Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
Tangeman was a 1939 graduate of Assumption Academy in Chadron and was on Chadron State’s outstanding basketball teams in the 1940s. The Eagles were 55-12 the four years he played. The first three went 16-4, 15-3 and 17-4, capped by a trip to the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament in Kansas City in 1941-42. Like most other able-bodied men, his college days were interrupted by World War II, when he served in the Army Air Corps. Four of the five starters from the national tournament team returned in 1945-46, when the Eagles went 17-1.
Ross Armstrong said he sometimes used psychology to get the most out of Tangeman on the basketball court. Tangeman took pride in playing defense. The coach usually assigned him to guard the opponent’s top scorer, then mention that he hoped Tangeman could handle the job. That would fire up Tangeman, who wanted to prove himself to the coach.
Tangeman also was a fullback for the CSC football teams prior to the war. After graduating in 1946, he taught, coached and was an administrator at Provo High near Edgemont, S.D., and at Kimball. He later was a principal at Carey Junior High in Cheyenne, Wyo., for more than 20 years. In addition, he refereed at the Wyoming State Basketball Tournament 13 years in a row and was a football official.
