University of South Dakota Athletics

Paul "Chesty" Sheeks (1910-14) was called "the best all-around athlete the 'U' has ever had" by the 1914 Coyote annual. An outstanding football player, he was also captain of the basketball team.

Sheeks, originally of Mellette, S.D., was an outstanding back on the 1912 team that is considered one of the best football teams ever at South Dakota. The team lost only to Michigan (7-6) and shutout Minnesota (10-0). South Dakota defeated SDSU (73-6), North Dakota (44-0), and Creighton University (68-0) during that spectacular season.

Following his graduation from USD, Sheeks went on to coach football (1915-16) and basketball (1916-17) at Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Ind.). While coaching the Wabash football team in his two seasons, he had a career record of 14-2-1. He led the then 'Little Giants' of Wabash to an undefeated football season in 1915 with a 7-0-1 record. As of August 2026, Sheeks sits No. 11 in Wabash football history in wins and No. 2 all-time in winning percentage.

Following his coaching career, Sheeks joined the Firestone Rubber Company as a recreation director.

Photo is from the USD Athletics Archives. Year taken is unknown, sometime during Sheeks playing days at USD.