Four years ago, the Senior Community Service Employment Program recognized him as "America's Oldest Worker," an honor that also saw him make an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Yet it was how he worked - not just how long - that made him a part of nearly every athletic program with a couple hundred miles of Sioux City, including Yankton High School and Mount Marty College.

Hauff had an early impact on the Yankton Quarterback Club, the longest active such group in South Dakota.

"I was involved in the start of the Quarterback Club and, at the time, I was in the sporting goods business right after (World War II)," said Yankton's Hod Nielsen, a founding member of the Yankton Quarterback Club and former writer and columnist for the Press & Dakotan. Nielsen had bought his first pair of football shoes from Hauff a decade earlier, when he was a football player for YHS and the University of South Dakota. "He was helping me out, and he thought that was good to have a place like (the Quarterback Club), and he was one of the first ones to jump in."

Besides being a member, Hauff also used his connections to help bring recognized speakers to Yankton. "He was very big in bringing in some of the name speakers for our Quarterback Club," said Yankton Activities Director Bob Winter, also a longtime QB Club member. "They would go into Nash Gym and have Nash Gym totally filled up. He was responsible for bringing in some of the Division I coaches."

Hauff also connected with young coaches just getting their start, like former Yankton High School and Mount Marty College track and field coach Jim Miner.

"I had a vaulter that needed a pole. We didn't have any money in our budget for it, so I just went to Dwight Hauff and said, ‘I personally need to buy a pole. I'm going to buy it because the kid needs it,' and he gave a pretty good deal on it," Miner said. "He loved athletics, but he LOVED track and field. He thought track and field was special in what it did for kids, and he made me believe that. By giving me a deal on my first pole, maybe that's being a good businessman because I bought all my poles from him after that."

Hauff also connected with young commissioners as well.

"When I took the job as commissioner, I got this call one morning and it was this older, shaky voice on the other end, ‘This is Dwight Hauff from Sioux City. I just wanted to congratulate you on being commissioner. I just think that's great,'" said Great Plains Athletic Conference Commissioner Corey Westra. "At the time, I didn't know who this was. I think he was 97 years old, and he took time out of his day to call me and wish me well. I couldn't believe that."

"He made sure that you felt important, and he always acknowledged you. Nothing ever was just a passing by with Dwight. It was always personal, and that was a neat thing that he could do."

Hauff had a hand in helping several MMC athletic programs get off the ground in the 1990s, part of the reason he was inducted into the MMC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

"The reason that he's inducted into the Hall of Fame is because he was a friend and a resource person. He helped us in so many things," said MMC Athletic Director Chuck Iverson. "It didn't matter what it was, whether we were starting up a track program, or a softball program, or whatever, he would advise us on what you would need. In a number of different ways, he was a great resource for the college."

Iverson and MMC President Dr. Tim Barry would go to Sioux City for lunch with Hauff a couple times a year. Iverson would enjoy watching Hauff and Barry remember acquaintances from northwest Iowa, where they both grew up.

"What was really interesting, was listening to Tim Barry and Dwight Hauff talk. Both had that northwest Iowa connection, and it's amazing the number of people they'd talk about," he said. "'Hey, do you remember so and so?' and they'd go back and forth. I was just amazed at the number of people they knew, and knew in common in that northwest Iowa area. It's kinda fun to listen to those two get together."

Anne Shaner, Dwight's daughter, remembered her father Friday as a people person.

"He knew people. He knew statistics," she said. "If he met someone he'd ask where they were from, then tell them the name, colors and mascot of their local team."

But Hauff didn't just remember people from one corner of Iowa.

"He had the most incredible long-term memory of anyone I think I've ever met. Not only remembered the scores and the players and personalities, but the context of an athletic contest," Barry said. "I think, more importantly, he believed in athletics and the proper role of athletics in today's society. With his heart and his soul, he passionately supported that. That's what I'm going to miss him.

"Sure, he's ‘Dwight Hauff Sports,' but he's ‘Dwight Hauff, the Humanitarian.' That's why we're going to miss him so dearly at Mount Marty."

Besides his one-on-one interactions, Hauff also brought together coaches and friends during the week of the Sioux City Relays track and field meet.

"It was another thing that made you feel special, when he invited you down there and took you out for supper. He's probably one of the few businessmen I knew that cultivated that relationship," Miner said. "It had to be more than just making money, he and all the people that came to that gathering got to be friends. He did a great deal to build a network of track coaches, and make us feel important. Sometimes we feel like we're the forgotten sport, but Dwight made us feel special."

Hauff left a legacy far beyond the sports gear and his five stores that sell it.

"He's maybe the most amazing individual I've been around," Winter said.

Funeral services are set for 11AM on Friday morning at Grace Methodist Church in Sioux City.  Visitation is Thursday night at Meyer Brothers Funeral Home (Morningside) in Sioux City.