls, Washington High School. Of course, you were a Warrior when it was downtown. This would've been the early '50s. Washington, by the way, dominating in several sports at that time. Football was huge in Washington. They won 14 consecutive state championships, which was a national record.
Gayle Hoover:
There was a man by the name of Bob Burns that was responsible for that.
Craig Mattick:
Well, the Warriors won titles in '52, '53, and 1954, when you were there. Did you play football?
Gayle Hoover:
No. I did not play football. I did not play football.
Craig Mattick:
But basketball was huge for you, right?
Gayle Hoover:
Basketball was my game. Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
1952, I think you're a sophomore. Did you get a lot of playing time at that time?
Gayle Hoover:
Not a lot, but I did get some. But not a lot. More in my junior and senior year. Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. That state tourney that year. Brookings beat Huron in the championship. '53, Washington gets back into the state tournament. You're a junior. Aberdeen though, won the title that year. Who beat you at State that year? They played Yankton, I think, for the title.
Gayle Hoover:
I think so. I believe it was, yeah.
Craig Mattick:
What was that like for you? You're a junior playing for the Warriors at the state tournament?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, I'll tell you, it was a lot different back in those days. Going out for basketball each year, we had hundreds of people that would go out. And it was really a trying time because we'd get out of study hall at the end of the day and we'd go down and we'd check a list, and if you're on the list, you practice. If you weren't on the list, you didn't practice. And now today, it's just not like that. We just don't have the numbers that we had back then.
Craig Mattick:
You had what, Wally Diehl was your coach? Arnie Bauer?
Gayle Hoover:
Wally Diehl, Arnie Bauer, Grant Heckinlively.
Craig Mattick:
Were they all three different types of basketball coaches that you faced?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, they were and they weren't. They were all defensive men. And they had good basic fundamentals. And I never really appreciated that until I got coaching myself and found out how many of the little things you better work out.
Craig Mattick:
So you're a senior. It's 1954. Washington makes the state tournament. Deadwood won the title that year.
Gayle Hoover:
Yeah. Deadwood had a very good team that year. Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
Parkston, by the way, was in the title game too, but what do you remember about your senior season?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, not too much, other than the fact that my senior season seemed to be the first year that I really took a hold of basketball and I started shooting more and I had so much encouragement from Wally Diehl. And there's a saying that Wally had that I'll never forget. And he never once corrected me. Never once did he say something negative about it. He was always, "That's got possibility." And I think I said it a thousand times while I was coaching.
Craig Mattick:
You were what, 6'2" outside shooter? What was your position on the team?
Gayle Hoover:
I was about 6'1", and I was a forward position. And I shot, I'm going to say about a 17-footer, off of the screen, was my best shot.
Craig Mattick:
How about some of the guys you played with, that you really enjoyed playing at Washington High?
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, yes. Bud Olson, [inaudible 00:05:16] Watson, Don Renner. There was several people that just were outstanding, and they were good friends.
Craig Mattick:
I got into the Washington High School gym lat, before, of course, they moved Washington High School to the outskirts of Sioux Falls. What was it like when the gym was packed right there at old Washington High School in downtown Sioux Falls?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, we didn't play very many basketball games there at Washington High School. It was always down at The Coliseum.
Craig Mattick:
Coliseum wasn't that big either, really, at the time.
Gayle Hoover:
No. No. No. It wasn't. But The Coliseum was just a classic place to play. If you played The Coliseum, you played in the best place in the city. And a lot of people would come and the floor, it would give a little bit. And it was a different experience, to play there and then play in the gyms at the high school.
Craig Mattick:
You decided to go to college at Sioux Falls College. Were there other options for you at that time?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, I had talked to about three different colleges, and basically the University of South Dakota was kind of interested. And I really didn't know if I wanted to go on to school or not. I didn't know if I was going to go into the Air Force, or if I was going to just not go to school. And my cousin, Ike Hoover, called me one Sunday and he said, "Gayle, how would you like to go to college?" And I said, "Man, that sure beats working at Morales where I'm at now." So I said, "Let's give it a try." He said, "Well, there's an athletic director and coach that wants to talk to us." So we went out there on Sunday afternoon. And sitting in the car, we talked and decided, "Well, that was it." So we started school, but it was kind of a surprise to start school there. And I never did regret it.
Craig Mattick:
Was that Phil Tinsworth who was the coach at the time?
Gayle Hoover:
Yes. Phil Tinsworth.
Craig Mattick:
Was he a big influence for you?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, he taught me a lot of things about basketball that... It seems kind of strange that each coach has something to add, and each has their own way of doing things. And I look at some of the coaches that I coached against, and I can really see that in their development of kids.
And people don't realize that. They think you roll a ball out, you got a basket at each end and that's it. But there's a lot of things that come into building a basketball team and molding kids to work and play together. And most of all, to have fun doing it.
And so I really appreciate Phil. And when he moved on, then I just continued to play basketball. But I don't know whatever happened, but in my freshman year at Sioux Falls College at that time, the Braves, I started shooting the ball and the ball started going in. And from then on, it was kind of history, I guess.
Craig Mattick:
Well, I know you didn't start your first game at Sioux Falls College. But after that first game, then you started every game after that. A pretty nice performance your first time out though?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, yeah. I think I had to about 18 points or something like that the first time, and that kind of opened the door a little bit, and so I got more playing time. Right.
Craig Mattick:
So where were your basketball games for Sioux Falls College, for the Braves?
Gayle Hoover:
At Pierce Gym, right there on campus. And we played most of our home games there. And once in a while, we get out someplace else, like we went out to [inaudible 00:09:11] when they opened up their new gym there, and we played a game out there. Our exhibition day was Black Hills Teachers, I think it was at that time. And so we went around a little bit. But most of the home games were at that small gym with seating just a little bit down below. And then that little bit of a balcony around the side. It was not many people, but the kids came.
Craig Mattick:
You became the first South Dakota college player to score more than 2000 points. You ended up with 2169, which was a record at Sioux Falls College. And of course now it's the University of Sioux Falls. Averaged about 24 points a game. You were a first team all SDIC three times. Who were some of the guys you played with at Sioux Falls College?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, Jim Fett. People remember Jim Fett. And then I had Ike and Kenny Anderson, Don Renner, and some of the kids from Washington High School.
Craig Mattick:
You made them look good. You made them look good, Gayle.
Gayle Hoover:
Well, I think they made me look good. I think if anyone was going to get assists, it would've been Ike because we played pretty good together and we had lot of fun.
Craig Mattick:
You did play for Phil Tinsworth, but then Jack LaSalle came in to coach. Was that a big change at the time?
Gayle Hoover:
It was. It was a different mindset of the coaches, that's for sure. But both of them worked so hard to make Sioux Falls College a basketball team. And it was hard in those days. We played against a lot of good ball clubs, but Phil was a good man. I don't know, he'd been in the state tournament so far and he had some success with it, and it was an interesting game then.
Craig Mattick:
I'm trying to remember some of those schools that were in the SDIC back in the '50s.
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, yes. We had Black Hills Teachers and Lions and Huron and Aberdeen and Madison and Mitchell and Yankton. These were all SDIC schools at the time. Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
Who was the big rival at that time?
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, Aberdeen.
Craig Mattick:
Oh. What were they doing?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, I'll tell you, Aberdeen recruited good South Dakota ballplayers. I always respected them for that. But Wachs was their coach and he was a wild man, but a really, really good coach.
Craig Mattick:
So during this whole time at Sioux Falls, Washington, playing basketball and having a great career at Sioux Falls College, were you thinking about becoming a coach at all during that time?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, that was my goal because that's all I wanted to do. But then somebody really, really shook me up when they said, "You have to teach classes too." And I didn't expect that. So I taught biology and health for about 40 years, with my basketball.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. You graduate from Sioux Falls College in 1958. Was the teaching job in Minnesota your first teaching job before you got to Parker?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, we wanted to stay in Sioux Falls. I was married at the time. But they had a policy in Sioux Falls that they wouldn't hire couples. And so then we started looking elsewhere, and that's where I ended up in... I had couple of contracts that I thought, "Well, I better take the best one I can get." So I ended up in Winnebago, Minnesota for one year. But every time I'd go to a meeting, I didn't know anyone. And so I told my wife, "Let's go home. Let's go back to South Dakota."
And then one Sunday we went back to Parker and toured the school and they promised me a brand new gym in three years, which took 20 years. But that's how we got started down there. Archie Brecht hired me. He was the superintendent at the time, and it was a good move and we had some good kids. And it was a good place to raise my three daughters.
Craig Mattick:
Winnebago, I believe, South Central Minnesota. Not too far.
Gayle Hoover:
Yes, that's north of Blue Earth.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. Right there. Just north a little bit of Interstate 90. But you were there one year. You go to Parker, and of course your wife is Clarkie. You guys met at Sioux Falls College?
Gayle Hoover:
Yes. Yes. We met at Sioux Falls. She was from Burke, South Dakota and we got married. I worked a lot of nights and practiced basketball in the daytime.
Craig Mattick:
So did you coach at Parker right away? This was about 1959.
Gayle Hoover:
Yes. '59, '60. And yeah, we tied the conference with [inaudible 00:14:16] that first year. And after that, we just had some awful good kids. And I had better parents. I had some support that so many coaches don't get. And they coach for a year or two or three years, and then they move on or they quit or they lose the desire to coach young kids. And that's too bad because I have some good people. I really, really coached at the right time.
Craig Mattick:
And that first year or two, you had to have a coaching philosophy. What was it and where did you get that philosophy?
Gayle Hoover:
I'll tell you, my philosophy came from Howard. Howard was playing what they called a zone defense, and they were having lots of success with it. I watched them play, and I said, "This is what I can do. I can teach this. I can change it per game according to the people that you play. And if the kids will buy into this thing, we can be successful." And so we went to a 2-1-2 zone and close to 800 games, we played a 2-1-2 zone and we had a little bit of success with it.
Craig Mattick:
You certainly did with 577 wins. But the Parker Boys basketball team had never been to the state Boys Basketball Tournament when you arrived at Parker. But again, four years later, by golly, you make the tournament. What was the town of Parker like knowing they were going to the big B?
Gayle Hoover:
You can't believe what it was like. 1964.
Craig Mattick:
Sioux Falls Arena.
Gayle Hoover:
Stoddard was my center and Denny Erickson. And we had some really good kids. And the Sunday after we won the region for the first time, I looked outside and all of a sudden there's a whole bunch of people coming down the street, and they were rolling the snow. And they built a great big snowman in my front yard and put a flag on the top of his head. And the whole town just went crazy over it.
Craig Mattick:
Forestburg was in that tournament. Frederick was in that tournament. And Clark.
Gayle Hoover:
Vale beat us in that first game. And no, we were very fortunate. We made a few trips to the state tournament, but we never did capture the big prize.
Craig Mattick:
So you get the consolation. You're in the consolation, finally beat Clark in '64. And then two years later, you're back at the state tournament. You finished third. Freeman went undefeated that year. Nobody could beat Freeman that year.
Gayle Hoover:
No. They were tough. Boy, that was a good team. And then came '68.
Craig Mattick:
Third trip to the state tournament.
Gayle Hoover:
Yeah. We were 27 and 0 going into the finals of the state tournament. And we got beat by five points.
Craig Mattick:
Arlington. What was Arlington doing?
Gayle Hoover:
Well, they had three or four really good ballplayers, and they had won their share of ball games. It was a good game. But Ron Flynn, who was so outstanding forward for me, he picked up his third foul in the first quarter, late in the first quarter. And I had to take him out. And it kind of hurt us because he's not only our scorer, but he was of the team leader and he did a lot of things good for us. And then he ended up with close to 20 points at the end of the ball game. But we came our five points short. Andrzejewski, he was their leading scorer that night. And we had counted on two other kids being scorers, but here he came through and he more or less beat us by himself.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. That was Rich Andrzejewski, wasn't he? He's in the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, my, he's a great... Boy, I don't know how many letters he won in college, but I think he lettered in everything that he participated in.
Craig Mattick:
1973, you're back at state and you're back in the championship game. And this time it's Emery that you have to go up against.
Gayle Hoover:
Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
That doesn't sound very good there, Gayle.
Gayle Hoover:
We should have beat Emery. We should have beat Emery. But they played an outstanding game, and I give them credit for that. And we did not have our best game, and that happens. But we just hit the wrong time.
Craig Mattick:
55-42 was the final. Emery won that title. Hey, but a year later, you're back at the championship game. You had a wonderful run going back-to-back to the state championship game.
Gayle Hoover:
And the guy that led us to that is called Mike Begeman, who made a name for himself and was quite a young man. And he's a good friend of mine, even to this day. We have a certain thing, I know this is a little out, but on my birthday, we have a get together with Joe Bulls, my assistant at that time, and Mike, and Doug Richards. And Mike Lee comes back from Tennessee every so often and we have a breakfast together every year right around my birthday. And I really look forward to that.
And that's really what basketball, that's really what sports are all about. And people don't understand this. And I guess because I'm 110 now, you realize some of these things, that they're good people. They were good family men, and they were good to each other and to their teammates. And you see that. And every once in a while somebody will say, "Well, we love each other." I hope they do. I hope they realize that they really do. And years later, they're going to look back and they're going to say, "Man, I spent some good time with some good people."
Craig Mattick:
That year of 1974, you lost to Hamlin in the championship, a three point win for the Chargers. But you would take Parker to the state tournament three more times before you retired after the 1992 season. That title was just tough to get. You guys just ran into some pretty good clubs while at state tournaments.
Gayle Hoover:
Yes. We did. But just think of the experience that these kids had. Eight times, I believe, we were in the state tournament. And eight times all the kids in that little town of Parker got to be in the state tournament. And the cheerleaders got to be, I think two or three times, they were the special cheerleaders that they vote for. And the people got to go to a state tournament. And I look at that now and I think, "We were rich." We didn't win the first place, but we were winners and we were there.
Craig Mattick:
I want to talk about the 1992 season. It is your last season, but you know what? Parker moved up to class A in '92. And when you look at that state tournament in '92, I don't know if you wanted to be in class B or AA that year. Because of course you had Harold and Warner going at it in Class B in '92, the AAs, it was Watertown winning it with Jason Sutherland. And you're in Class A with Custer and Lennox. My goodness, '92 was a tough year.
Gayle Hoover:
We felt the same way that first year. Yeah.
Craig Mattick:
What do you remember though about that class A? Because you had to play, let's see, I think you played Lennox in that first round that year.
Gayle Hoover:
No. We played Lennox every year. We played Lennox and Beresford and Canton, and those teams that size. Tri-Valley, Dell Rapids, we were in conferences with them, so we had played some of those teams before. But it was a little different because we didn't have the numbers that some of them had. But the kids worked hard and they did a good job. So I have nothing bad about it. We played our best.
Craig Mattick:
You retired after the '92 season. When did you start thinking about retiring?
Gayle Hoover:
The first thing that the people ask, "Well, do you miss it?" I say, "Yeah, I really miss Tuesdays and Fridays." I said, "I miss the games. I miss the excitement of the games." But I said, "I don't miss not having a Christmas vacation for all those years. And I don't miss getting up in the dark." And at the time, my wife and I had a small acreage outside and we raised some dogs. And so I'd get up and do the chores in the morning and teach all day and coach until dark and get home. That, I didn't miss. But I did miss the excitement of it.
And the real excitement of basketball games, and I don't know how many coaches will agree with me on this. This is the way I felt. The last four minutes of the game, when it's close, the overtimes, that was the time. That was the exciting time of basketball.
Craig Mattick:
Maybe you can't keep track, how many players went on to become coaches? I know Ron Flynn did. And of course Ron, what a tremendous he was. And Mike Begeman as well.
Gayle Hoover:
Yeah. And Ron and Kelly Flynn. Have you ever heard of Kelly Flynn?
Craig Mattick:
Yep.
Gayle Hoover:
Yeah. Kelly is probably the most successful coach that Nebraska ever did see.
Craig Mattick:
South Sioux City, if I remember.
Gayle Hoover:
Yes. South Sioux, that was his team. And then he moved on to other places. But wherever he coached, he did just a super job. And Ron was my coach on the floor when he played for me. And then he went on to be just a tremendous coach down in Wakonda and had 105 or so in a row. So no, I'm real proud of them. But the other kids, I had about four or five doctors, and people that went on to be just good citizens. And they gave something back to the people, not just basketball.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah. Always great to have doctors as former players, because they'll take care of you, right?
Gayle Hoover:
I know. I know.
Craig Mattick:
Were there phone calls from those guys? And what things did they bounce off your head when they were coaches?
Gayle Hoover:
Ron Flynn was a great one for that, and he would call once in a while, and he would talk to me about certain things that happened. Mike Begeman has always been feeding in and out. And you get to see this... But on my 90th birthday, I had 82 cards. And I didn't know or think that 82 people were still alive that I knew. It was really an honor and a good feeling, looking in and reading some of the things that they said. And not only basketball, but in life themselves, they learned so many lessons. And that's what makes me proud. And that's what I think I kind of remember best of all.
Craig Mattick:
Not only did you have a love of basketball, Gayle, but you loved softball. I mean, you played fastpitch softball. You were a pretty darn good player. Even you're in the ASA softball Hall of Fame. Eight championship teams. You played second base. Second base? How come second base?
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, I didn't have the strongest arm and that was just a good place to play, I could pick up a ground ball. But, Ike, he had the better arm, so he played shortstop. And no, we had some really, really good teams. And I got to play with people like Jim Steever and Roger Ferrie, and all I had to do was stand there and watch them pitch. And so when we had our success, we had the truckers and the bullpen, and we had some good big years, but they went by so fast. I can't even hardly remember playing.
Craig Mattick:
Was softball kind of a getaway from basketball?
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, yes. And fastpitch softball was really popular. At that time, we had three or four leagues of softball in fastpitch. Today, I don't know if they have one full one, or maybe they have one. And that's too bad, because that was a good sport.
Craig Mattick:
You also coached a women's softball team to three state titles. That's all you did. You just worked all the time, Gayle.
Gayle Hoover:
Well, I loved working with people, and I love sports. And even today, I try to get to as many basketball games as I possibly can. I get down to Parker two or three times a year, and I go out and I watch Roosevelt play because Mitch coaches them. And Mitch is Mike's son. And so I'm still connected a little bit.
Craig Mattick:
Do you watch the game any differently today than when you were a coach?
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, boy. It's too bad. Because the coach sees the mistakes. And it's not that I want to coach somebody else's team, but I see things that I said, "Well, this would've bothered me if I did this." And there's parts of the game today that I don't know... I can remember Wally Diehl and Arnie Bauer hollering, "Follow your shot." I don't ever see anybody follow their shot anymore. They shoot and run. And with the three-pointer, there's a lot of outside shooting. But it's changed a little bit that way.
Craig Mattick:
How ironic that at one time Parker had the all-time winningest coach in boys basketball, and the all-time winningest volleyball coach with Jill Christensen. That's a dynasty there.
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, but she is outstanding. And the girls love her. And that's the part that's good. No, I was very fortunate. I think for about 15 years, the guy would call me and he'd say, "Well, you're still the winningest coach in South Dakota." And then he asked me a couple of questions and I don't know whatever he did with the material, but that was it.
Craig Mattick:
Well, you did retire in '92 as the all-time winningest coach. But over the years, here comes Gary Munsen and here comes Larry Luitjens, these guys passing you. But you know what? It was the longevity as well with these guys that had the success, with Larry Luitjens and Gary Munsen.
Gayle Hoover:
Right. Gary Munsen. But my record is in one school. And no one's ever done it in one school, I don't think.
Craig Mattick:
Well, certainly not that many, Gayle.
Gayle Hoover:
No. No.
Craig Mattick:
Of course you got Burnell Glanzer as well.
Gayle Hoover:
Oh, Burnell Glanzer and I had a lot of good games against each other. We sure did.
Craig Mattick:
And then the lone active coach that is above you with wins is Paul Raasch, who has been at Langford and Castlewood. But you know what? You just don't see coaches today going 30, 35 years in the profession anymore. It is kind of rare now, Gayle.
Gayle Hoover:
No. In my time, it was like seven, nine, 10 years and they moved on to the administration or something.
Craig Mattick:
Gayle, you're in the SDIC Hall of Fame, the South Dakota High School Coaches Hall of Fame, the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame, the Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, and of course the ASA Softball Hall of Fame. So what do those great honors mean to you, Gayle?
Gayle Hoover:
Yeah. I guess that and $4.30 will get you a cup of coffee today, huh? I don't know. But no, I've been honored so many times that I'm so grateful. I've had such a wonderful life. I've got a wonderful wife and family. And my playing days, we had some success. My coaching days, we had some success. And I've met so many good people and I've worked with so many wonderful, wonderful athletes. And you, yourself, have always been so good to me. I appreciate the [inaudible 00:31:10] mostly that I already have. And you guys do a really hard job. You got to be running all the time, and I appreciate that. And I just want to thank you so much.
Craig Mattick:
Clarkie and you have been married for how long now?
Gayle Hoover:
It'll be 69 years, February 3rd. I hope we make it.
Craig Mattick:
What was the biggest change in coaching that you did personally? From that first year in Parker to that last year in '92, how much did your coaching style change over those 34 years?
Gayle Hoover:
I don't know how much they did, because I found out what worked and I used it. And the zone defense and people today, I don't see it very often naturally with the three-pointer. But I still think that I could change the pressure on the ball and make the zone work. Because what I liked about it is I always had pretty good position as the rebound and run. And we tried to convert this thing, and so my last ball games that I coached, we still were using the zone and we were still having pretty good success with that. I think we lost how many, two or three ball games that last year.
And so I think that the kids, like you say, they bought into it and they understood it and they knew when to have their hands up or when to pivot their feet and when to hit the boards. And basketball hasn't changed that much. We see it now, it's a constant motion. Looks like the motion offense is a lot more than anything from a set play. But you still have to put the ball in the hole. And somebody said this a long time ago, "And the team with the one point at the end of the game, that's the idea. They win."
Craig Mattick:
Once a Pheasant, always a Pheasant, Gayle.
Gayle Hoover:
Yes. Yes. They were. And they were all blue and white and I added a little red to it. So we'd have a little color in our uniform. And they still use that today, I think.
Craig Mattick:
In Play with Craig Mattick is made possible by Horton in Britton, where smiling at work happens all the time. Apply now at Hortonww.com. If you like what you're hearing, please give us a five star review wherever you get your podcast. It helps us gain new listeners. This has been In Play with me, Craig Mattick. This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
