Chapter 6 -- The Fifties - A Time of Change

| 1950-1951 | 1951-1952 | 1952-1953 | 1953-1954 | 1954-1955 | 1955-1956 | 1956-1957 | 1957-1958 | 1958-1959 | 1959-1960 | Looking Back -- The Fifties |

Beginning in the early fifties and continuing for the next 15 years, major building projects on the campus included the fieldhouse, library, three dormitories, a commons, music hall and an administration building.

In addition student enrollment continued to rise as the admissions office increased their recruitment efforts. Athletes were starting to come from cities and towns previously not Concordia-oriented.

Most of the veterans of World War II had now graduated and the new classes of Cobber freshmen were like the former rosy-cheeked, innocent young men and women of the pre-war years.

Coach Christiansen continued his concern for an increased effort to attract quality athletes to Concordia.
This was going to be one of his major objectives during this decade.

1950-1951

The football team in the fall of 1950 began the season with only five lettermen. Coach Jake Christiansen
had as his assistants Bob Fritz and Finn Grinaker. The team finished the season with a 3 - 4 record overall
and eighth place in the MIAC with a 2 - 4 record.

The roster included Jim Gabrielson, Mel Weikum, Elvin Hanson, Kermit Christianson, Chuck Sagedahl, Mel Eidal, Dave Green, Ken Bladow, Berg, Baken, Ellingson, Johnson, Dave Rostad, Bud Narveson, Dave Simonson, H. Johnson, Ken Strum, Myron Olson, Johnson, Dwight Ellefson, Roger Kolstad, Alden Gjevre, Erling Kolke and Rholl.

Team scores were:

Concordia 12 St. Olaf 18

Concordia 6 Gustavus 47

Concordia 7 Hamline 20

Concordia 13 St. Mary's 7

Concordia 19 Duluth 39

Concordia 26 Augsburg 6

Concordia 35 MSTC 0

At the close of the season, the conference standings were:

Gustavus 6 - 0
St. Thomas 5 - 1

Hamline 4 - 2

Macalester 3 - 2 - 1

St. John's 3 - 3

Duluth 3 - 3

Concordia 2 - 4

Augsburg 1 - 5

St. Mary's 0 - 5 - 1

Only eight lettermen returned from the previous season for the 1950-1951 basketball team and some of these had little experience. Despite this, the team experienced a successful season. Their overall record was 12 - 9 and 6 - 6 in the MIAC for a fourth place tie. Jake Christiansen was the coach of the team.

The season's scores were:

Concordia 81 Valley City 71

Concordia 49 Bismarck Junior College 52

Concordia 81 Wahpeton Science 54

Concordia 36 NDAC 67

Concordia 69 MSTC 46

Concordia 63 Jamestown 57

Concordia 74 Augsburg 85

Concordia 60 St. Thomas 53

Concordia 64 NDAC 77

Concordia 69 Macalester 64

Concordia 64 St. Mary's 77

Concordia MSTC

Concordia 66 Gustavus 68

Concordia 47 St. Olaf 45

Concordia 61 St. John's 52

Concordia 45 Hamline 47

Concordia 35 Duluth 32

Concordia 51 Gustavus 71

Concordia 49 St. Olaf 59

Concordia 81 Augsburg 79

Concordia defeated Duluth using stalling tactics. It was Jake's answer to the sagging defense of UMD. After a 9 - 7 Concordia lead, Jake began his stall and Duluth refused to come out and the game came to a standstill. The rest of the half ended with the score 14 - 9 in favor of Concordia with the final score 35 - 32 for the Cobbers.

Conference standings were:

Hamline 11 - 1

St. Mary's 8 - 4

Gustavus 8 - 4

Concordia 6 - 6

St. Thomas 6 - 6

Augsburg 5 - 7

Duluth 5 - 7

St. John's 4 - 8

Macalester 4 - 8

St. Olaf 3 - 9

On the team were Bob Peterson, Ken Severud, Don Smestad, Mac Redmond, Herman Moe, Hod
Nornes, Dave Johnson, John Groven, Jim Gabrielson, Harry Anderson, Vern Lueth, Lowell Odland, Earl Stein, Dick Hegrenes, Paul Johnson, Arlo Kluver and Don Kerlin.

From the Concordian -- "The highlight of the season was the Hamline game. Hamline, who became the MIAC champion and NAIA national champion, narrowly defeated the Cobbers 47 - 45. The night was also an appreciation night for Coach Jake Christiansen who was presented a new car from the alumni and friends.(1)

The Concordia hockey team, under Coach Gordon Stensgard, had a record of four wins and five losses.
The team finished with a 2 - 4 record in the Fargo Senior League with victories over NDAC and Detroit
Lakes. They lost twice to Cook Sign and MSTC. On a trip to Cando, North Dakota the team split,
winning one game 7 - 3 and losing 7 - 4. The Cobbers won a 2 - 1 four overtime victory over Cook Sign
as part of the Fargo Ice Carnival tournament.

Because of the draft and the call up of the National Guard, there was a shortage of players reporting for
spring football. Jake appealed to the student body for more men to come out for the team.

Coach Irv Christenson's track team in the spring of 1951 established themselves as a contender in the
MIAC.

Team members included Ellefson, Rostad, Randa, D. Green, Skari, Abelson, Simonson, Stensgard, B.
Asp, Moe, Kerlin, Dyre, Flaat, Radig, Kolke, Stutrud, Redmond, H. Anderson, C. Green, R. Asp and
Klein.

The Cobbers won a triangular meet scoring 62 points, followed by Mayville with 47 and Wahpeton
Science with 8 points. They also won a dual meet with Mayville 69 2/3 - 61 1/3.

At the Bemidji Invitational, scores were as follows:

UND 60

NDAC 58 1/2

Duluth 36

Bemidji 25

Concordia 19

MSTC 4 1/2

Mayville 4

Player-coach Bill Oakland led the 1951 tennis team to a successful season winning four matches:

Concordia 6 MSTC 1

Concordia 4 NDAC 2

Concordia 5 NDAC 2

Concordia 7 MSTC 0

Squad members were Oakland, Carlson, Norem and Westwood.

Professor J. A. Holvik again coached the 1951 golf team which consisted of Warren Billingham, Clayton
Jenson, Dick Moe, Dick Quamme, and Vernon Johnson.

During the season the Cobbers lost to MSTC 4 - 8 and defeated MSTC 9 1/2 - 2 1/2 and defeated UND
10 1/2 - 1 1/2. In the MIAC meet the Cobbers finished last with UMD winning the meet with an 18-hole
average of 81. The team ended the season by placing second in the annual Tainter Meet (All-City).
NDAC won the meet with MSTC coming in third.

Lettermen returning for the 1951 baseball team were Dave Green, Harry Anderson, Jim Gabrielson and
player-coach Ken Severud. Others on the team were Bob Johnson, Howard Nornes, Wyman Holland,
Paul Simonson, Dave Myhre, Rod Grubb, Arlo Kluver, Earl Stein, Vern Asleson, Gordon, Rholl, Clint
Hill, Don Kerlin, Paul Garness and Paul Johnson.

The team finished with a 5 - 3 record.

Concordia 3 MSTC 2

Concordia 3 NDAC 8

Concordia 1 NDAC 4

Concordia 8 Wahpeton Science 2

Concordia 6 Mayville 2

Concordia 3 NDAC 2

Concordia 4 Wahpeton Science 1

Concordia 0 MSTC 4

1951-1952

On the 1951 football team there were seven seniors -- Jim Gabrielson, Arlo Kluver, Laurie Berg,
Dyke Ellefson, Ken McFadden, Earl Kolke and Whitey Johnson. Don Kerlin was named to the
All-Conference team and Arlo Kluver and Whitey Johnson were elected captains. Coach Jake
Christiansen was again assisted by Bob Fritz and Finn Grinaker. The team had a 4 - 4 overall
record, 2 - 4 in the MIAC for seventh place.

The season's scores were:

Concordia 21 NDAC 7

Concordia 7 St. Thomas 19

Concordia 20 Gustavus 21

Concordia 19 Macalester 6

Concordia 32 Augsburg 20

Concordia 7 St. John's 30

Concordia 26 St. Olaf 32

Concordia 19 MSTC 6

In the Moorhead State game, Coach Christiansen gave the team instructions to play it safe
because of the cold and snowy weather and the Cobbers repeatedly punted on the first and second
downs. The strategy proved successful as the Dragons fumbled 13 times and Concordia recovered
five of the fumbles.

Conference standings at the end of the season were:

Gustavus 6 - 0

Duluth 5 - 1

St. Thomas 5 - 1

St. John's 4 - 1

St. Olaf 3 - 2

Hamline 3 - 3

Concordia 2 - 4

St. Mary's 1 - 5

Augsburg 0 - 6

Probable starters for the 1951-1952 basketball team, coached by Jake Christiansen, were Rudy
Moe, Don Smestad, Hod Nornes, Captain Ken Severud and Mac Redmond. Other squad members
were John Groven, Arlo Kluver, Harry Anderson, Earl Stein, Dick Hegrenes, Harvey Johnson and
Dick Quamme. The team finished with a 13 - 6 overall record and ended in fifth place in the
MIAC with a 6 - 6 record.

Scores for the season were:

Concordia 53 Valley City 52

Concordia 70 Jamestown 55

Concordia 73 Wahpeton Science 64

Concordia 46 NDAC 56

Concordia 56 Gustavus 66

Concordia 67 St. Mary's 54

Concordia 74 MSTC 46

Concordia 50 Hamline 81

Concordia 60 Macalester 52

Concordia 77 Gustavus 73

Concordia 62 St. Thomas 76

Concordia 59 Augsburg 59 ?

Concordia 63 NDAC 53

Concordia 67 St. John's 54

Concordia 76 MSTC 50

Concordia 66 St. Thomas 56

Concordia 67 Duluth 55

Concordia 54 Macalester 55

Concordia 76 St. John's 83

Concordia 79 St. Olaf 66

Standings in the conference at the end of the basketball season were:

Hamline 12 - 0

Gustavus 10 - 2

Augsburg 9 - 3

Macalester 7 - 5

Concordia 6 - 6

St. Thomas 5 - 7

St. Mary's 4 - 8

St. John's 4 - 8

St. Olaf 2 - 10

Duluth 1 - 11

St. Olaf dropped out of the MIAC to join the Midwest Conference.

Fifteen men reported to hockey coach Gordon Stensgard. The veterans included Don Baken, Ken
McFadden, Al Billingham, Marion Madson and Stensgard. New members on the team were
Howard Megorden, Russ Askew, Sherman Baarstad, Carlton DeClercq, Bill Vaswig, Lloyd
Peterson, Virgil Reierson, Ted Pease, Mel Eidal and Dave Korshavn.
 
 

Season results were:

Concordia 13 Detroit Lakes 4

Concordia 4 Fargo-Moorhead Comets 5

Concordia 3 NDAC 1

Concordia 1 NDAC 7

Concordia 1 Fargo Flyers 5

Concordia 7 NDAC 0

Concordia 2 Cook Sign 1

Player-coach Ken Severud had the following men on his roster for the 1952 baseball season:
Gabrielson, Stein, Simonson, H. Anderson, Holland, R. Johnson, Grubb, Will, P. Johnson,
Gaarnes, Myre, Asleson, Green and Kluver.

Game scores were:

Concordia 3 MSTC 2

Concordia 3 Jamestown College 8

Concordia 1 Jamestown College 4

Concordia 6 NDAC 5

Concordia 8 Wahpeton Science 2

Concordia 6 Mayville 2

Concordia 3 NDAC 2

Concordia 4 Wahpeton Science 2

Concordia 0 MSTC 4

Concordia 7 Mayville 2

Steve Gorman league standings were:

Jamestown 6 - 2

Concordia 7 - 3

MSTC 6 - 3

Mayville 5 - 4

NDAC 2 - 8

Wahpeton Science 1 - 7

The 1952 track team, coached by Irv Christenson, was sparked by a talented group of freshmen.
The roster included Moran, Hinman, Rostad, Lee, Taalerud, Sandstrom, Thvedt, Asp, Schiesson,
E. Hanson, Affeldt, C. Peterson, Toft, Nelson, Ellefson and Redmond.

In a quadrangular meet, Concordia won with 100 points; followed by MSTC, 33; Mayville, 15 and
Wahpeton Science 14. At the Bison Invitational, the Cobbers finished in third place behind NDAC
and UND.

Concordia won a dual meet with MSTC 111 - 20. The Cobbers scored 90 points at the Bemidji
Invitational. Other schools were Bemidji, MSTC and Manitoba University.

Player-coach Bill Oakland, with regulars Gordon Carlson, Don Krause, John Anderson and Jim
Davies made up the 1952 tennis team. The Cobbers were defeated only once, a 4 - 3 decision to
UND; however, they came back later to defeat the Sioux. Other victories included wins over
MSTC, Jamestown, Mayville and NDAC.

The 1952 golf team was coached by Professor Holvik and included team members Warren
Billingham, Jim Haugstad, Jim Ashe, Rod Nelson, Clayton Jensen, Allan Thompson and Ken
Severud. The highlight of the season was placing fourth in the MIAC meet. In other dual meets
the team defeated Jamestown 11 - 1 and NDAC 10 - 5.

MIAC conference meet standings were:

St. Thomas 826

Gustavus 836

Duluth 838

Concordia 871

Macalester 873

Hamline 873

St. Mary's 888

St. Olaf 904

Augsburg 905

St. John's 935

Headquarters were set in Brown Hall to house a newly -formed committee to spearhead a drive for
funds to furnish the new gym. The committee was made up of residents of Fargo-Moorhead who
were to make an appeal for funds to the people of the Fargo-Moorhead area.(2)

1952-1953

The football team of 1952 tied for the championship of the MIAC. Coached by Jake Christiansen,
with captains Dave Rostad and Paul Simonson, the team had four players on the All-Conference
team: Don Kerlin, Dave Rostad, Paul Simonson and Dave Green. Seven players were named to the
St. Paul Pioneer Press All-Conference team -- Offense: Dave Rostad, Don Kerlin, Paul Simonson
and Dick Hegrenes; Defense: Bob Narveson, Dale Sandstrom and Cliff Lingen.

The season's scores were:

Concordia 0 NDAC 12

Concordia 32 MSTC 12

Concordia 21 Hamline 7

Concordia 6 Gustavus 34

Concordia 39 St. Mary's 7

Concordia 32 St. John's 6

Concordia 13 Macalester 7

Concordia 34 St. Thomas 14

Concordia 48 Duluth 7

The Gustavus game did not count in the conference standings so the Cobbers finished the season
with a 6 - 0 record, tying with Gustavus for first place, and a 7 - 2 overall record. The conference
standings were:

Gustavus 6 - 0

Concordia 6 - 0

Hamline 4 - 2

St. John's 3 - 3

St. Thomas 3 - 3

Macalester 2 - 2 - 1

Augsburg 2 - 4

St. Mary's 0 - 5 - 1

Duluth 0 - 6

From an article in the Concordian:

For the 4th time in 21 years, Concordia claimed the MIAC football co-championship. They shared
the honor with Gustavus.

Some members of the team were Captains Dave Rostad and Paul Simonson, Bill Quenette, Paul
Knutson, Don Kerlin, Curt Holt, Jack Hinman, Myron Olson, Dale Sandstrom, Les Peterson,
Jerry Halvorson, Earl Olson, Cliff Lingen, Larry Dahlstrom, Elvin Hanson, Al Thompson, Vern
Skari, Bob Walken, Dave Green, Earl Stein, John Moran, Bud Narveson, Rod Grubb and Dick
Hegrenes.

Concordia students, past and present, are seeing the realization of years of hopes and efforts in
the addition of the new fieldhouse. Registrar Carl Narveson recalled that the class of 1925 began a
fund drive for the building of a new gym. Since that time very few years elapsed in which,
somehow, there was work done toward that goal.(3)

An article in the Concordian reported on the advantages of the new fieldhouse:

In recent years our teams have compiled respectable records, generally finishing in the middle of
the standings or above. Now with the advantages of the new, versatile structure it is not
unreasonable to believe we can reach a place among the leaders.

We immediately think of basketball as being especially helped by the new gym-fieldhouse.
Certainly it will be more convenient for students to walk a block south than to trudge the distance
to the Moorhead Junior High School. Also it does away with the seating problem for all but very
special attractions. In actual competition the change should eventually have a definite effect on
the caliber of our cage squads.

The advantages of the new building are not at all limited to basketball. In track and field
prospective cindermen will be able to work out occasionally during the winter and get started with
full practice early in the spring.

The same holds true for baseball. The fieldhouse portion will enable the squad to get going on that
time-honored ritual of getting the arms in shape. Also Jake's football men will have a place to go
when the weather is bad enough to prevent an outdoor workout.

We should not forget the power of this addition to our campus in publicizing Concordia and as a
talking point to prospective students, particularly good athletes. It is possible that in this area may
come its greatest contribution towards raising our athletic standards.

Aside from campus life, the community naturally gains benefits from an attractive, large gathering
place. The high school basketball tournament, for instance, may be kept in Minnesota as they
logically should be, The actual monetary value of the building to the city, though difficult to
estimate, is large. It makes possible bringing to the community a huge project such as the 1952
National Luther League convention. Publicity from such an event is invaluable.(4)

The first Cobber Dads' Day was held at the 61st Homecoming. Dads were introduced at halftime
of the football game. Thirty-five to forty-five fathers took part.(5)

The first basketball game of the 1952-1953 season was the first game played in the new fieldhouse
and the Cobbers won 69-59. Jake Christiansen coached the team which included squad members
John Groven, Hod Nornes, Herman Moe, Arlie Syverson, Don Smestad, Mac Redmond, Harry
Anderson, Dick Hegrenes, Fred Anderson, Bill Quenette, Ron Riedberger and Earl Stein.

The game scores were:

Concordia 69 NDAC 59

Concordia 71 MSTC 57

Concordia 71 MSTC 51

Concordia 75 UND 69

Concordia 71 Westmar College 69

Concordia 71 Huron College 66

Concordia 75 Valley City 57

Concordia 75 Jamestown 55

Concordia 71 St. Mary's 78

Concordia 72 Augsburg 62

Concordia 88 Augsburg 69

Concordia 66 St. Thomas 64

Concordia 70 Macalester 66

Concordia 64 Macalester 71

Concordia 60 St. John's 72

Concordia 78 St. John's 67

Concordia 55 Duluth 62

Concordia 67 Duluth 80

Concordia 53 Gustavus 62

Concordia 53 Hamline 95

Concordia 65 Gustavus 90

Concordia 57 Hamline 82

The overall record for the team was 13 - 9, and 5 - 11 in the MIAC for seventh place.

Conference standings were:

Hamline 15 - 1

Gustavus 11 - 5

St. Thomas 10 - 6

St. Mary's 9 - 7

Macalester 8 - 8

Duluth 8 - 8

Concordia 5 - 11

St. John's 4 - 12

Augsburg 2 - 14

Player-coach Don Baken led the 1953 hockey team which played only four games -- one with
Detroit Lakes, one with Shanley High School and two with the Cando, North Dakota
Independents. Members of the squad included Mathison, Baken, Norlin, Tovson, Baarstad,
Peterson, Nornes, McFadden, Johanson, Palsson, Berg, Gullickson, Ashland, Rude and Finney.

In 1953 Coach Finn Grinaker started the school's first wrestling team. The team had meets with
MSTC and Moorhead High School. Plans were made for a more complete schedule with practice
beginning soon after the end of the football season. Members of that first team were Shellock,
Nelson, Winter, Knutson, Brekkus, Olson, Holt and Stephenson.

Led by two seniors and one sophomore, the 1953 track team had a successful season. Coached by
Irv Christenson, the members of the team included L. Krause, Redmond, Nornes, Hellerud,
Sandstrom, Steinback, Rostad, Thvedt, Hinman, Hegle and Brandt.

The team placed third in a meet with NDAC, UND, MSTC, St. Cloud, Bemidji and Mayville. At
the MSTC Invitational meet, the Cobbers were second, trailing NDAC 76 - 46 1/2. At the next
meet they edged out Valley City by 1 1/2 points. Again at Bemidji they squeezed out a win by 1 1/2
points.

At the conference meet the Cobbers finished in fourth place. Dale Sandstrom and Hod Nornes
each picked up 13 points. Nornes won the high jump and was second in the low hurdles and long
jump. Sandstrom won the low hurdles and was second in the high hurdles and 100-yard dash.

On the roster for the 1953 golf team were Clayton Jenson, Mike Billingham, Phil Thompson, Rod
Nelson, Al Thompson, Jim Haugstul, Art Diercks, Roland Barstad and Jim Ashe. They were
coached by Professor Holvik. Their schedule included dual meets with Jamestown (the Cobbers
won 11 - 1), UND and NDAC, the NDAC Invitational, the All-City meet and The MIAC
conference meet.

Player-coach Don Krause led the 1953 tennis team. In dual meets the Cobbers defeated MSTC 8 -
0 and 8 - 1 and won over Mayville 7 - 0. They won the tri-college meet at Jamestown and took
second place in the Bemidji State Invitational. Concordia was unable to enter the conference meet
because of conflicts. Members of the team were Ron Klementson, John Anderson, Jim Lillo,
Gordon Carlson, Dick Quamme, Mort Eliason, Mac Redmond, Rudy Moe, Arne Garness, Paul
Mork, Jim Narveson and Bob Bakken.

The 1953 baseball team, coached by Ken Severud, finished the season with an overall record of 9 -
3, and in second place in the Steve Gorman League. The roster included Hofstedt, R. Johnson,
Dick Kuball, Curt Holt, Dave Green, Myron Olson, Paul Johnson, Rod Grubb, Don Kerlin, Bill
Quenette, Al Erickson, Stephenson, John Foss, Loren Germandson, Earl Stein and Ron
Riedberger.

Baseball scores for the season were:

Concordia 14 NDAC 5

Concordia 9 Wahpeton Science 3

Concordia 3 Wahpeton Science 1

Concordia 0 NDAC 9

Concordia 3 Valley City 1

Concordia 17 Valley City 2

Concordia 17 Mayville 0

Concordia 5 Mayville 4

Concordia 1 Jamestown 6

Concordia 9 Jamestown 2

Concordia 1 MSTC 3

Concordia 9 MSTC 1

1953-1954

The 1953 Cobber football team finished in third place in the MIAC with a 4 - 2 record and 5 - 3
overall and were coached by Jake Christiansen. Senior members of the team were Dick Hegrenes,
Earl Stein, Don Kerlin, Clint Hill, Bernie Benson and Cliff Lingen. Captains of the team were Dick
Hegrenes and Don Kerlin. They, plus Cliff Lingen, also earned All-Conference honors.

Other squad members included Bob Ballinger, Larry Dahlstrom, Arne Garness, Jack Hinman,
Curt Holt, Earl Olson, Dale Sandstrom, Dennis Hegle, Myron Olson, Don Brandt, Wayne Egenes,
Wendell Franke, John Foss, John Hanson, Jack Hellerud, Dick Holzheimer, Paul Knutson, Dewey
Nelson, Allyn Pederson, Carlton Paulson, Jim Simonson and Arnold Stengel.

Season scores were:

Concordia 14 MSTC 6

Concordia 6 NDAC 7

Concordia 32 St. Mary's 6

Concordia 27 Duluth 25

Concordia 7 Hamline 6

Concordia 7 Gustavus 20

Concordia 33 Augsburg 0

Concordia 6 St. John's 7

The conference standings at the end of the season were:

Gustavus 5 - 1

St. John's 5 - 1

Concordia 4 - 2

Macalester 4 - 2

Duluth 3 - 3

Hamline 3 - 3

St. Thomas 2- 4

Augsburg 1 - 5

St. Mary's 0 - 6

Finn Grinaker took over the coaching duties for the 1953-1954 basketball team. Finn, a Cobber
graduate in 1948, replace Jake Christiansen, who will concentrate on the jobs of athletic director
and football coach. Coach Grinaker has been an assistant football and basketball coach at
Concordia since 1949.

Members of the squad were Captain Earl Stein, Floyd Anderson, John Foss, Paul Knutson,
Wendell Franke, Rod Westrum, Lyle Dahl, Dennis Bergstad, Dick Kuball, Ray Falls, Jon Hilk,
Ron Kleven, George Sawyer and Don Falls. The team finished with a 2 - 22 overall record and
finished last in the MIAC with a 1 - 15 record. Scores were:

Concordia 67 Valley City 77

Concordia 70 NDAC 89

Concordia 60 Augsburg 58

Concordia 68 St. John's 77

Concordia 50 Hamline 76

Concordia 52 Duluth 82

Concordia 61 Jamestown 67

Concordia 50 Huron College 71

Concordia 70 Jamestown 67

Concordia 51 St. Mary's 82

Concordia 51 Macalester 76

Concordia 54 Gustavus 76

Concordia 53 MSTC 66

Concordia 59 MSTC 66

Concordia 60 NDAC 75

Concordia 57 St. Thomas 78

Concordia 61 St. John's 82

Concordia 54 Hamline 85

Concordia 58 Duluth 61

Concordia 59 Augsburg 66

Concordia 67 St. Mary's 76

Concordia 55 Macalester 62

Concordia 48 Gustavus 75

Concordia 61 St. Thomas 65

Concordia 51 St. Olaf 84

Basketball conference standings were:

Gustavus 13 - 3

Hamline 12 - 4

St. Thomas 11 - 5

St. Mary's 9 - 7

Duluth 8 - 8

St. John's 8 - 8

Macalester 7 - 9

Augsburg 3 - 13

Concordia 1 - 15

Roy McLeod joined the athletic department as a coach, trainer and equipment room manager. He
was a long-time coach in North Dakota high schools.(6)

Player-coach Lyle Hunter led the 1953-1954 hockey team which included Baarstad, Tovson, Vraa,
Workentine, Vibe, J. Johnson, A. Aas, O. Berg, J. Olson, Norlin, Fjelstul, Syvrud, D. Peterson, H.
Anderson and Stoelting. Season results were:

Concordia 2 Fargo Flyers 5

Concordia 10 Thief River Falls 12

Concordia 6 Fargo Flyers 7

Concordia 2 St. Cloud Teachers 8

Jerry Olson coached the 1954 wrestling team. Members of the squad included Don Nelson, Art
Brekkus, Wayne Egenes, Dewey Nelson, Rognlie, A. Aas, C. Simonson, Stevens, Lysgaard and M.
Olson.

In a dual meet MSTC defeated Concordia 37 - 8. The Cobbers placed second in a triangular meet
with 28 points behind MSTC with 48 and ahead of Bemidji which scored 17. They came in fifth at
the MIAC conference meet with Don Nelson at 137 lbs. placing third, Art Brekkus at 147 lbs.
placing third, Wayne Egenes at 167 lbs. placing third and Dewey Nelson, Heavyweight, placing
fourth. MIAC meet results were:

St. John's 50

Gustavus 24

St. Thomas 18

Concordia 9

Bad weather shortened the season for the 1954 tennis team. Player-coach Don Krause, John
Anderson, Bob Bakken, Orvin Heimsness and Mort Eliason were on the this first Concordia tennis
team to be entered in the MIAC conference meet where they finished in sixth place.

In other meets, Concordia won matches over Bemidji and MSTC. The Cobbers finished second in
both the NDAC and Bemidji invitational meets.

The 1954 golf team was coached by Professor Holvik and included Jim Haugstul, Dick Quamme,
Don Lund, Earl Stein, Wayne Elton, Gary Carlin and Jerry Hanson. This team won the UND
invitational, won a quadrangular meet at Bemidji (Concordia, 343; UND, 343; Bemidji, 348; and
MSTC, 374) and won the Inter-city meet (Concordia, 401; NDAC, 409; and MSTC, 459.)

The team placed second in a quadrangular meet at Edgewood Golf Course in Fargo and third in
the MSTC invitational. At the MIAC conference meet the Concordia team finished fifth.

Irv Christenson was the coach of the 1954 track team. On the roster were Haaland, Herzog,
Thvedt. Elverum, Moe, Gilbertson, Larson, Krause, Miller, Oleson, Hanson, Olson, Kjelstrom,
Nelson, Sandstrom, Wahlin and Hellerud.

They placed fourth in a field of nine teams at the Bison invitational, lost to St. John's in a dual
meet and won the Bemidji and MSTC invitational meets. At the MIAC meet the Cobbers finished
in seventh place with the following winners: Dale Sandstrom, high hurdles -- second, 100
yard-dash -- fourth; Jory Kjelstrom , pole vault -- third; Les Nelson, shot put -- third; John
Elverum, pole vault -- fourth; and John Herzog, mile -- fourth.

Halvor Johnson was the player-coach of the 1954 baseball team which included Vraa, Kerlin,
Foss, Myron Olson, Hofstedt, Aasland, Stein, Kleven, Erickson, Murray, Woldseth, Stengel, Holt,
Dave Olson, Bjelland, P. Johnson, Westrum, Bob Johnson and Kuball.

Season results were as follows:

Concordia 21 Wahpeton Science 0

Concordia 7 Wahpeton Science 0

Concordia 22 Valley City 3

Concordia 23 Valley City 6

Concordia 3 Mayville 4

Concordia 6 Mayville 3

Concordia 9 NDAC 3

Concordia 10 Jamestown 2

Concordia 6 Jamestown 2

Concordia 0 NDAC 2

Concordia 0 MSTC 1

Concordia 1 MSTC 5

Standings in the Steve Gorman League were:

MSTC 11 - 1

Concordia 8 - 4

Mayville 6 - 4

NDAC 6 - 4

Valley City 3 - 7

Wahpeton Science 1 - 7

Jamestown 1 - 9
 
 
 
 

1954-1955

Jake Christiansen's 1954 football team amassed a 6 - 1 - 1 overall record and finished second in
the conference with a 5 - 1 record. Curt Holt and Dale Sandstrom were co-captains and Dale
Sandstrom was named to the All-Conference team and was voted MVP of the MIAC.

Probable starters on the team were:

LE Dewey Nelson RE Earl Olson

LT Paul Knutson RT Larry Dahlstrom

LG Carlton Paulson RG Jim Simonson

C Lowell Larson QB Dale Sandstrom

HB Dennis Hegle HB Curt Hold

FB Curt Gabrielson

The team roster included, A. Larsen, Lowell Larson, Jack Hinman, Earl Olson, Larry Dahlstrom,
Dale Sandstrom, Curt Holt, Jim Simonson, Al Tweit, Curt Gabrielson, Al Siegle, Marlow
Davidson, Wimpfheimer, John Hanson, Arnold Porkkonen, Leroy Krause, L. Nelson, Don
Hanson, Jack Larson, Dennis Hegle, Roger Olson, Ken Bladow, Chuck Sagedahl, Arne Garness,
Deb Tweit, Jim Miller, Paul Knutson, A. Pederson, Roger Gilbertson, Harvey Anderson, Glenn
Bladow and Robert Syverud.

Results for the season were:

Concordia 12 NDAC 0

Concordia 7 MSTC 7

Concordia 28 St. Mary's 0

Concordia 14 St. Thomas 12

Concordia 35 Augsburg 13

Concordia 14 St. John's 20

Concordia 6 Duluth 0

Concordia 35 Macalester 14

Conference standings were:

Gustavus 6 - 0

Concordia 5 - 1

Duluth 4 - 2

St. Thomas 4 - 2

St. John's 4 - 2

Hamline 3 - 3

Macalester 1 - 5

Augsburg 0 - 6

St. Mary's 0 - 6

The 1954-1955 basketball team, coached by Finn Grinaker, had Lowell Waylander, Dennis
Bergstad, Art Johnson, Glenn Olson, John Foss, Floyd Anderson, Ray Falls, Wendell Franke, Rod
Westrum, George Sawyer and Lyle Dahl on the roster. With a record of 1 - 21, and 0-16 in the
MIAC, the team finished in 9th place. Season scores were:

Concordia 64 NDAC 68

Concordia 64 Augsburg 85

Concordia 69 MSTC 70

Concordia 77 Duluth 100

Concordia 72 Valley City 77

Concordia 67 St. Mary's 88

Concordia 47 Macalester 57

Concordia 36 Gustavus 55

Concordia 43 Hamline 65

Concordia 69 St. Thomas 81

Concordia 59 NDAC 74

Concordia 84 St. John's 96

Concordia 51 Hamline 88

Concordia 86 MSTC 62

Concordia 73 Duluth 97

Concordia 59 Augsburg 70

Concordia 52 St. Mary's 69

Concordia 52 Gustavus 70

Concordia 68 Macalester 81

Concordia 79 St. Olaf 90

Concordia 76 St. John's 87

Concordia 67 St. Thomas 95

Conference standings at the end of the season were:

Gustavus 15 - 1

Hamline 11 - 5

St. Mary's 11 - 5

St. Thomas 8 - 8

Augsburg 8 - 8

St. John's 7 - 9

Duluth 6 - 10

Macalester 6 - 10

Concordia 0 - 16

Coach Jerry Olson led the 1954-1955 wrestling team to a third place finish in the MIAC meet. Al
Tweit won the 191-lb. championship, with Jim Lysgaard and Don Nelson placing second and Ken
Anderson, Wayne Egenes and Steve Winter placing third. Also on the roster were R. Mickelson, R.
Ness, and Deb Tweit.

At the Carleton tournament the Cobbers finished in sixth place out of 11 schools. In dual meets
the results were:

Concordia 20 MSTC 18

Concordia 14 Bemidji State 18

Concordia 13 Crookston Aggies 14

Concordia 17 Gustavus 20

Concordia 15 Macalester 16

Concordia 24 MSTC 13

Concordia 14 Crookston AC 13

At the MIAC conference meet the results were:

St. John's 43

Macalester 41

Concordia 31

Gustavus 30

St. Thomas 29

Duluth 0

Player-coach Gordon Stensgard led the hockey team to a 3 - 5 finish. The roster included Tovson,
O. Berg, A. Thompson, Vibe, D. Peterson, Norlin, R. Nelson, Stenso, Fjelstul, Klungness, N.
Anderson and Stalwick. Scores were:

Concordia 2 Fargo Flyers 5

Concordia 2 St. Cloud 10

Concordia 3 St. Cloud 5

Concordia 6 Fargo Flyers 3

Concordia 2 St. John's 7

Concordia 5 UND (Rho Delta) 2

Concordia 8 Grafton Independents 2

Concordia 5 Roseau 10

This year the rink was moved to a new location behind the Veterans' units. Increased lighting was
installed to make night games possible and new uniforms were purchased.

The 1955 baseball team was coached by Dave Green and won a share of the Steve Gorman League
title. On the roster were Lyle Dahl, Ron Kleven, Dave Olson, Jim Zach, Norm Opheim, Roy
Nellermoe, Dick Kuball, Curt Holt, Arnold Stengel, Rod Westrum, Don Nellermoe, Myron Olson,
Dan Kittelson, Phil Berg, Leroy Aasland, Herb Olson, Ron Hofstedt, Harold Larson and John
Foss.

Irv Christenson's 1955 track team was the MIAC champion. Paced by Dale Sandstrom, Curt Holt,
Jory Kjelstrom and Les Nelson, Concordia earned 44 5/6 points to edge out St. Thomas by 4 1/3
points. It was a team victory as eleven men earned points. The team included Jory Kjelstrom, Joe
Wahlen, Roger Olson, Waldemar Krenz, Kent Froseth, Curt Gabrielson, Art Johnson, Don
Brandt, John Herzog, Jack Hinman, Dale Sandstrom, Jim Thvedt, Les Nelson, Jim Miller, John
Elverum, Jack Boe, Al Tveit, Ray Thielman, Jim Greenan, Dale Klungness and John Moe.

In other results the track team took second place at the UND Indoor Relays where Jory Kjelstrom
broke the pole vault record with a vault of 12' and John Herzog won the mile in a time of 4:56. At
the Jamestown Quadrangular Jamestown was first with 87 points, Concordia second with 47
points, followed by Minot with 21 and Valley City with 8 points. Dale Sandstrom won the 100
yard dash in 10.6 and Curt Gabrielson won the 220 yard dash in 22.3.

Concordia won the Bemidji Relays with a score of 83, followed by Bemidji with 52, MSTC with
45, Manitoba with 34 and Mayville with 7 1/2. Concordia winners in this meet were:

Dale Sandstrom 220 yard hurdles 24.9

Les Nelson Shot Put 41' 11"

Art Johnson Discus 123' 9 1/2"

Jack Hinman Javelin 148' 3 1/2"

John Moe Pole Vault 11' 9"

The 1955 Concordia golf team under coach Finn Grinaker had some great individual efforts but
did not win any meets. The roster included Gerry Stomsvik, Dick Quamme, Jim Haugstul, Wayne
Elton, Lyle Grosz, Earl Stein, Don Lund and Gary Carlin. Season results were:

Concordia Invitational UND Invitational

NDAC 426 NDAC 423

UND 433 UND 430

Concordia 450 MSTC 441

MSTC 466 Concordia 447

Bemidji 481 Bemidji 451

Bemidji Invitational Edgewood Meet

Bemidji 304 UND 414

Concordia 319 NDAC 414

UND 326 Concordia 433

MSTC 335 Bemidji 434

(Jim Haugstul was medalist with MSTC 466

a 4 under par 68.)

All-City

NDAC 409

Concordia 430

MSTC 455

The golf team ended up in fifth place in the MIAC meet.

Inexperience hampered the 1955 tennis team as only one letterman returned. Squad members were
Bobb Bakken, Dean Haugen, Valdemar Olson and Art Johnson. Professor Al Monson coached
the team. During the season the team lost to St. Cloud, won two triangular matches, placed second
in the NDAC Invitational and second at the Bemidji Invitational. In a meet at Island Park, NDAC
had 6 wins, Concordia had 3 wins and MSTC had 0 wins. At the MIAC meet, the Cobbers lost
their doubles match and two first-round singles matches.

Player-coach Dave Green led the baseball team to an 5 - 3 season. Scores were:

Concordia 3 NDAC 6

Concordia 14 Wahpeton Science 4

Concordia 14 Wahpeton Science 8

Concordia 5 NDAC 4

Concordia 10 Valley City 2

Concordia 2 Valley City 4

Concordia 7 Mayville 1

Concordia 0 Mayville 2

1955-1956

The 1955 football team had a 6 - 2 season, finishing second in the MIAC with a 4 - 2 conference
record. Jake Christiansen was the coach of the team and captains were Dewey Nelson and Carlton
Paulson. Curt Gabrielson and Ron Gilbertson were named to the All-Conference team while
linemen Carlton Paulson, Al Tweit, Dewey Nelson and Bill Quenette were named to the second
team.

This was a team of excellent backs including Curt Gabrielson, Jim Miller, Arnie Porkkonen and
Ron Gilbertson. John Hanson and Harvey Anderson were the quarterbacks.

Scores for the season were:

Concordia 20 NDAC 7

Concordia 34 MSTC 0

Concordia 20 St. Thomas 7

Concordia 13 Macalester 20

Concordia 20 Gustavus 13

Concordia 6 Augsburg 12

Concordia 35 Duluth 6

Concordia 64 Hamline 14

A special edition of the Concordian was published after the Cobbers defeated the Gusties 20 - 13.
This was the first win over Gustavus in 21 years.

Conference standings at the close of the season were:

Gustavus 5 - 1

Macalester 4 - 2

St. John's 4 - 2

Concordia 4 - 2

St. Thomas 3 - 3

Augsburg 3 - 3

Duluth 1 - 5

Hamline 0 - 5

Ed "Sonny" Gulsvig, '50, replaced Finn Grinaker as basketball coach. Sonny was a three-sport
letterman at Concordia. His previous coaching positions were at Moose Lake and Sauk Center,
both in Minnesota.

The 1955-1956 basketball team had an overall record of 4 - 22, 1 - 16 in the MIAC. Lyle Dahl was
the captain of the team which included Ray Falls, Dave Opheim, Ron Riedberger, Bill Quenette,
Arnold Porkkonen, Bob Billehus, Lyle Dahl, Craig Johnson, Harold Larson, Peter Grottodden,
Dennis Bergstad, Art Johnson, Barry Bowles and Fred Nelson.

The scores were:

Concordia 63 Ellendale 87

Concordia 63 Augsburg 76

Concordia 60 Duluth 65

Concordia 55 Jamestown College 64

Concordia 46 St. Mary's 72

Concordia 57 NDAC 67

Concordia 79 Ellendale 59

Concordia 65 Mankato 85

Concordia 69 NDAC 80

Concordia 60 Macalester 72

Concordia 63 Gustavus 79

Concordia 84 MSTC 66

Concordia 62 St. Thomas 73

Concordia 84 St. John's 88

Concordia 61 Hamline 83

Concordia 89 Duluth 103

Concordia 85 NDAC 77

Concordia 74 Augsburg 96

Concordia 66 St. Mary's 80

Concordia 88 Macalester 91

Concordia 68 Gustavus 86

Concordia 82 MSTC 85

Concordia 66 St. Thomas 88

Concordia 79 St. John's 86

Concordia 63 St. Olaf 87

Concordia 72 Hamline 47

Conference standings for the 1955-1956 season were:

Gustavus 13 - 2

Hamline 11 - 4

Augsburg 9 - 4

St. Thomas 8 - 6

Macalester 6 - 8

St. Mary's 6 - 8

St. John's 5 - 9

Duluth 5 - 9

Concordia 1 - 16

Player-coach Warren Tovson and his hockey team compiled a 2 - 6 season record despite
inadequate facilities. Games were played against St. John's, St. Cloud, St. Olaf and the Fargo
Flyers. On the roster were Don Nyholm, Gary Smith, Dale Klungness, Larry Gilbertson, Ken
Nelson, John Fjelstul, Darrell Rude, Al Thompson, Nels Anderson, Warren Tovson, Cal Vraa,
Cliff Paulson and Harry Vibe. Some hockey scores reported were:

Concordia 4 St. Cloud 8

Concordia 4 Fargo Flyers 1

Concordia 2 St. Olaf 5

Concordia 0 St. Cloud 7

Captain Al Tweit had an unbeaten season and was conference champion on the 1955-1956
wrestling team, coached by Finn Grinaker. With an overall record of 4 - 6, the Cobbers finished in
second place in the MIAC.

Scores for the season were:

Concordia 29 Gustavus 10

Concordia 15 St. John's 22

Concordia 25 MSTC 13

Concordia 13 Bemidji 23

Concordia 27 Bemidji 10

Concordia 5 St. Cloud 28

Concordia 27 MSTC 5

On the roster were Deb Tweit, Al Tweit, Ron Gadberry, Lowell Goodrich, Lowell Hanson, Ron
Nellermoe, Jim Jossart, Roger Leopold, Dean Schennum, Don Nelson, Austin MacInnes, Paul
Larson, Lowell Larson, LeRoy Meyer, Forrest Klies, Marlin Gabbert, Teke Gilbertson, Clarence
Zimbelman and Dan Olson. At the conference meet Lowell Hanson and Roger Leopold earned
second place honors, Ron Nellermoe and Austin MacInnes placed third, Ron Gadberry was in
fourth place and Dean Schennum and Deb Tweit also placed. Conference standings were:

St. John's 47

Concordia 30

Gustavus 30

Macalester 29

St. Thomas 14

Professor Alwyn Monson coached the 1956 tennis team which included Bob Bakken, the only
returning letterman, Paul Dussere, Dean Haugen, Valdemar Olson and Art Johnson. The team was
beaten by St. Cloud in a close match. Victories were recorded in a triangular contest at the
Bemidji Invitational and at Jamestown College. Second place finishes were recorded at the NDAC
and inter-city meets. The MIAC meet closed out the season.

The golf team coached by Finn Grinaker had four second-place honors to its credit. The team
finished seventh in the MIAC meet. The roster included Captain Wayne Elton, Ron Riedberger,
Jerry Olson, Gary Glomstad and Curt Bakken.

Dave Green coached the 1956 baseball team. The roster included LeRoy Aasland, Don Kittleson,
Harold Leyse, Harold Larson, Bill Quenette, Dick Kuball, Ron Riedberger, Carl Gronastrand,
Ron Nellermoe, Bob Rasmus, Owen Germundson, Ken Thompson, Ron Hofstedt, Darrel Charon,
Bob Clark, Ron Kleven, Marlin Gabbert, Nels Anderson, Pete Nellermoe, Casey Stengel and Dave
Olson.

The team ended the season with a 5 - 4 record and fourth place finish in the Steve Gorman
League. Scores were:

Concordia 11 Valley City 0

Concordia 0 UND 2

Concordia 8 UND 4

Concordia 3 NDAC 7

Concordia 4 NDAC 8

Concordia 7 Jamestown 3

Concordia 10 Jamestown 3

Concordia 3 MSTC 5

Concordia 7 MSTC 3

The 1956 track team repeated as MIAC champions under coach Les Nelson. Members of the team
were John Moe, Don Nelson, Robert Cobb, Wally Krentz, Fred Nelson, Curt Gabrielson, Jory
Kjelstrom, Larry Cartwight, Jack Boe, Don Jacobson, Gordon Hvidsten, John Herzog, Cliff
Paulson, John Elverum, Roger Olson, Ray Thielman, Dale Leverson, Forrest Klies, George Wray,
Richard Berg and Jim Greenan.

Results of the season were:

Carleton Invitational 4th place

St. John's Triangular 1st place

Concordia 66.4 MSTC 37.6

Concordia 76 NDAC 28

Concordia 73.75 St. John's 30.25

Bemidji Invitational 1st place

Inter-City Meet 1st place

Bison Invitational 3rd place

Concordia Invitational 1st place

MIAC Conference Meet 1st place with 58 points

(Jory Kjelstrom won three 1st place honors.)

1956-1957

Jake Christiansen's 1956 football team was second in the conference with a 5 - 2 record and had
an overall record of 6 - 3. Bill Quenette was the team captain. The MIAC Sportswriters
All-Conference team placed three Cobers on the first team, namely Bill Quenette, Al Tweit and
Arnold Porkkonen.

The roster included Bob Young, Carl Grandstand, Eldon Braun, Roger Olson, Ron Gilbertson,
Abel Larsen, Hilding Ronning, Bob Fredrickson, Roy Nellermoe, John Johnson, Wes Lokken,
Jack Landstrom, Joel Breitung, Carl Scheie, Dick Hodges, John Brayton, Howard Nellermoe,
Gordon Jeppson, Andy Hendrickx, Jim Christopherson, Al Tweit, Ron Gadberry, Darrell Schultz,
John Westby, Harvey Anderson, Jim Miller, Roger Adair, Jim Jossart, Lowell Larson, Don
Green, Fred Nelson, Cliff Paulson, Bill Quenette, Arnold Porkkonen, Cliff Anderson, Edwin
Knutson, Roger Leopold, Jim Greenan, Tim Skinner, Rat Thielman, John Olson, Roger
Gilbertson and Al Larson.
 
 

Season scores were:

Concordia 25 MSTC 7

Concordia 7 NDAC 12

Concordia 21 Duluth 0

Concordia 38 Hamline 0

Concordia 12 Macalester 27

Concordia 13 St. Thomas 18

Concordia 32 St. John's 6

Concordia 46 Augsburg 0

Concordia 14 Gustavus 0

The conference standings were:

St. Thomas 7 - 0

Concordia 5 - 2

Gustavus 4 - 3

Macalester 4 - 3

St. John's 3 - 3

Duluth 2 - 5

Augsburg 1 - 5

Hamline 0 - 7

Six gymnasts turned out for an organizational meeting in an attempt to form a gymnastics team.
Nip Leverson served as student-coach.

The 1956-1957 basketball team, coached by Sonny Gulsvig, had an overall record of

8 - 15 and 7 - 9 in the MIAC.

Scores were:

Concordia 75 NDAC 84

Concordia 69 St. Olaf 46

Concordia 63 Augsburg 73

Concordia 73 St. Mary's 88

Concordia 62 Macalester 72

Concordia 67 Minot State 69

Concordia 64 Valley City 73

Concordia 67 NDAC 68

Concordia 78 St. Thomas 81

Concordia 58 St. John's 68

Concordia 88 MSTC 81

Concordia 70 Gustavus 69

Concordia 64 Duluth 68

Concordia 56 Augsburg 61

Concordia 92 St. Mary's 81

Concordia 65 Hamline 93

Concordia 77 Macalester 67

Concordia 82 Gustavus 71

Concordia 70 MSTC 72

Concordia 78 St. Thomas 88

Concordia 88 St. John's 74

Concordia 70 Hamline 85

Concordia 82 Duluth 92

Conference standings were:

Duluth 15 - 1

Gustavus 11 - 5

Hamline 9 - 7

St. Thomas 9 - 7

Macalester 8 - 8

Concordia 7 - 9

Augsburg 6 - 10

St. Mary's 5 - 11

St. John's 2 - 14

The basketball squad included Dennis Jenson, Roger Adair, Fred Nelson, Tom Gabrielson, Ray
Falls, Arnold Porkkonen, Dick Shearer, Barry Bowles, Art Johnson, Craig Johnson, Dave
Opheim, Bill Quenette, Chuck Benson and Darryl Albnright.

Cliff Rothrock coached the 1956-1957 hockey team which ended up 1 - 9 for the season. The roster
included Larry Gilbertson, Cliff Paulson, Darrel Rude, Dick Birkeland, Don Nyholm, Phil Engh,
Ken Nelson, James Strandlie, Al Grundahl, Tony Anderson, Don Knecht, Bob Young and
Maynard Anderson. Available scores were:

Concordia 0 St. Olaf 15

Concordia 3 St. Olaf 12

Concordia 1 Fergus Falls 4

Concordia 2 Fergus Falls 6

Concordia 1 Fargo Flyers 5

Concordia 9 Thief River Falls 1

The 1956-1957 wrestling team coached by Finn Grinaker recorded a 5 - 5 - 1 season. The team
placed second in the MIAC meet with three conference champions. Captain Al Tweit won the 191
lb. class for the third year in a row and was named the MVP of the tournament along with Ade
Sponberg of Gustavus. The Carl Larson trophy is given to the MVP of the conference tournament
and is named after a Macalester wrestler who was killed in a shooting accident. Roy Nellermoe
took the 157 lb. championship and Roger Leopold was the winner in the 137 lb. class.

The roster included Lowell Hanson, Jim Olson, Al Tweit, Roger Leopold, Cliff Anderson, J. David
Larson, Dean Schennum, Ron Gadberry, Wally Ness, Roy Nellermoe, Carl Grandstrand, Paul
Larson, Lyle Skyonsby, Dale Oien, Paul Knutson, Dennis Heifner, Norman Danielson, John
Olson and Don Jeppson.

Some scores for the season were:

Concordia 18 Bemidji 21

Carleton Tournament (14 teams) - fourth place

Concordia 15 South Dakota State 18

Concordia 14 St. John's 21

Concordia 26 Gustavus 13

Concordia 30 Valley City State 6

Concordia 0 St. Cloud 34

Results of the MIAC meet were:

St. John's 59

Concordia 58

Gustavus 49

St. Thomas 43

Macalester 33

Members of Coach Don Krause's tennis team included Captain Bob Bakken, Art Johnson, Valde
Olson and Dean Haugen. Season results were:

Concordia 2 NDAC 4

Inter-City Meet - second place

Bemidji Tournament - tied for first place with Bemidji

Concordia 6 Jamestown 0

MIAC Meet - one win and four losses

Baseball coach Cliff Rothrock arranged a southern trip which included games against the
University of Illinois and the University of Arkansas. Six games were scheduled on the trip and the
Cobbers were victories in two games while two games were rained out.

The team had a 7 - 3 record in the Steve Gorman league. An invitation to the regional NAIA
tournament in Blair, Nebraska resulted in Concordia losing two games by a single run.

Season scores were:

Concordia 1 U of Arkansas 3

Concordia 2 U of Illinois 13

Concordia 2 Memphis Naval Air Station 5

Concordia 2 Arkansas State 0

Concordia 8 Valley City 3

Concordia 6 Valley City 7

Concordia 6 MSTC 9

Concordia 11 MSTC 4

Concordia 8 Jamestown 0

Concordia 4 Jamestown 5

Concordia 10 NDAC 0

Concordia 3 NDAC 0

On the roster were Dale Klungness, Ron Kleven, Bryan Downie, Bob Rasmus, Nels Anderson,
Carl Grandstrand, Roy Nellermoe, Bill Greenan, Tim Skinner, Roger Adair, Jim Christopherson,
Bill Harstad, Barry Bowles, Ken Thompson, Lowell Larson, Gordon Jeppson, Leroy Anderson,
Tom Wolhowe, Bill Quenette, Ron Riedberger, Ron Gadberry, Ray Erickson, Owen Germundson,
Bob Clark and Ed Beyer.

The golf team coached by Finn Grinaker included Fred Nelson, Gerry Olsen, Lee Sanderson and
Paul Dussere. At three meets the scores were:

UND Invitational NDAC Invitational MSTC Invitational

UND 368 NDAC 412 MSTC 421

NDAC 375 Concordia 426 Concordia 435

Concordia 379 UND 427 Bemidji 449

MSTC 398 MSTC 429 Valley City 468

Bemidji 404 Bemidji 435

St. Cloud 444

The 1957 track team coached by Irv Christenson and led by Jory Kjelstrom and Curt Gabrielson
placed third in the MIAC meet. Other consistent point getters were Wally Krenz, Nip Leverson,
John Elverum and Don Jacobson. Also on the roster were Arnold Ishaug, Ron Matheson, Gordon
Hvidsten, Mike Flom, John Herzon, Marlin Ness, Kent Froseth, Don Jacobson, George Wray,
Don Nelson, Gilbert Jensen, Dan Simundson, Ray Thielman, Arvid Olson, John Ramsey, Clayton
Gorder, Leon Olson, Dave Rebers, Dick Berg, Chuck Benson, Jerry Syvrud and Herm
Hendrickson.

Available season results were:

Concordia 77 1/2 MSTC 44 1/2

St. John's Triangular Bemidji Invitational Concordia Invitational

St. John's 55 Concordia 59 Concordia 79

Concordia 48 Bemidji 58 Valley City 61

Macalester 44 Winnipeg 30 MSTC 39

MSTC 27 NDAC 22

At the Concordia Invitational Curt Gabrielson ran the 100 in 9.8 and the 220 in 21.7.
 
 
 
 

1957-1958

The 1957 football team under Coach Jake Christiansen won the MIAC conference title with a 6 - 1
record and 7 - 2 record overall. Assistant coaches were Rod Grubb, Finn Grinaker, Sonny Gulsvig
and Bill Quenette. Honors for the team included All-Conference: Curt Gabrielson and Al Tweit;
Honorable Mention: Jim Christopherson, Don Green, Jim Jossart, Roger Gilbertson and Fred
Nelson and MIAC Most Valuable Player: Curt Gabrielson. Curt Gabrielson and Al Tweit were
named captains of the team.

Season scores were:

Concordia 47 NDAC 0

Concordia 14 Gustavus 20

Concordia 33 Duluth 7

Concordia 49 Hamline 6

Concordia 19 Macalester 6

Concordia 27 St. Thomas 0

Concordia 33 St. John's 6

Concordia 19 Augsburg 0

Concordia 9 MSTC 10

Conference standings at the end of the season were:

Concordia 6 - 1

Macalester 5 - 1

Gustavus 5 - 1

St. John's 4 - 3

Augsburg 3 - 4

Duluth 2 - 5

St. Thomas 1 - 5 - 1

Hamline 0 - 6 - 1

The team roster included Jim Christopherson, Jim Jossart, Don Green, Gary Carlson, Cliff
Anderson, Bob Teigen, Andy Hendricks, Eldon Braun, Carl Grandstrand, Mel Panjkovich, Roy
Nellermoe, Al Tweit, Ron Skinner, Dave Olson, Al Larson, Paul Anderson, Ray Thielman, Bill
Greenan, John Combellich, John Westby, Roger Adair, Roger Gilbertson, John Budiyes, Cliff
Paulson, Hilding Ronning, Wendell Franke, Roger Haugen, Monroe Leraas, Dave Grimsrud,
Gordon Jeppson, John Johnson, Dick Whitiker, Bob Young, Bob Markwardt, Al Gunderson,
Marland Nohre, Tom Sands, Paul Lommen, Fred Nelson, Ron Gadberry, Jack Nelson, Curt
Gabrielson, Loren Tank, Jack Lutes, John Branden, Dave Peterson, Dave Spong, Elliot Holton,
Allen Haugen, Lyle Johnson, Ralph Chase, Dave Bromstad, Roland Johnson, Gary Nelson, Gary
Larson and Jim Hausman.

The 1957-1958 basketball team was coached by Sonny Gulsvig with Art Johnson as captain. The
team finished the season with a 14 - 12 overall record, 7 - 9 in the conference. Scores for the
season were:

Concordia 74 Valley City State 66

Concordia 56 NDAC 48

Concordia 37 St. Mary's 59

Concordia 63 Macalester 72

Concordia 68 Gustavus 71

Concordia 67 MSTC 58

Concordia 83 Bismarck Junior College 70

Concordia 85 Taylor University 79

Concordia 80 Augsburg 68

Concordia 57 South Dakota State 69

Concordia 74 Augsburg 68

Concordia 69 St. Thomas 70

Concordia 81 St. John's 69

Concordia 68 Hamline 57

Concordia 77 Duluth 79

Concordia 82 MSTC 77

Concordia 98 Macalester 78

Concordia 77 St. Mary's 101

Concordia 66 St. Thomas 59

Concordia 55 NDAC 69

Concordia 81 St. John's 67

Concordia 65 Hamline 73

Concordia 58 Duluth 88

Concordia 64 St. Olaf 68

Concordia 78 Augsburg 88

Concordia 91 Gustavus 82

The team won the Bemidji Invitational tournament during the Christmas break with wins over
Taylor University and Augsburg. On the roster were Art Johnson, Tom Wolhouse, Gary Carlson,
Fred Nelson, Dick Shearer, Roger Adair, Dennis Jensen, Dave Opheim, Craig Johnson and Barry
Bowles.

Bob Youso acted as player-coach for the 1957-1958 hockey team which included Dale Klungness,
Don Myholm, Nels Anderson, John McFarland, Harvey Stalwick, Dave Franks, Kermit Knutson,
Cliff Paulson, Dean Melsness, Dave Stolee, Bob Young, Kent Taylor, John Berg, Bert Orrah and
Darrell Rude.

Only scores available were a 4 - 0 win over Thief River Falls and a win over Carleton.

Al Tweit took over the coaching duties for the wrestling team from Finn Grinaker who was on
leave of absence. With two of three defending conference champions injured, the team finished in
fifth place in the MIAC. Scoring for the Cobbers were Al Tweit, Jim Holten, Roy Nellermoe, Dave
Johnson and Bob Stefonowicz. Al Tweit was named MVP of the conference meet. The roster
included Robert Stefonowicz, Mark Nielson, Jim Olson, Ardell Knudsvig, Loren Simonson, Malin
Stakston, Don Pietsch, Al Tweit, Jim Holton, John Johnson and Dave Johnson.

A new sport was added to the winter schedule. Nip Leverson, student coach, and his gymnastics
team performed at half-times of basketball games and sent two gymnasts of a University of
Minnesota meet. Members of the team were Dick Jackson, Bill Greenan and Don Erickson. Scores
of meets held were:

Concordia 16 Bemidji 16

Concordia 21 MSTC 16

Concordia 21 NDAC 13

An article in the Concordian by sportswriter Dick Whitaker suggests that the athletic aid program
could be revised:

Here is a pretty touchy subject -- that of the policy of Concordia subsidizing athletes. We have
received several requests to cover this subject; we are doing it, but with no intent of attempting to
embarrass anyone or to uncover any unethical practic in carryout this program of aid.

First of all, our impression of the system of grant-in-aids for athletes is to try to distribute them to
prospective athletes who are not in a position to go to school without some help. This is all very
fine, for along with getting some excellent athletes, Concordia also realizes some outstanding
all-around students from this program.

What seems to be the most objectionable part of the system is that many who should receive aid
do not, mainly because those in charge of the program do not go far enough in determining those
who merit aid. We feel that some changes could be made in an effort to see that more students
who actually need grants-in-aid in order to attend Concordia receive them.

We suggest the prospective athletes be screened thoroughly, so that it is better known just who
most needs the aid. Then, instead of the number of grants now awarded, cut the number down,
and with the surplus add a little more to the smaller amounts.(7)

Coach Bill Quenette led the 1958 baseball team to a 12 - 3 record and the Steve Gorman League
title. The scores were:

Concordia 3 Valley City 0

Concordia 18 Valley City 8

Concordia 4 Jamestown 0

Concordia 9 Jamestown 4

Concordia 0 MSTC 6

Concordia 5 MSTC 3

Concordia 1 UND 8

Concordia 7 UND 2

Concordia 2 Mayville 6

Concordia 4 Mayville 2

Concordia 18 Bemidji 11

Concordia 20 Wahpeton Science 3

Concordia 11 Wahpeton Science 6

Concordia 11 Ellendale 9

Concordia 7 Ellendale 5

Members of the team were Howard Nellermoe, Roy Nellermoe, Nels Anderson, Bob Rasmus, Ed
Beyer, Brian Downie, Rollie Johnson, Bill Greenan, Tim Bjelland, Bob Clark, Glen Temanson,
Bill Quenette, Don Grages, Pete Nellermoe, Barry Bowles, Dave Severud and Roger Adair.

The 1958 golf team participated in a round-robin schedule with MSTC, NDSU, UND and Bemidji.
Concordia sponsored an invitational meet and St. Thomas, Hamline and Concordia competed in a
triangular meet. The Cobbers ended the season with a meet at Luther College and the MIAC meet.
On the golf team were Fred Nelson, Jerry Olson, Lee Sanderson, Gary Glomstad, Gordy Hvidsten,
Neil Gryte and Gary Nelson. Don Krause was coach of the team.

Three lettermen led the 1958 tennis team to a dual meet record of six wins. Wins came over
MSTC, UND, Jamestown and NDSU. The team lost to UND and Luther College. The netters
captured third of nine teams in the Bison Invitational. They were second in the MSTC Invitational
and first in the Bemidji Triangular. The team was eliminated in the first round of the MIAC meet.
The team included Coach Don Krause, Art Johnson, Dean Haugen, David Dussere, Paul Dussere
and John Jorgenson.

Coach Irv Christenson's track team had a successful season. The season's results included:

Concordia 58 UND 52

Concordia 47 UND 76

Concordia 78 MSTC 43

Bison Invitational - fourth of 11 teams

St. John's Triangular - third place

Fargo-Moorhead All-City - Concordia - 72, MSTC - 53, NDAC - 39

MIAC Conference Meet - third place with 34 points behind Macalester and

champion St. John's

On the track roster were Herman Hendrickson, Dave Spong, Jack Boe, Marshall Haaland, Mike
Flom, Ron Mathsen, Dick Green, Glen Leverson, Dale Leverson, Don Suko, Marlin Ness, Clayton
Gorder, Jerry Syvrud, Wes Lokken, Dick Berg, Darwin Gorder, Wally Krantz, Fred Nelson, Orval
Alveshere, Don Nelson, Tyrone Erickson and Capt. Curt Gabrielson.

1958-1959

The 1958 football team finished in second place in the conference with a 6 - 1 record and had a 7 -
2 record overall. Jake Christiansen again coached the team and Roger Gilbertson and Fred Nelson
were captains. Named to the All-Conference team were Bill Greenan, Jim Christopherson, Roger
Gilbertson, Fred Nelson, Bob Youso and Mel Panjkovich.

Players on the team were Ed Christopherson, Tom Springer, Art Helling, Fred Nelson, Roger
Gilbertson, Richard Whitaker, Cliff Paulson, Cliff Anderson, Bob Youso, Mel Panjkovich, Andy
Hendricks, Carl Grandstrand, John Westby, John Karjala, Roger Anderson, Ron Pfeffer, Wally
Olson, Bud Aaker, Richard Nelson, Craig McComb, Sheldon Monk, Paul Lommen, Jerald
Harter, Paul Ornberg, Paul Anderson, Wesley Lokken, Al Larson, Bill Greenan, Marland Nohre,
Elliot Holton, Don Brose, Don Pietsch, Ron Luoma, Don Nelson, Dave Nelson, Dave Smith,
Robert Haines, Al Ohlhauser, Don Lokken, Gary Greenfield, Gerald Brix, Robert Hanson,
Marshall Haaland, Paul Jensen, Dave Gorder, John Brenden, Dave Bromstad, Jim
Christopherson, Brian Wermager, Ralph Chase, Bob Young, Dave Spong, Don Suko, Roger
Hesby, Dave Anderson, Lynn Skifstrom, Arlo Brunsberg, Gary Nelson, Dick Young, Jim Smith,
Dave Braaten, Allan Gunderson, Jim Hausman, Jack Nelson, Gordon Jeppson, Virgil
Christainson, Eldon Braun, David Skeim, Don Larson, Gary Carlson, Bob Markwardt and Adrian
Anderson.

Scores for the season were:

Concordia 6 NDAC 8

Concordia 18 Augsburg 13

Concordia 13 Gustavus 36

Concordia 28 Duluth 30

Concordia 14 Hamline 7

Concordia 52 Macalester 0

Concordia 22 St. Thomas 0

Concordia 48 St. John's 8

Concordia 26 MSTC 0

Standings in the conference were:

Gustavus 7 - 0

Concordia 6 - 1

St. John's 6 - 2

Duluth 4 - 3

Macalester 2 - 5

St. Thomas 2 - 5

Hamline 2 - 5

Augsburg 0 - 7

George Farr was added to the staff as fieldhouse coordinator and sports information director.

The 1958-1859 basketball team under Coach Sonny Gulsvig ended up second in the MIAC with an
11 - 3 record and 16 - 7 overall. Those on the roster were Roger Adair, Dennis Jensen, Bob
Markwardt, Arlo Brunsberg, Dennis Morstad, Paul Pederson, Fred Nelson, Les Torgerson, Darwin
Gorder, Craig Johnson, Barry Bowles, Tom Wolhouse and Gary Nelson.

The season's scores were:

Concordia 75 St. Cloud 80

Concordia 79 NDAC 71

Concordia 76 Macalester 69

Concordia 78 MSTC 67

Concordia 75 Gustavus 74

Concordia 88 Minot State Teachers 63

Concordia 91 Augsburg 77

Concordia 82 St. Thomas 68

Concordia 58 NDAC 66

Concordia 98 St. John's 83

Concordia 63 Hamline 61

Concordia 66 Duluth 84

Concordia 72 St. Mary's 63

Concordia 77 Macalester 79

Concordia 56 Gustavus 51

Concordia 78 Northern Michigan 72

Concordia 55 St. Thomas 60

Concordia 81 MSTC 58

Concordia 77 St. John's 69

Concordia 67 Hamline 59

Concordia 74 Duluth 75

Concordia 73 St. Mary's 78

Concordia 77 Augsburg 75

Conference standings at the end of the season were:

Duluth 15 - 1

Concordia 11 - 5

Hamline 10 - 6

Gustavus 8 - 8

Augsburg 7 - 9

St. Mary's 7 - 9

St. John's 6 - 10

St. Thomas 5 - 11

Macalester 3 - 13

The 1958-1959 hockey team competed for the first time in the MIAC and was coached by Don
Brose. The roster included Roger Hesby, Dick Chenowith, Duane Bush, Keith Springer, John
McFarland, Don Brose, Murray Bergman, Mel Soderberg, Don Nyholm, Dave Anderson, Bert
Orrek, Kent Taylor, Lyle Skefstrom, Cliff Paulson, Dale Klungness, Dennis Lundeen and Bob
Young.

With an overall record of 1 - 7, the scores were:

Concordia 2 Gustavus 5

Concordia 2 Fargo Comets 1

Concordia 0 Hamline 5

Concordia 0 St. Thomas 13

Concordia 3 St. John's 5

Concordia 2 Macalester 3

Concordia 0 Augsburg 1

Concordia 0 Duluth 1

Finn Grinaker's freshmen-dominated wrestling team finished the season with just four wins but
gained some valuable experience for future years. On the roster were Monroe Leraas, Donald Oas,
Ardel Knudsvig, Tom Springer, Dave Carlson, Mark Nielson, Bryan Wermager, Cliff Anderson,
Ron Nellermoe, Earl Hauge, Malin Stakston, Roland Weigman, Roger Torvik, Don Johnson, Ross
Churchill, Ken Seim, Jim Olson, Carl Grandstrand and Jim Holter.

The season results were:

Concordia 3 Bemidji State 32

Concordia 15 MSTC 19

Concordia 28 Gustavus 12

Concordia 8 Macalester 27

Concordia 19 St. Thomas 15

Concordia 11 NDAC 22

NDAC Quadrangular - fourth place

Concordia 10 MSTC 30

Concordia 0 Bemidji

Concordia 19 NDAC 16

MSTC Tournament - fifth place

Concordia 8 St. John's 35

The 1959 track team coached by Irv Christenson won the Inter-City track title and placed sixth in
the MIAC meet. Those on the roster were Captain Herm Hendrickson, Fred Nelson, Don Nelson,
Ron Mathison, Marsh Haaland, Mike Flom, Marlin Ness, Wes Lokken, Jerry Syvrud, Dave
Spong, Don Suko, Darwin Gorder, Tyrone Erickson, Dave Smith, Jack Reidel, Roger Hesby, Ellis
Holman, Jon Willand and Bruce Nockleby.

Other results were:

Carleton Relays - seventh of 15 teams

Bison Jaycee Relays - third of 14 teams

Lost to MSTC in a dual meet

Bemidji Invitational - second place

Triangular meet with St. John's and Macalester - third place

Finn Grinaker's golfers experienced a disappointing year. Those participating were Capt. Lee
Sanderson, Paul Reiersgord, Adrian Anderson, Jim Bergen, Jim Anderson, Gordon Hvidsten, Bob
Ahlgren, Milt Gryte, Gary Nelson, Kent Taylor, John McFarland and Gary Vettleson.

The results were:

MSTC Invitational - third place

NDAC Invitational - third place

St. John's dual meet - lost 10 - 5

UND Invitational - third place

Bemidji Invitational - fourth place

Concordia Invitational - third place

Inter-City - third place

MIAC - last place

The Steve Gorman Trophy League which pioneered inter-collegiate baseball in the area for 11
seasons, was disbanded at a meeting over the weekend. The league was composed of colleges in
four conferences and brought baseball into prominence at a time when there was no competition
among college teams on the diamond in this area.

Representatives of the colleges in the league at the meeting here voted to disband because all have
commitments in their conferences.

The league was named for Steve Gorman, former president of the Fargo-Moorhead Twins of the
Northern League, who donated the trophies for the champions annually. Stan Koska, former
NDAC football coach and a two-time state championship pilot as coach of Fargo's American
Legion junior baseball team, was commission of the league.

Representatives of the eight schools which have competed in the league at their weekend meeting
here have presented athletic letters, which will be awarded to Groman some time after his return
from a winter vacation in Arizona.

MSC won four titles and shared one for the greatest success in the league. Jamestown, Concordia
and Mayvill TC each won one and shared one title. The 1950 campaign was canceled, forced to cut
its schedule because of inclement weather.(8)

Bill Quenette coached the 1959 baseball team to a 10 - 8 - 1 record. Those on the team were Don
Grager, Jerry Dahlager, Rog Anderson, Lyle Sannes, Jerry Harter, Marv Anderson, Wayne
Sondreal, Larry Swanson, Del Olson, Denny Lyngren, Ed Beyer, Bob Rasmus, Glen Temanson,
Gary Greenfield, Carl Grandstrand, Don Brose, Howard Nellermoe, Roger Adair, Arlo Brunsberg
and Dave Olson.

Scores for the season were:

Concordia 3 NDAC 16

Concordia 1 NDAC 6

Concordia 3 UND 4

Concordia 0 Bemidji State 7

Concordia 11 Bemidji State 4

Concordia 11 Valley City State 8

Concordia 4 Valley City State 4 (called darkness)

Concordia 8 UND 3

Concordia 4 UND 8

Concordia 0 Jamestown 4

Concordia 4 Jamestown 8

Concordia 6 Alumni 10

Concordia 0 Alumni 11

Concordia 13 Wahpeton Science 3

Concordia 11 Wahpeton Science 4

Concordia 11 Ellendale Normal 6

Concordia 14 Ellendale Normal 6

Concordia 3 St. Cloud 2

Concordia 0 St. Cloud 12

The tennis team under Don Krause finished in sixth place in the MIAC meet. In other competition
they defeated MSTC twice and lost to NDAC. In triangular meets with MSC and Bemidji and in
the Bison Invitational, the Cobbers were in last place. The roster included D. Sheperd, D. Dussere,
J. Jorgenson, D. Bush, K. Small, D. Erickson. D. Green and M. Slakston.

Available scores were:

Concordia 15 MSTC 2

Concordia 6 MSTC 3

Concordia 3 NDAC 6

Concordia 2 UND 4

Bemidji Invitational - third place

Concordia 7 St. John's 0

Concordia 3 UND 3

Coach Dick Jackson had ten men on the 1958-1959 gymnastics team -- Gerald Brix, Jim Serkland,
Joe Miller, Lowell Wanke, Warren Enyart, Dave Hofstad, Jerry Sundrud, Rody Finanger, Roger
Hill and Ron Beachy. The schedule included meets with UND, Bemidji, Luther, Mankato,
Northwest College, the Fargo Invitational and the Concordia Invitational. The team lost to the
Fargo YMCA 78 - 72. No other scores were available.

1959-1960

Jake Christiansen coached the 1959 football team to a 7 - 2 overall record and second place in the
MIAC with a 6 - 1 record. Assistant coaches were Finn Grinaker, Rod Grubb and Sonny Gulsvig.
Captains of the team were Jim Christopherson and Bill Greenan.

Scores for the season were:

Concordia 20 NDAC 29

Concordia 21 St. Thomas 20

Concordia 36 St. John's 6

Concordia 14 Augsburg 6

Concordia 14 Gustavus 36

Concordia 22 Duluth 0

Concordia 58 Hamline 0

Concordia 30 Macalester 6

Concordia 54 MSTC 14

The team roster included Jerome linser, Dave Spong, Dennis Albertson, LeRoy Meyer, Dick
Roragen, Ed Christopherson, Roger Anderson, Don Suko, Don Brose, Al Gunderson, Marland
Nohre, Ron Pfeffer, Wally Olson, Arlo Brunsberg, Jim Christopherson, Al Larson, Dave Braaten,
Dick Nelson, Bud Aaker, Adrian Anderson, John Brenden, Gary Nelson, Don Peitsch, Gordon
Jeppson, Dave Bromstad, Eldon Braun, Bill Greenan, Lynn Tharaldson, Dan Saarinen, Roger
Adair, Dennis Morstad, Jim Hausmann, Gary Carlson, Bob Markwardt, Jack Nelson, Dave
Anderson, Virgil Christianson, Dave Skeim, Bob Young, Wes Lokken, Bob Haines, Dick Young,
Don Lokken and Dave Gorder.

Conference standings were:

Gustavus 7 - 0

Concordia 6 - 1

Duluth 4 - 2

St. John's 4 - 3

St. Thomas 3 - 3

Augsburg 2 - 5

Macalester 1 - 6

Hamline 0 - 7

The 1959-1960 basketball team, under Coach Sonny Gulsvig, had an 8 - 15 overall record and a 6 -
10 record in the MIAC. On the team were Ken Small, Lyle Sannes, Roger Adair, Bob Marquardt,
Dennis Morstad, Arlo Brunsberg, Dennis Arndt, Les Torgerson, Dick Young, Darwin Gorder, Dick
Pett, Paul Pederson, Glen Wheeler, Tom Wolhouse and Dave Braaten.

Basketball scores were:

Concordia 65 MSTC 58

Concordia 69 UND 76

Concordia 71 Gustavus 78

Concordia 61 St. Thomas 59

Concordia 68 St. Cloud State 72

Concordia 53 MSTC 58

Concordia 99 St. John's 83

Concordia 65 Hamline 70

Concordia 60 Duluth 67

Concordia 74 Macalester 79

Concordia 79 Augsburg 83

Concordia 72 NDAC 81

Concordia 75 St. Mary's 60

Concordia 101 Western Illinois 76

Concordia 89 Gustavus 81

Concordia 71 MSTC 73

Concordia 71 St. Thomas 65

Concordia 61 St. John's 64

Concordia 64 Hamline 78

Concordia 82 Duluth 84

Concordia 73 Augsburg 88

Concordia 75 St. Mary's 85

Concordia 76 Macalester 71

The Cobber hockey team opened their second season in the MIAC with a game against Duluth
and the score was tied 2 - 2 at the end of the second period. Bud Duluth erupted for seven goals in
the third period to win the game 9 - 2. Other scores were:

Concordia 2 Duluth 9

Concordia 2 Hamline 5

Concordia 0 St. Thomas 13

Concordia 2 Macalester 17

Concordia 2 Gustavus 8

Concordia 2 Augsburg 4

Concordia 1 St. John's 12

Concordia 3 St. Mary's 4

Concordia 1 Bemidji State 14

Lack of numbers and academic eligibility problems hampered the team as they ended with an 0 - 9
record. The roster included Richard Chenowith, Murray Bergman, John McFarland, Ron Luoma,
Keith Springer, Bert Orrok, Roald Finanger, Don Brose, Roger Hesby, Charles Sundeen, Mel
Soberg and Dave Anderson.

Four starters returned to Finn Grinaker's 1959-1960 wrestling team. On the roster were Dave
Carlson, Ross Churchill, Dave Nelson, Earl Hauge, Ardell Knudsvig, Dave Johnson, Bruce
Nokleby, Monroe Leraas, Mark Nielson, Brian Wermager, Ron Nellermoe, Renee Fuglestad, Dick
Bergeson, Dale Anderson, Hi Lund, Wally Ness, Al Smaagard, Paul Neilson, Ron Pfeffer, Dan
Loucks and Don Pietsch.

The season results were:

Carleton Invitational - 8th place out of 14 teams

Concordia 35 MSTC 8

Concordia 14 NDAC 17

Concordia 18 Augsburg 21

Concordia 26 UND 13

Concordia 12 St. Thomas 26

Concordia 8 NDAC 22

Concordia 14 Macalester 23

MSTC Invitational - 6th place out of 7 teams

Concordia 19 Gustavus 20

Concordia 13 Bemidji State 28

At the conference meet the scores were Macalester - 64, St. John's - 63, St. Thomas - 53, Augsburg
- 42, Gustavus - 27, and Concordia - 22.

Coach Dick Jackson's gymnnastics team broke even in dual meets with a 3 - 3 record. They
defeated Bemidji and Luther while losing to the Fargo YMCA and Mankato State. At the
Northwest meet in Minneapolis, the Cobbers were fourth in Class B & C. They ended the season
by placing second in the Red River tournament.

Coach Sonny Gulsvig coached the 1960 baseball team to a 3 - 8 record overall and a 2 - 5 record
in the MIAC. This was the first year for the team in the MIAC after a long absence. The team
included Dan Loucks, Dick Johnson, Charlie MacDonald, Howie Nellermoe, Ed Beyer, Roger
Adair, Tim Skinner, Ron Heppner, Maro Anderson, Arlo Brunsberg, Lyle Sannes, Gary
Greenfield, Ray Hendrickson, Don Grages, Jerry Kahlager, Dell Olson, Larry Swanson, Jerry
Harter, Don Brose and Dennis Lyngen.

The scores were:

Concordia 8 UND 6

Concordia 3 UND 6

Concordia 2 St. Cloud State 4

Concordia 8 Gustavus 9

Concordia 0 Gustavus 4

Concordia 8 St. Mary's 2

Concordia 12 Macalester 8

Concordia 3 Augsburg 5

Concordia 7 NDAC 17

Concordia 5 St. Thomas 8

Concordia 5 St. John's 10

Three lettermen reported to Finn Grinaker's 1960 golf team. Members of the team were Captain
Lee Sanderson, Dale Heacox, Wayne Sletton, Adrian Anderson and Don Opgrande.

Season results were:

MSTC Invitational - NDAC - 419, UND - 421, MSTC - 422, Concordia - 435, Bemidji - 451 (Lee
Sanderson shot a 79)

NDAC Invitational - 8th place out of 9 teams

Concordia 7 1/2 St. John's 7 1/2

UND Invitational - 4th place

Concordia Invitational - NDAC - 386, UND - 397, MSTC - 410, Bemidji - 417,

Concordia - 430

Six returning lettermen reported to Coach Don Krause's tennis team. Members of the squad were
John Jorgenson, Dan Dussere, Dick Green, Malin Stakston, Den Small, Denny Shepherd, Brian
Wermager, Dean Knutson, Dale Knutson, Roy Anderson, Curt Sigdestad, Gary Stark and Dick
Pett. The season results were:

Concordia 0 Hamline 4

Concordia 0 Augsburg 9

Concordia 4 MSTC 5

Concordia 1 St. John's 8

Concordia 2 UND 6

Concordia 6 MSTC 3

NDAC Invitational - 5th place out of 9 teams

Concordia 4 NDAC 5

Concordia 5 MSTC 3

Student-coach Jim Greenan led the 1960 track team. On the roster were Don Suko, Ron Eilers,
Roger Hesby, Jeff Ross, Don Just, Walt Olson, Pete Hastings, Bennett Larson, Wally Sorum, Ray
Alt, Phil Gulstad, Darwin Gorder, Dave Hofstad, Ron Pfeffer, Thorpe Running, Wes Lokken, Bill
Greenan, Jerome Nelson, Dave Smith, Jon Willard and Jim Greenan. Available scores were:

Concordia 25 UND 79

Concordia 65 Bemidji State 65

Concordia 52 St. John's 70

Looking Back at the Fifties

The title of this chapter was "A Time of Change." It certainly was that. The college underwent
major changes during the decade. College buildings and facilities were added. Faculty numbers
were increased to service the expanding enrollment numbers. A change in the administration of
the college took place as Dr. J. L. Knutson replaced Dr. J. N. Brown as President.

Change was also very evident in the athletic program. One of the most striking was in the
coaching personnel. During the decade there were 22 coaching changes in all the sports offered by
the college.

Concordia teams were successful during the fifties. Football teams won two MIAC championships;
the track team captured two titles and the baseball team garnered two Steve Gorman League
championships.

Basketball suffered in the early and mid-fifties, but by the end of the decade was competitive again
under the leadership of Coach Gulsvig. Hockey continued to improve.

The spring sports made major strides, especially baseball and track. The golf and tennis teams
were also gaining more and more respect by their opponents.

Two new sports arrived on the scene. Gymnastics and wrestling got their starts during this time.
Gymnastics struggled due to lack of numbers because of the few high schools that offered
gymnastics.

Wrestling continued to improve each year. A second place finish in the MIAC and a conference
MVP wrestler were highlights during these years.

Perhaps the biggest change was the completion of the Memorial Auditorium-Fieldhouse. Now the
Cobbers had a home for many of its activities. This was a boon not only to the athletic program
but to the entire college as well. The fieldhouse became an important cultural center for the
college, the community and the surrounding region as well.

During the early fifties many veterans were a part of the athletic teams but by the end of the
decade, most vets had graduated and the Concordia teams were now back to the more normal
kind of student.
 

Chapter 6

1. Concordian, February 11, 1951.

2. Concordian, April 4, 1952.

3. Concordian, October 17, 1952.

4. John Groven, Concordian, October 17, 1952.

5. Concordian, October 17, 1952.

6. Concordian, September 23, 1953.

7. Dick Whitaker, Concordian, January 24, 1958.

8. Concordian, March 25, 1959.
 
 

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