Concordia Sports - The First 100 Years by Finn Grinaker

by Vernon Finn Grinaker
| Return to Index | Chapter 1 | 1903-1921 | 20's | 30's | 40's | 50's | 60' | 70's | 80's | 90's |

Chapter 7-- The Restless Sixties

| 1960-1961 | 1961-1962 | 1962-1963 | 1963-1964 | 1964-1965 | 1965-1966 | 1966-1967 | 1967-1968 | 1968-1969 | 1969-1970 |

1964-1965 | Football | M- Basketball | Hockey | Wrestling | Track | Baseball | Golf | Tennis | Schedule Changes | All Sports |
The 1964 football team had a most memorable year. With a record of 10 - 0 - 1 overall and 7 - 0 in the MIAC, they placed first in the conference and were co-champions of the NAIA. Coach Jake Christiansen was named both NAIA and MIAC Coach of the Year. Captains of the team were John Nellermoe and Raleigh Lillemoe. Named to the All-Conference team were Bob Nick, Paul Brynteson and Bob Braun.

Paul Brynteson '65 Football

Scores were:
Concordia 28   Parsons College 14
Concordia 49   MSC   0
Concordia 14   Gustavus 6
Concordia 24   UMD   6
Concordia 30   Hamline 0
Concordia 45   Macalester 8
Concordia 9   St. Thomas 0
Concordia 20   St. John’s 0
Concordia 39   Augsburg 18
Concordia 28   Linfield, Oregon 6
Concordia 7   Sam Houston - Texas 7

Conference standings were:
Concordia   7 - 0 - 0
Augsburg   5 - 2 - 0
Gustavus   4 - 3 - 0
St. John’s   4 - 3 - 0
St. Thomas 3 - 4 - 0
Hamline   2 - 5 - 0
UMD    2 - 5 - 0
Macalester 0 - 7 - 0

By winning the conference championship the Cobbers were picked for the NAIA national championship playoffs. To choose the teams for the championship series, the NAIA had its own rating board made up of 15 coaches. Weekly throughout the schedule, the board rated the member teams. The top 20 teams at the end of the season were pared down to four teams for the semi-final playoff.

In the semi-final game, Concordia’s defense and a crushing running game was too much for Linfield and the Cobbers earned a trip to the Championship Bowl in Augusta, Georgia with a 28 - 6 victory.

In the championship game, Concordia rallied to tie Sam Houston State of Texas 7 - 7 in the final period, then with 9 seconds to go, missed a field goal to end the game in a tie. Despite the tie in the championship game, Concordia was ranked No. 1 in the final NAIA ratings.

The team roster included Gary Williams, Morrie Lanning, Ed Langsdorf, Jerry Knutson, Tom Wee, Dean Kekok, Doug Perry, Bruce Carlson, Bob Davis, Bob Nielsen, Stu Bartholomaus, Russ Larson, John Malvey, Garry Gilbertson, Merle Hall, Ron Stow, Brad Martinson, Don Gerhardt, Paul Brynteson, Doug Eckheart, Ron Hausauer, Paul Hoseth, Rod Olson, Lowell Gorseth, John Sletten, John Hovey, Bob Braun, Pete Mauritsen, Wayne Orn, Bill Donley, Bob Nick, Raleigh Lillemoe, John Nellermoe, Bob Wendel, Paul Sannes, Larry Larson, Dave Heide, Art Hansen, William Johnson, Jim Satter and Mike Wolf.

Team Picture |

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1964-1965 | Football | M- Basketball | Hockey | Wrestling | Track | Baseball | Golf | Tennis | Schedule Changes | All Sports |
The 1964-1965 basketball team, under Coach Sonny Gulsvig, finished seventh in the conference with a record of 6 - 10 and an overall record of 10 - 14. Bob Nick was captain of the team which included Keith Emerson, Donald Knutson, Ken Holmes, Dale Carlson, Jim Lindberg, Jim Peterson, Lyndon Sonju, Paul Sannes, Tom Dalen, Bob Brandjord, Bob Laney, Keith Larsen, Chuck Larsen and Myrom Hanson.

Season scores were:
Concordia 82   MSC   92
Concordia 66   NDSU   72
Concordia 79   Duluth   76
Concordia 77   SDU   70
Concordia 75   MSC   82
Concordia 92   Mayville 68
Concordia 80   NDSU   77
Concordia 80   UND   65
Concordia 70   St. Mary’s 81
Concordia 65   Macalester 62
Concordia 66   Gustavus 56
Concordia 72   St. Thomas 88
Concordia 80   St. John’s 76
Concordia 73   Hamline 62
Concordia 71   NDSU   89
Concordia 53   Augsburg 54
Concordia 40   Duluth   70
Concordia 63   Augsburg 72
Concordia 52   St. Mary’s 53
Concordia 66   Macalester 81
Concordia 62   Gustavus 43
Concordia 56   St. Thomas 70
Concordia 53   St. John’s 60
Concordia 72   Hamline 89

Concordia closed out their 1964 - 1965 hockey season on a winning note by nipping Moorhead State College 9 - 8. The win gave Student Coach Bruce Unfried’s charges a 4 - 13 mark for the year, with victories over MSC, Hamline and a pair of triumphs over Gustavus. Further scores for the season were unavailable. The roster included Carson Hedlund, John Simpson, Gary Klungness, Bob Nelson, Paul Sletten, John Schultz, Glen Baldwin, Bill Donley, George Lundstrom, Jeff Addison, Wayne Orr and Bob Friesen.

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1964-1965 | Football | M- Basketball | Hockey | Wrestling | Track | Baseball | Golf | Tennis | Schedule Changes | All Sports |
Concordia’s defending MIAC champion wrestling team was nosed out of a chance to repeat as title winners when Gustavus edged the Cobbers 81-79 in the conference meet. Coach Finn Grinaker’s 1964 - 1965 squad finished eleventh in the NAIA as a team. The squad included Leroy Thompson, Alan Snare, Howard Thompson, Doug Dufty, Harlan Leopold, Howard Leopold, Paul Budd, Mike Myhre, Marty Thompson, Jim Bueling, Brian Nockleby, Paul Smaagard, Frank Porten, Tom Yankoff, Curt Peterson, Morris Lanning and Jim Holter.

Harlan C. Leopold, Wrestling 1961-1965

Their dual meet record (9 - 2) was:
Concordia 14   Valley City 12
Concordia 7   Moorhead State 23
Concordia 30   St. John’s 2
Concordia 22   Bemidji State 11
Concordia 25   Morris Branch 7
Concordia 22   NDSU   6
Concordia 28   St. Thomas 3
Concordia 29   Macalester 6
Concordia 8   Gustavus 20
Concordia 28   UND   0
Concordia 27   Augsburg 5

A problem arose for the athletic department in the 1964-1965 school year when the college revamped its academic schedule. The old schedule had school starting in late September with the first semester ending after Christmas and the second semester ending about June 1. On the new schedule, the school year started the last week in August and the first semester ended before Christmas. The second semester began after New Years and ended in early May. That’s where the problem arose. Spring sports in the MIAC ran through May. The situation was solved by granting additional eligibility to graduating seniors and furnishing room and board to spring sports athletes so they could finish out their seasons.

On the roster for the 1965 golf team, coached by Finn Grinaker, were John Hovland, Roger Anderson, Dennis Wells, Tom Norton, Don Halmrast and Tom Pederson.

The season’s results were:
NDSU Invitational: 3rd place out of 12 teams
Morris Invitational: 7th place out of 14 teams
Northern State Invitational:   3rd place out of 12 teams
All-City:   Concordia - 394, NDSU - 401, MSU - 443
Conference Meet:   4th place out of 8 teams
Concordia 26 1/2 MSU   3
MIAC Triangulars: Concordia beat Hamline, tied St. Mary’s
Concordia lost to Macalester, beat Gustavus
Concordia beat St. Thomas and Augsburg

The 1965 tennis team was coached by Don Krause and included Don Daehlin, David Erickson, Mark Holtan, Byron Sutter, Warren George, John Malvey, John Quello, Jim Falconer and Marshall Smart. Scores for the season were unavailable.

Jim Christopherson took over the reins of the track team in 1965. Co-captains were Al Rud and Doug Perry. Returning lettermen were Keith Larson, Ron Letnes, Norm Anderson, Dean DeKok and Don Davis.

Partial results for the season were:
Concordia 43 Macalester 61
UND Invitational - fourth place

In the spring of 1965, Charlie Basch was named coach of the Cobber baseball team, which included Rick Heidt, Elwood Isley, Ron Hausauer, Merle Hall, Skeeter Blank, John Nellermoe, Rod Olson, Paul Lian, Keith Emerson, Bill Weisbrod, Dale Carlson, Bob Nick, Paul Sannes, Peter Mauritson, Jim Herhusky, Tim Braaten Brad Martinson and Al Wicken.

Scores for the season were:
Concordia 8 St. Cloud State 2
Concordia 13 South Dakota University 4
Concordia 4 Augsburg   5
Concordia 1 Augsburg   4
Concordia 2 Gustavus   12
Concordia 5 Gustavus   0
Concordia 5 Hamline   4
Concordia 2 Hamline   0
Concordia 4 Macalester   3
Concordia 1 St. Mary’s   2
Concordia 1 St. Mary’s   3

Chapter 7

1. Joel Watne, Concordian, November 11, 1960.

2. Glen Temanson, Concordian, December 2, 1960.

3. Pete Hastings, Concordian, September 12, 1961.

4. Concordian, October 21, 1966.

5. Concordian, April 5, 1968.

6. Neal Jeppson, Concordian, April 19, 1968.

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These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle - pyle@cord.edu and Finn Grinaker - cgrinaker@juno.com. These pages are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Finn Grinaker.