SPORTS IN THE PARK

St. Louis Park has a long tradition of athletics. The following are just a very few examples. Please contact us with any additions, corrections, or stories. (See separate page for Golf history.)

On June 25, 1894, the Village Council received a letter protesting the public playing of baseball on Sunday. Action taken unknown.

In 1910, L.L. "Doc" Brown was manager of the baseball team and remained active in baseball in the Park for many years. In the 1930’s he was the official scorekeeper for the Park team. Ben Brown says, “You could take his score book years later and follow the game right through the final out.”

In 1911, Bert Baston signed up for high school football at the age of 14 and made history as the first All-American from St. Louis Park.

In 1914, Mr. F.M. Moon, Manager of the St. Louis Park Base Ball Club, convinced the Village Council to provide $50 to grade the Ball Park. In 1916, the baseball team was reimbursed $50 for their work on the ballpark.

Parkites may have traveled to see the ill-fated Twin City Raceway, 1915-17.

The "Williams Brothers Independents" basketball team toured the Twin Cities and outstate areas in 1924-25.  The brothers were Pete, Howard, Spike, Stoge, Ken, and Warren Williams and cousin George Gibson.  The team was coached by Fred Ohde, and uncle. 

Earl Bartholome, 4140 Brunswick. He went on to play 18 seasons of professional hockey, from 1933 to 1952, first with Rochester, NY, with the AHL.  Younger brother Kenneth Bartholomew was an outstanding speed skater.

Softball was organized into a league in 1934. The game, originally called “kitten ball” after the original team called the Kittens, was invented in 1895 at Minneapolis’s Engine House No. 19 by Lt. Louis Rober. The game was invented to pass the time at the fire station, and the teams were initially all sponsored by fire stations. The game became known as “Diamond Ball” in 1925, and in 1934 the Amateur Softball Association was formed and the game was renamed softball. But St. Louis Park still used the term kitten ball, as reported in a 1942 story of the Brookside Aggies (boys).

The St. Louis Park football team of 1936 beat the Village of Bloomington 7 to 0 on the new Oriole football field. The two teams did not play each other again until 1954 when Bloomington became a member of the Lake Conference.

The Minneapolis Lakers, led by George Mikan, brought pro basketball to Minnesota in 1947.

The softball season was successful in 1948, with teams being fielded by the VFW, Christy’s, Rodgers Hydraulic, and the American Legion.

On December 14, 1948, the New York Giants baseball team announced that they were building a $1.5 million stadium called Candlestick Park on the corner of Highway 12/Wayzata Blvd. and Zarthan.

The first Little League game played by St. Louis Park was against Hopkins.  Park's entire season was played at Hopkins until Skippy Field (see below) was finished.  The Little League was founded by Carl Stotz in 1939 as a three-team league in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

A meeting was held on January 23, 1952 at Village Hall to organize an Athletic Association. Shorty Dale was named Temporary Chairman.

Skippy Field made its debut for the 1952 Little League season when the Village leased part of Carpenter Park to Little League Baseball of Minnesota, Inc. The first Little League in Minnesota was formed the year before by a group of men from St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Edina, and Minnetonka, and games were held at a playground in Hopkins. In 1952, Park Department employee Elmer “Shorty” Dale convinced the park board to lease the property that would become Skippy Field, and convinced the company to provide the $4,000 needed to construct the park. Little League caught on fast, and by 1955, St. Louis Park had 8 teams. A minor league diamond was added in 1959 and dedicated to Shorty Dale, the godfather of Little League in St. Louis Park.  See the article about Skippy Field from the Re-Echo.

Adult slow pitch softball was also introduced in 1952, due to the efforts of Recreation Director Dorothea Nelson. From an initial four teams, as many as 240 teams have participated in later years.

1952 was the year the Park Athletic Association was formed, meeting for the first time on February 6. The group’s goal was to ensure that a program of competitive athletics was available to all boys and girls in the Park. First President of the organization was Otis Dypwick, sports information director at the University of Minnesota. Other officers were Dr. Walter Johnson, B.E. Stoltman, and Jack Dunsworth.

In June 1953, Jerry Longabaugh headed up the St. Louis Park Soft Ball Club.

In 1955, 6 ft. 7 in. center Warren Jeppesen scored 47 points against Edina in an 86-67 victory, a new Lake Conference individual scoring record.  Jeppeson made 17 field goals and 13 free throws.

Bob Reith was named to the all tournament hockey team at the State tournament in 1958.  He was also a star golfer.

Babe Ruth Southern Baseball League (as opposed to Little League) played at Acme Field at Princeton in 36th in 1959.  The field was owned by the City.

"Arnold Palmer Thrilled Park Fans in 1959 PGA."  He participated in the PGA tournament at the Minneapolis Golf Club.

In 1960, Bob Owen was on the U.S. Olympic hockey team and was the first Parkite to win a gold medal.  Owen was All-Lake Conference and All-State at Park High, where he graduated in 1954.  He went on to Harvard, where he was named All-Ivy League.  His St. Louis Park address was 4305 Brook Ave. So. His father was Ed E. Owen, who worked for Parks and Rec and served as a City Councilman.  He played hockey in Duluth in 1934, and had a brief stint as a professional in Duluth before coming to St. Louis Park.

In September 1962, the championship Police Federation Little League team was honored at an award ceremony at Skippy Field, attended by Minnesota Twin Bob Allison. The Ewald team was runner-up.

Lion’s Field was located at the SW corner of Highway 7 and the Minnesota Northfield and Southern Railroad. It had to be abandoned because of the pollution that came from National Lead.

From 1965 until 1983, the Parkettes were cheerleaders for the Vikings.

In 1968, Parkite David Skoog was drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

In 1970, Parkite Bruce Wachutka was drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

Jeff Diamond, 1971 grad, was a long time President of the Tennessee Titans NFL team and was formerly the president of the Minnesota Vikings.  He worked in the NFL for over thirty years. 

In 1972, Parkite Rick Dominik was drafted by the Chicago White Sox.

Boxer George Foreman’s wife Adrienne gave birth to daughter Michi on January 6, 1973 at Methodist Hospital. Mrs. Foreman lived in South Minneapolis. George beat Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Championship on January 22, 1973.

Al Beal, a Park graduate who attended St. Olaf, was on the all-Midwestern Conference football team 3 times (at least) as of 1973. He was also on the Lutheran Brotherhood All-Lutheran team.

Mark Trestman was a 1974 graduate who played college football and became the head football coach for CFL's Montreal Allouettes.  He also coached for the Vikings, North Carolina State, and the University of Miami. 

In 1974, Parkite Larry Godetsky was drafted by the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

Danny Johnson was a Golden Gloves boxer (1975) who had been on the varsity football and wrestling teams at Park High.

In 1980, Mile Olson was the second round draft pick  for the Kansas City Royals (38th overall). He was considered the greatest fastball in the history of Minnesota high school baseball.  He could throw 98 mph.  He went on to play three years of minor league ball. 

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome opened in 1982.

The Historical Society has a framed proclamation recognizing Dennis Koslowski, who won a bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Heavyweight Division. This was the first medal won by an American in Greco-Roman wrestling in an Olympics attended by Eastern European competitors. His brother Duane competed in the Super Heavyweight division. Since 1984, Dennis had won five national Greco-Roman titles, 2 silver medals in the Pan American games, and a silver at the 1987 World Championships.

Amy Davidson, a 1986 Park graduate, led her team to the state title and played four years of college ball at Kansas State.

Eric Rasmussen, class of 1995, was named "Mr. Hockey" for State of Minnesota.  He went on to play two years at the U of M and 9 years in the HHL. 

The Minnesota Wild brought NHL Hockey back to the state, seven years after the demise of the North Stars.

In 2001, Parkite Aaron McEachran was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.

In 2002, Parkite T.J. Bohn was drafted by the Seattle Mariners baseball team.

In 2005, former Park athletes Don Schimmel and Bill Hammerlund organized the St. Louis Park Athletic Hall of Fame. 26 Park graduates were honored in the first induction event on September 29 at the Minneapolis Golf Club.

The 2007 induction dinner was held on October 4 at the Minneapolis Golf Club.

The inductees are:

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.