Herbie Nayokpuk

Herbie Nayokpuk (June 12, 1929 – December 2, 2006)^[1] (Iñupiaq pronunciation: Niiqpaq) nicknamed the "Shishmaref Cannonball", was an Inupiaq musher, known for his cheerful and straight-ahead demeanor.^[2] It is said that "no musher in Iditarod history has been more admired, more respected or better liked than Herbie Nayokpuk".^[3]

Iditarod Finishes

Year	Position	Time
1973	5th[4]	21d 11h 0m 19s[4]
1974	3rd[4]	21d 18h 28m 42s[4]
1975	4th[4]	14d 20h 29m 7s[4]
1979	Scratched[4]
1980	2nd[4]	14d 20h 32m 12s[4]
1981	7th[4]	12d 22h 17m 45s[4]
1982	7th[4]	16d 14h 8m 21s[4]
1983	4th[4]	12d 22h 4m 28s[4]
1985	8th[4]	18d 17h 20m 0s[4]
1987	25th[4]	13d 10h 27m 47s[4]
1988	6th[4]	13d 3h 26m 44s[4]

Herbie Nayokpuk
Born	(1929-06-12)June 12, 1929 Shishmaref, Alaska
Died	December 2, 2006(2006-12-02) (aged 77) Anchorage, Alaska
Occupation	Musher

Life and career

Nayokpuk was born in Shishmaref in 1929. He was one of the original mushers to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973.^[5] He also represented Alaska at the presidential inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1981.^[5] He ended up running the Iditarod 11 times.^[6] He never won, but he made some notably daring attempts in extreme weather conditions. He suffered a stroke after one race and competed in another despite having just recovered from a heart attack.^[6] He was also an accomplished Inupiaq artist.^[7]

Death and legacy

Nayokpuk died at the age of 77 at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, after suffering a massive stroke at his home in mid-November and then lapsing into a coma.^[2] He is buried in Shishmaref.^[6] Each year since 2007, an Iditarod musher is awarded with the "Herbie Nayokpuk Memorial Award", which goes to the musher "who best epitomizes Herbie Nayokpuk's spirit of mushing the Iditarod".^[8]