- Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Prize, economics
- Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize, commentary
- Dick Locher, Pulitzer Prize, editorial cartoonist
- Gary Snyder, Pulitzer Prize, poetry
- Jeff MacNally, Pulitzer Prize, editorial cartoonist
- Jesse Haines, Baseball Hall of Fame, pitcher
- Jesse Owens, Olympic gold medalist, runner
- Marcy Nighswander, Pulitzer Prize, photography
- Ritter Collett, Baseball Hall of Fame, sportswriter
- Steve Curwood, Pulitzer Prize, investigative reporting
Ten big prize winners I’ve known or at least met
Jnana's Red Barn 
That strikes me as a small number for someone with a career in journalism! I’m sure you have another list or two in you.
True, but we’d be getting esoteric, too …