"A young man born in Pine Ridge became the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal.

WHO: Billy Mills

BORN: June 30, 1938, in Pine Ridge.

BACKGROUND: Mills was raised by his grandmother after he was orphaned at the age of 12. He moved from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation while attending the Haskell Institute, now the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. He was a boxer and a runner but gave up the former to focus on the latter. He was named an NCAA All-America cross-country runner three times while attending the University of Kansas and in 1960 won the individual title in the Big Eight cross-country championship. He was a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves. He and his wife, Pat, have been married for more than 45 years and have three daughters."

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Famous South Dakotans: S.D. native won Olympic gold (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 3/18)