'Smokey' Joe Mendel

Onida. 1931 Yankton College grad. On May 21,1926, Mendel accomplished what no other South Dakota athlete has done: He singlehandedly won the state track meet. He entered four events and won them all as Onida edged Sioux Falls Washington 20-19 for the one-class state title. Mendel's long jump of 22 feet, 7 1/2 inches (he hit the end of the pit when he landed) stood as a state record for 50 years. He also won the 100- (10.0), 220- (22.1) and 440-yard (51.2) dashes, cutting a half-second off the 440 record and tying the 100 mark. Soon after, at the Amos Alonzo Stagg national high school track meet, Mendel came home with the 440 title. At Yankton College, Mendel was an all-conference halfback in football and dominated the sprints and long jump in track, winning the 100, 220 and long jump all four years in the conference meet. Mendel soared 24-1 in the long jump in 1929, a state college record that wasn't bettered for 45 years. In 1931, the 5-8, 170-pounder matched the world 100-yard dash record of 9.5 seconds. Mendel coached all sports at Faulkton for 11 years, and he coached at Doland from 1942-45. (TOP PHOTO IS OF MENDEL, AT LEFT, AND FELLOW HALL OF FAMER WEERT ENGELMANN; BOTTOM PHOTO IS ONIDA TRACK TEAM WITH MENDEL AT BOTTOM LEFT)