Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
A native of Imperial, Needham was one of Chadron State’s outstanding long and triple jumpers. He won the Nebraska College Conference triple jump championship in 1966, ‘67 and ‘68, setting the conference record of 46-8 ½ in 1968. His winning jumps the other years measured 46-3 ¼ and 45-2 ¼. He set the school record of 46-11½ in ‘68. It was finally broken in 1982, but is still the fifth longest in CSC history outdoors.
Needham also long jumped 24 feet long in 1968. That mark lasted until 2000 and is still the third longest in Chadron State history. He was selected as the Eagles’ outstanding track and field athlete as both a junior and a senior.
Needham and his wife, Bonnie, also a CSC graduate, owned a printing business in Garden City, Kan., for several years. He later lived in Wichita and established a Christian ministry. He is an ordained minister and is now teaching Spanish in the Arthur and South Platte Schools in Nebraska.
