One of the greats.
--From the Grand Forks Herald
Ed Beyer, legendary North Dakota basketball coach, dies at 77
By Greg DeVillers Today at 10:11 a.m.
FARGO -- Legendary North Dakota high school basketball coach Ed Beyer died in a Fargo hospital Sunday night. He was 77.
Beyer coached the Hillsboro High School boys basketball team for 37 years, retiring after the 1997 season. He had a 688-195 won-loss mark at Hillsboro, a state record for boys basketball coaching wins.
Dan Carr of Linton-HMB recently recorded his 689th career basketball win, but 36 of those were accumulated while he was coaching in Minnesota prior to moving to Linton.
Beyer's daughter, Tammy Nelson, said her father had struggled with his health in recent years.
But, after going into a Fargo hospital last week, "he had the best five days he's had in years,'' Nelson said. "He was smart, engaging, remembering things, getting around like a race horse. But all of a sudden (Sunday) he had a headache, then a brain bleed and, at about 8:50 (p.m.) he passed away.''
Beyer's teams won Class B state basketball titles in 1973-74, 1977 and 1981, the latter team going 26-0. His Burros teams qualified for 13 Class B state tournaments and won 19 Red River Valley Conference championships.
He came to Hillsboro in 1960 after graduating from Concordia College, where he earned a total of 11 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball.
In addition to basketball, Beyer led Hillsboro baseball teams to the 1962 North Dakota American Legion state title and the Burros to Class B state high school championships in 1967-68.
He is a member of the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, the North Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
"People saw the fiery guy dad was coaching on the basketball court,'' Nelson said. "But he was so different off the court. He had a stack of devotional books that he read every day. He had a gentle, loving way. And he loved to laugh, tease people and have fun.''