What do Roger Maris, Phil Jackson and Cliff "Fido" Purpur have in common with Lawrence Welk, Peggy Lee and Angie Dickinson? All are winners of North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award.
The award is named for the former president whose life included a stint as a rancher in the Dakotas. A sportsman in his own right, TR took part in rowing and boxing at Harvard, and was known to be an avid football fan. He also was a hunter and explorer. Roosevelt also was a Medal of Honor winner for his exploits at the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War.
(Note: Above image via Lapham's Quarterly)
Sports figures and entertainers aren't the only ones to North Dakota's highest award. The latest recipient is Herman Stern, who was instrumental in helping his friends and family escape Nazi Germany.
Stern made it possible for between 175 and 200 German Jews to escape the Holocaust and come to America.
Here are the 40 recipients, followed by profession and when the award was presented.
Lawrence Welk, musician, August 1961.
Dorothy Stickney, actress, November 1961.
Ivan Dmitri, photographer and painter, April 1962.
Roger Maris, baseball player, January 1964.
Eric Sevareid, journalist, April 1964.
Gen. Harold Johnson, Army chief of staff, April 1965.
Anne Carlsen, teacher and school administrator, September 1966.
Edward Thompson, journalist, April 1968.
Robert Bahmer, U.S. archivist, July 1970.
Louis L'Amour, author, May 1972.
Bertin Gamble, businessman, October 1972.
Casper Oimoen, Olympic skier, February 1973.
Peggy Lee, actress and singer, May 1975.
Harold Schafer, businessman, July 1975.
Era Bell Thompson, journalist, August 1976.
Dr. Leon Jacobson, cancer researcher, October 1976.
Elizabeth Bodine, former American Mother of the Year, July 1979.
Phyllis Frelich, actress, April 1981.
Cliff "Fido" Purpur, hockey player, May 1981.
Gen. David C. Jones, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, May 1982.
Ronald Davies, federal judge, June 1987.
Phil Jackson, NBA basketball player and coach, July 1992.
Larry Woiwode, author, October 1992.
Angie Dickinson, actress, December 1992.
Rev. Richard Halverson, U.S. Senate chaplain, March 1994.
Brynhild Haugland, state legislator, March 1995.
Adm. William Owens, vice chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, January 1996.
Carl Ben Eielson, pilot, August 1997.
Warren Christopher, U.S. secretary of state, June 1998.
Bobby Vee, musician, June 1999.
Chester Reiten, television executive and founder of Norsk Hostfest, October 2002.
Thomas Clifford, University of North Dakota president, November 2002.
Sister Thomas Welder, University of Mary president, May 2004.
Harry J. Pearce, attorney and General Motors Corp. executive, August 2004.
Bill Marcil, president of Forum Communications Co. of Fargo, May 2006.
Woodrow Wilson Keeble, teacher and war hero, July 2008.
Doug Burgum, software executive, November 2009.
Ronald Offutt, agribusiness leader, September 2011.
Louise Erdrich, author, April 2013.
Herman Stern, businessman, March 2014.