John Dillon III

Baseball and Football - Class of 1996

"John Dillon III was one of the first great two-sport athletes at Shawnee Mission South. John was a senior middle linebacker on the 1975 State Championship Raider teams, was a team captain, and was voted First Team All-State, First Team All-Sunflower League, and First Team All-Metro. Though difficult to articulate in statistics, John's greatness was that he anchored a dominant defense and was the ultimate leader and team player. John was also a member of the 1975 State Championship Raider baseball team, on which he played catcher. He was also voted First Team All-State. First Team All-Sunflower League, and First Team All-Metro in baseball. John was an athlete who was never defined by statistics, but instead by his leadership. As a linebacker for the football team and a catcher for the baseball team (two positions widely recognized as leadership roles), his leadership value on both teams became immediately apparent. Consider the words of longtime Shawnee Mission South baseball coach and Raider Athletic Hall of Fame member Bill McDonald, "In my 42 years as a head baseball coach, I have had many great catchers - I have coached catchers that have been drafted into professional baseball - but John stands above all of them because he was tough in the face of defeat…" Considering the significant number of great athletes that attended Shawnee Mission South during John's era, it is defining that two of John's coaches, who coached many of the other great athletes of that era, indicated that were they to pick any one athlete to start a team with in either sport, both separately agreed, "I'd start with John Dillion - it's not even close." Congratulations, John. It is with great pride that the Raider Athletic Hall of Fame welcomes the ultimate leader, John Dillon III."