Dave Stone becomes just the second person in Augustana history to be inducted into the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame mainly as a golfer. He joins Bill Lee, a 1966 graduate, who was inducted in 2002. There have been other inductees who played golf as a second or third sport but Stone and Lee are the only two who predominantly made their collective marks for the Vikings on the links.
"Dave Stone is without doubt one of the greatest golfers in the history of Augustana. He played on some outstanding golf teams over his four years," said Jim Borcherding, who was Dave's coach throughout his Viking career. "Dave worked extremely hard to refine his skills to become an accomplished golfer and this honor of being in the Augustana Hall of Fame is well deserved."
Stone, a 1980 graduate with degrees in business administration and physical education, brings with him a long family history of connection at Augustana. Both his father and mother are Augustana graduates with his dad's tenure interrupted by World War II. His father (John) started in school in 1941 was a member of the Vikings football and basketball teams and after serving in the Army Air Corps, he returned to Augustana and graduated in 1949. He taught chemistry at Rock Island High School. His mother Marilynn (Palmquist) Stone is a 1947 graduate and for years the family ran a business called Stone Movie Processors which developed 16 mm game films for local schools after athletic contests. Dave and his brother Ted, a 1975 Augustana graduate, filmed Viking men's basketball and football games for over a decade.
Ted was also a tremendous golfer and he had a distinguished career on the links for the Blue & Gold.
The connection goes deeper than just the two Stone brothers. Dave's son (John - 2014) and two daughters (Jenna – 2017 and Jillian - 2021) are all Augustana graduates who were letter winners for the Vikings in golf.
Between the Stone and Palmquist family, the Augustana roots run deep. From the time his grandfather Dr. Wilbur Palmquist graduated from the Augustana Seminary in 1919, until Dave's daughter Jillian graduated in 2021, the number of Stone/Palmquist family members numbers well over 20.
Dave entered Augustana in the fall of 1975, just after his older brother Ted had graduated and he immediately made his mark on the program. In his freshman season of 1976, he placed fifth in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championship, which was held at St. Andrews Country Club in West Chicago, Illinois. He helped the Vikings win the CCIW team title for the second year in a row. He finished his freshman year with an average of 78.2 in 12 rounds with a low round of 72. The Vikings were also 5-0 in dual meets that year.
He sat out the 1976-77 school year but came back in 1977-78 and showed no sign of rust. He played in 16 rounds and averaged 78.3 per round with a low of 73. He helped the Vikings regain the CCIW title at Springbrook Golf Course in Naperville, Illinois (they had slipped to third without Stone in the lineup in 1977) with a runner-up finish behind teammate Gary Granback as the Vikings had five players finish in the top 10 individually.
Stone claimed NCAA Division III All-America honors in 1978 as the team finished 16
th in the nation.
His junior year was 1979 and he won the individual CCIW title with a two-day score of 150 as the tournament moved to the Pontiac Elks Club. The Vikings won their second straight team championship with a 36-round total of 625. Stone placed 22
nd at the NCAA Division III National Tournament and garnered his second straight All-America certificate. Augustana placed 10
th in the nation as a team. Stone averaged 78.4 in 14 rounds of golf that spring and had a low round of 72.
As a senior he played in 14 rounds and averaged 79.1 with a low of 71. The Vikings won the CCIW title for the third year in a row with a score of 614 and they placed 13
th in the NCAA Division III national tournament.
Stone finished his illustrious career with an average of 78.5 in 56 collegiate rounds with a low round of 71. He was the team leader with the lowest average on three separate occasions and was the team captain in 1980, his senior year. To this day he ranks 13
th on the school's all-time list for career scoring average.
"Playing golf at Augustana in those days was certainly different than it would be today," he commented. "We didn't have any fall matches or practice and, in the spring, we were constantly battling cold and rain. We had a great group of teammates and I have always thought that Coach Borcherding never got enough attention for how good we were in golf because all the attention was focused on his success in basketball."
After graduation from Augustana, he continued to excel in golf, turning professional and working at a golf course and playing in local tournaments in Illinois as well as in Florida. He became a salesman for Miller Container Corporation and assistant manager of Pinnacle Country Club, just South of Milan, Illinois.
After stints selling golf equipment and outdoor sporting goods for Inpro Companies and Killir Outdoor Sports, as well has working for Ericksen Chevrolet-Buick, he has continued to stay active in the Quad City golfing community. He works at TPC/Deere Run in Silvis and sells consumer items online.
Dave and his wife Julie have the three aforementioned children; all Augustana graduates and the couple lives in Reynolds, Illinois. Julie is currently the general manager of dining services and she was the 2021 recipient of the Jaeke Award for meritorious service to the college.
"My family has been grateful for the Augustana College experiences that we have enjoyed," Stone recalled. "Over 100 years have passed since my mom's father graduated from the Augustana Seminary and my mom's mom graduated from the College. Couple that with my daughter Jillian's 2021 graduation and you can see that we have been extremely thankful and proud of the institution. We can't say enough for the guidance that the women's golf program (under head coach
Tom Lawrence) gave our two daughters."
