Jim “Killer” Kane was born in West Point, Nebraska; but he grew up in Wisner, Nebraska, where Jim became an athlete. He remains the Wisner High School all time leader in points scored in basketball, and led the school’s baseball team to a state championship. In 1980, Nebraska sports historian Jerry Mathers named Kane as Wisner's best all around athlete ever. In 1983, the Omaha World-Herald named Kane its “Coach of the Year”, after his Mount Michael football and basketball teams won state championships that school year. Kane was named to the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.