Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
He was the first person to be inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame for meritorious service. That was a token of thanks for the financial and moral support he had given the Chadron State athletic program after he became close friends with Athletic Director Brad Smith.
Isham, who was a rancher and a banker, was considered Chadron’s best high school athlete of the 1940s and was the starting fullback on the Eagles’ conference championship football team in 1947, the only year he attended the college.
Isham died in 1994, but his widow, Joy, and their children continue to support the college and its activities. In 2003, the Ishams donated the large eagle that is perched on a pole in the southwest corner of Elliott Field. The eagle, which has a 16-foot wing span, once flew over the American Heritage Bank that the family owned in Colorado Springs.
