Madden, Orval J. 1914-2011

MADDEN, HAMMER

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg (email)
Date: 2/8/2012 at 04:37:58

Orval J. Madden
Orval J. Madden of Springfield, Mo., formerly of Alton, and Santa Maria, Calif., passed away on May 29, 2011.
Burial will be at a later date in Worthing, S.D., in land his grandfather, James Madden homesteaded and donated to the town for the local cemetery. Orval requested that there be no funeral or memorial services.
Orval was born on July 14, 1914, in Ida Grove to Fred and Bethsaida (Hammer) Madden.
Growing up in the town of Worthing, S. D., a town his grandfather James Madden founded, he attended grade school and the first three years of high school there. He graduated from Lennox
(S.D.) High School in 1933. Sports were always an important part of Orval's (Coach's) life. He also taught history, manual arts, mechanical drawing, physical education and government. At times, he was also the principal and athletic director at Floyd Valley High School in Alton.
In 1926, he organized his first baseball team in Worthing. Later, in the 1930s, he helped to organize a baseball team when he attended Yankton College, and pitched for the Norfolk Elks, a New York Yankees farm team in the Nebraska State league in 1937. Coach continued to pitch for town teams throughout Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota for many years. After his graduation from Morningside College, he became a high school baseball coach in Iowa and coached 37 seasons in Iowa. He coached high school baseball for two years at Auburn, one year at Little Rock, and 28 years at Alton. Alton became Floyd Valley High School, and he coached there for seven years. Spalding Catholic High School in Granville was his final year of coaching; the next season, with all of then players returning from Orval's previous year of coaching, Spalding won the Iowa State Baseball Championship. His overall baseball coaching record was 434 wins and 234 losses in 29 years of coaching. Orval was a varsity basketball coach in Iowa for 30 years. He twice led his teams to the Iowa State Tournament. Coach's Alton basketball teams won 365 and lost 205 games. His overall basketball coaching record was 511 wins and 323 losses. People with years of knowledge of Iowa sports state that Orval's basketball teams were "works of art." A Madden team was always fundamentally solid, and would win many games due to their sound fundamental performances. At the end of his professional career, he had been named to four halls of fame: the Iowa Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, the Iowa Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, the Iowa Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, and Morningside College Sports Hall of Fame. Orval and Emmarilla Dorsey of Santa Maria, California, were married in 1940 in Sioux City. After retirement, Orval and Emmy moved to Santa Maria, Calif., where he was actively involved in softball and horseshoe pitching. Many times he placed in the first, second or third positions of the finals of the World Horseshoe Pitching contests held throughout the United States, and his home was filled with trophies. In recent years they had moved to Springfield, Mo., to be closer to daughter, Susan Emmarilla preceded him in death in 2009. A sister, Maxine Radcliffe, also preceded him in death. Orval leaves behind their children, Susan, of Macomb, Mo., and Orval Dale of Montecito, Calif. A daughter, Julie, passed away in 2003.
He is survived by five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and two great, great-grandchildren.
Source: Sioux County Capital Democrat of June 9, 2011