All-American football player, 1958 graduate to be inducted into SMCHS Hall of Fame

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Every spring, St. Mary’s Central High School announces their Hall of Fame inductees.

They go to great lengths to make sure each future Hall of Famer gets the royal treatment; often they surprise them at their home or in the community. This year, they’re getting an early start on surprising the next Hall of Fame class.

Sheldon Cieslak is a 1958 graduate of St. Mary’s and the first announced 2022 inductee into the school’s Hall of Fame.

Photos of Cieslak fill the pages of these St. Mary’s Central High School yearbooks. The 1958 graduate was involved in everything from drama and speech, to track, basketball and football.

“I did the best I could in everything I attempted there,” he said.

“He was a student who tried hard, and when you talk to his former classmates, there’s a real love for him,” said Gerald Vetter, SMCHS president.

Cieslak excelled at everything he did, but he really stood out on the football field.

“I played a lot of football as a kid,” he recalled.

He played both offense and defense, but defense was his specialty.

“I really thought it was important to hit and hit hard. I was pretty good at it,” he said with a laugh.

Good enough to be named a high school All-American player his senior year. Memories of that season are still fresh in his mind.

“We lost to Bismarck High on a heartbreaker, 27 to 26,” Cieslak remembered. “That was the most memorable game of my career.”

Now, Cieslak is being recognized for his accomplishments as a St. Mary’s Saint. He was surprised with the news that he will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in the fall.

“It was a total surprise,” he said, fighting back tears.

A surprise shared a little early, because of health concerns. Cieslak has had two strokes and now, the football star is paralyzed on his left side.

“I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be here,” he said.

But the news of his Hall of Fame induction has given him a new reason to keep fighting. He gets choked up thinking about the honor, and of his time as a Saint.

“I’m sorry, I’m so emotional,” Cieslak apologized.

“You know it meant something and to share that with members of his family and with his brother was a great thing. That’s the good stuff,” observed Vetter.

The good stuff that memories and Hall of Fames are made of.

More inductees will be announced this winter and spring. The 2022 Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted next fall.

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