On Saturday, October 8, the South Dakota Softball Association held a banquet to honor their most recent Hall of Fame inductees. Craig "Roller" Rollag was among the distinguished honorees.
Rollag is the son of Doreen and Leonard Rollag and lives north of Beaver Creek, on the Highway 23 South Dakota/Minnesota border.
"Leonard should have been in the Hall of Fame as well," said Doreen. Leonard was a pitcher for many years for the Garretson Softball team, and was credited by Rollag as teaching him and his brother Kevin how to pitch.
"I wish he was here tonight, so I could thank him," Rollag said during his acceptance speech. He also gave a shoutout to his uncle Gary, who introduced Rollag to the world of Fastpitch Softball in 1972. After that, he was hooked, and he pointed out that his wife and children spent many summer weekends as spectators and supporters at his games.
Rollag played fastpitch softball for 24 years, mainly in Sioux Falls and for teams in the Border League. He was nominated for both player and manager positions. During his tenure, he won 9 championships and played in five National tournaments.
He was nominated by Hall of Famer Artie Schmeichal, who wrote, "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.”
Other inductees that evening included Dan Roskup of Sioux Falls, Tom "Shriner" Schulte of Sioux Falls, and Bill and Rosemary Maher of Spearfish.
