Dave Beckner played for El Dorado Post 81 in 1969 and 1970. In 1969, he led the team in batting with a .368 average, playing in all 28 games. He also led in slugging percentage at .598. Beckner tied for the lead in doubles with 6 and led in triples with 4 and home runs with 2. Dave also led the team in stolen bases with 16 which was double the next highest player. On the mound, he pitched 15 innings compiling an ERA of 2.80.

Beckner also won the Fifth District Tournament Batting Title with a .500 average and was named to the All-Tournament Team at shortstop. As a team, Post 81 was third in the tournament, but the two best teams in the state, Wichita and Wellington were in the 5th District.

No statistics are available for 1970. However, through July 4th, Beckner had a 5-1 record on the mound with a 1.21 ERA. In 34 2/3 innings, he had allowed 9 runs (6 earned) and 16 hits while striking out 51 and walking 28. His starts included a two hitter in a win over Pittsburg, the team that went on to win the State Tournament, and a 2-1 loss to Wellington where he allowed no earned runs on only 3 hits.

Beckner was also a star for El Dorado High School. His .455 average in 1969 held as the highest single season batting average until 1995.

Dave was also an outstanding quarterback. He set several EHS passing records that stood for over 20 years. His junior year against Campus, El Dorado was behind and 65 yards away from the end zone with no time outs left. Beckner completed 7 of 8 passes and scored on a quarterback keeper as time expired to tie the game. The Wichita Eagle in naming him 'Back of the Week' compared the performance to those of Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. Dave started and lettered all three years in both football and baseball.

Beckner went on to play quarterback for Butler County Community Junior College. In 1971, he was third in the Jayhawk Conference in passing yards. The first two were numbers 1 and 2 in the nation. He did that while playing approximately half the plays since Head Coach Ivan Schottel ran in the plays with the quarterbacks.