Hall of Fame
There are some things that leave an indelible impression. For Dave Smith, it was his years as a golfer for the University of Idaho.
His widow recalled the last days of his battle with Parkinsons. He hadn’t been able to talk. Then came the visit from his brother, also a golfer for the Vandals, and suddenly he was recounting round after round, hole after hole.
“Golf meant a lot to Dave,” she said. “He loved it.”
Smith was the “old man” of the group when the 1959 team won the Northern Division Pacific Coast Conference Championship. He was 22 when he enrolled at Idaho and by the time he graduated he had two children.
But he was an integral part of that team that included some of the best to play for the Vandals. John Rosholt, who grew up in Lewiston and now lives in the Twin Falls area, advanced to the round of 32 at the NCAA Championships.
Yet, Rosholt said, he didn’t realize the magnitude of the achievement until former Vandal coach Jon Reehoorn contacted him and told him the 1959 team was the only one to win a Pacific Coast Conference title.
“We were just a band of little rag-tag golfers,” said Rosholt, who remembers traveling to matches in an old Chevy station wagon – except for the short time one of the players was able to use an Edsel limousine from his dad’s dealership.
Players from the team remember plowing the snow off the then-nine hole University of Idaho course for spring matches. Idaho, at the time, was one of the few universities nationally to have its own golf course. Most teams played at their local country clubs.
“It wasn’t elegant,” Rosholt remembered. “We were very fortunate to have it.”
They remember the home matches against Oregon and Oregon State – both victories that propelled the team to the PCC Northern Division title.
From a newspaper article at the time: “The powerful Idaho golf team, blessed with some of the most powerful swingers in its history, upset Oregon’s victory hopes, 16½ -10½, Friday at the University Course. Oregon, a prime favorite in PCC play, had lost only 4 matches in its last 56, but was unable to stem the Idaho tide, losing 7 to 2 in best-ball play and 9½ -8½ in individual matches. All six Idaho swingers were low with Rusty Sheppard and John Rosholt marking 68. Other Idaho totals were Ray Kowallis, 69, Don Modie, 71, and Jim Krause and Dave Smith, 73.”
That season, they defeated Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State en route to the divisional title.
Like many, though, they remember the camaraderie as much as the competitions and results. Their stories are about the friendships made and experiences shared.
For their excellence in competition and their true Vandal spirits, we welcome them into the Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame.
