South Dakota Mines

Jim Smith (1949-52) was the quarterback of the undefeated 1951 Hardrocker football team. That year, SD Mines went 8-0 and defeated the eventual North Dakota Conference champs, Valley City State. In the final game of the year against Black Hills Teachers College, Smith threw three touchdown passes to help preserve the perfect season as well as earn the SDIC conference crown and the Homestake Trophy. Smith went on to a career in Washington, D.C., serving in the Treasury Department during the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations.