University of South Dakota Athletics

Mobridge, South Dakota native Grover Potts (1912-14) was called "the best lineman ever turned out in Dakota" in a 1914 Sioux City Journal story. An outstanding all-around athlete, Potts lettered in football, basketball, track and baseball at USD, but he excelled on the football field.

A member of the 1912 team, generally regarded as one of the best ever in South Dakota, Potts was a key contributor on the 5-1 squad. That team was only beaten by Michigan (7-6), and defeated the Big Ten's Minnesota Gophers (10-0). They also rolled past South Dakota State (73-6), and blanked North Dakota (44-0), Creighton (68-0), and Nebraska Wesleyan (39-0). A newspaper reporter said, "I can see him yet, scorning shoulder guards and headgear, a shock of hair sticking out in all directions, mud plastered and ferocious, simply kicking the tar out of his opponents by his demeanor before he even touched him."

In 2015, Potts was posthumously inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.

After leaving USD, Potts homestead near Mobridge and later lived in LaMoure, N.D. He died in September 1962.  

Photo from the USD Athletics Archives. Year taken is unknown but during his USD playings days (1912-14).