Sports
Ernie Nevers pro football debut was exhibition game in 1926
On Jan. 2, 1926 — one hundred years ago today — Willow River native and Superior Central High School standout athlete Ernie Nevers made his pro football debut in an exhibition game in Jacksonville, Florida. He represented the Jacksonville All Stars in a much-hyped game against Red Grange’s Chicago Bears. (more…)
Duluth-area Hockey Pin-back Buttons
With hockey season well underway, we’ve pulled out the hockey-related buttons from Perfect Duluth Day’s larger button collection. (more…)
Minnesota Historia: Bronko Nagurski
Bronko Nagurski is celebrated in International Falls with his own museum and a giant statue. He’s considered one of the greatest football players who ever lived. And the Car Talk guys mentioned his mellifluous name every chance they got. But what did he think about all this attention?
Minnesota Historia is a PBS North web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.
PDD Quiz: Soccer
Test your soccer smarts with this edition of the PDD Quiz.
The next PDD quiz, reviewing the month’s headlines, will be published on Aug. 31. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat@gmail.com by Aug. 26. (more…)
Ice Racing Getaway Driver
1983 St. Louis County jailhouse interview with “Turbo” Ted Van Brunt
Interviewer: Tell me about your escape from Duluth.
Turbo Ted: Escaping Duluth is a coin flip. Half my friends tried and couldn’t reach the velocity, came back after two or three years of getting kicked around out there. I tried a couple times.
What you’re really asking about started a couple springs ago, when it rained then the temperature plunged. The city woke up with a coating of clear ice on every surface. Branches falling in the road. Whole city shut down, nothing could move.
Except my black, street stock, ice racing stud car, a 1976 Chevette with a roll cage and 500 spikes on each tire — sheet metal screws we screwed in ourselves. Fender all chewed up. Commonly called the worst car of all time but it did everything we asked. And Johnny said it was go time. He was the brains, had it all worked, how to disarm the system at the Superior Street jewelers there. He got that with a bribe. It was only a question of when, and this was our crisis of opportunity. “The cops won’t stand a chance,” he said, and they didn’t. They even had chains on but they still didn’t know how to drive. Anyway so Johnny robbed it, but he didn’t get all the alarms. And I was the getaway driver but I still get half. Which wasn’t much — a couple display cases worth of diamond jewelry. Pulled him behind the car on a tether as we blew down Superior through deserted intersections, cross-training for frozen lake ice races at the same time we’re robbing a jewelry store. Just on his feet — no skis, just boots. And of course the cop shop is right there. But their interceptors fell behind. It was beautiful. (more…)
Rawkers shutout Rollers in 2025 Homegrown kickball
First-year Rollers coach Kaylee Matuszak did all she could to inspire her team, but her players rarely made it beyond second base in a 4-0 loss to Leon Rohrbaugh’s Rawkers in the Homegrown Kickball Classic. At least, that’s what happened if you believe the liberal media.
“Team Saturday Night takes it,” Matuszak wrote on Facebook shortly after the game. “If you hear we lost 4-0, that’s fake news and you cannot prove it and also I won’t speak to you without an attorney.” (more…)
Minnesota All Hockey Hair Team 2025: No Biz Like Flow Biz
Lettuce, camera, action! The bright lights once again were shining in St. Paul, and mullets were on the marquee. This year’s All Hockey Hair Team takes on a Hollywood theme as John King and Pulltab Sports offer up another montage of the best hair from the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament, handing out some Osc-Hairs for best supporting salads and best leading lettuce. (more…)
Christian Boarding School Texas Football
I still have bitter high school football recriminations. My 1980s Episcopal boarding school in Texas glorified football above other sports. I attended on a scholarship from family connections, not through any academic or athletic merit. And I learned the wrong lesson about authority from the sports program.
A recent obituary in the alumni newsletter helped spur me to write this, although I’ve been kicking it around for 40 years. Nothing personal against Coach P who I don’t have to name. For the purposes of this story he is the universal coach. This is not to disrespect his essential personhood or whatever. But I learned things I did not want to learn about society and all the rest of it — universal things I never forgot.
Coach P’s obituary said he was the decades-long athletics director, had coached thousands of games and taught thousands of history classes, too. He is fondly remembered by nearly everyone, including myself. He was a real Texas character. His knees were busted up and it crabbed his walk. I assumed it had happened on a football field in his younger days, a brutal hit or series of hits marking him, claiming him for the sport. You knew he was committed. He was gray and had the hairy ears of an old man if he let it go, something I noticed sitting behind him in chapel once or twice, and it made me swear to never get old or sentiments to that effect. He wasn’t really that old but he was weathered. He was not without warmth or humor, and he bonded with his players particularly. Like in the Lou Reed song, they “wanted to play football for the coach.” They liked how, when he was consternated at you, he would exclaim “Hellfire, son!” (more…)
Duluth jockey Lloyd Geving a top prospect in 1925
Duluth’s Lloyd Geving, 18 years old in 1925, was one of the most promising jockeys of the winter season at Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianao, Havana, Cuba. (more…)
Giant Ski 2025 Highlights
The drama. The pageantry. The American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race on Main Street in Hayward.
The 2025 race featured 30 teams, including the champion — Tree Schoolers.
Birkie Giant Ski 2025: The Stage is Set
The stage is set for the “giantest show on snow.” The American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race on Main Street in Hayward happens tonight.
Carl Holmstrom jumped 110 feet at Chester Bowl in 1925
Carl Holmstrom had the longest ski-jump at Chester Park during the opening event of the 1925 season, held on Jan. 4, 100 years ago today. The newspaper clip above is from the previous day’s edition of the Duluth Herald. Below is the report of the race from the Jan. 5 Herald. (more…)
Football
Since early September I’ve been really wanting to throw a football around with someone. It makes sense given the season, but until a few weeks ago I bet it had been 25 years since I’d even thought about it. After the last throw or catch on some early-’90s day I’ll never remember, after throwing and catching footballs every autumn day and a lot of others from elementary school until college, I just didn’t do it anymore. I don’t even know the last time I picked up a football before recently. And now, for no reason I can discern, I’m lost in thoughts of throwing a soft, arcing spiral to someone, watching the ball into my hands after they throw it back to me, and repeating that process over and over and over.
I played organized football from elementary school until college. Fourth grade until sophomore year. Age nine to age 20. Eleven years. I’m 53 and the 11 years from here back to 42 feel like a blip. Nothing. Pretty sure I turn 64 next month. I’ll be 75 a week or two after that. But when I was 20 those 11 years were half of forever and Football Player was most of what I had known myself to be. Elementary school, junior high, high school, and the first two years of college. Each an eon that feels more heavy and definitive the older I get. The past won’t stop being present. Those 11 years have lasted so much longer than their actual length. (more…)
Jugger, a sword-fighting and rugby combo, has arrived in Duluth
Jack Brown, Mitchell Glatzel and Noah Pongratz duel at Leif Erikson Park. When playing jugger they go by the names Dragon, Tumbles and Grub.
There’s a weekly sword fight at Leif Erikson Park in Duluth. Rolling, sliding and dodging blow after blow of foam attacks, three duelists who call themselves Dragon, Tumbles and Grub always draw a crowd of onlookers.
To the uninformed, the spectacle might seem like a form of live-action roleplay. But it would be more accurate to say Dragon and his crew have introduced a new sport to Duluth: jugger. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Mascots
This week’s quiz tests your knowledge of local mascots (some affiliated with sports teams, some not). Step up to the plate and see how many you can identify!
The next PDD quiz, reviewing current events, will be published on Aug. 25. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Aug. 22. (more…)
Big League Manager Baseball Game from West Duluth
To mark the start of the 2024 baseball season we take a look back at the Big League Manager Baseball Game, which was made in Duluth beginning, as near as can be determined, 70 years ago in 1954. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Basketball
Drive to the basket and take your shot at this week’s basketball-themed PDD Quiz. Shout out to PDD user llinmpls for suggesting some of this week’s questions!
The next current events quiz charges your way on March 31. Submit question ideas to Alison Moffat aklawite@d.umn.edu by March 26. (more…)
Minnesota hockey hair featured in the New York Times
The New York Times reports this week on Minnesota as the “global hub for hockey hair.” The feature includes the story of Graff Mellin, the junior forward for Hairmantown, who went against the mullet trend with a buzzcut leopard look.
Daniel Durant’s Super Bowl National Anthem ASL Performance
Actor Daniel Durant, the Duluth native who starred in the Academy Award-winning movie CODA, performed the national anthem in American sign language at the Super Bowl on Sunday. But the telecast showed only Durant’s introduction before focusing on singer Reba McEntire.
The video above, via the YouTube channel of the Sign Language Studies program at Southwestern Illinois College, shows Durant’s full performance.
Tim Cortes Studio West open in Duluth Heritage Sports Center
Heritage Center 'warming house' converted to art studio - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota
Local artist Tim Cortes has been commissioned to complete pieces for the University of Notre Dame and the Minnesota Twins.
duluthnewstribune.com
The Duluth News Tribune reports artist Tim Cortes has opened an art studio and gallery in the former warming shack at the Duluth Heritage Sports Center’s Sill Arena.
Nimrods: Prophecy of the Six Trailer
The Nimrods have won the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race a record five times. But just when it looked like their skiing days were over, fate had other ideas.
Yes, another Nimrod giant ski movie is premiering at the Park Center in Hayward on Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and showing again during Birkie Week. All proceeds benefit the Share Winter Foundation to support youth winter sports programs.
Former Duluthian writes about hockey-playing cousin
Honoring the Legacy of My Cousin, Henry Boucha: A Short Bio Comic.
As my residency concludes and I reflect on my family history, I am reminded of the remarkable achievements of my third cousin, Henry Boucha (Ogichidaa in Ojibwe, which means ‘Warrior’). We are cousins through our shared McPherson and Morrisseau ancestors.
Henry Boucha is a legendary figure in the realm of hockey, known for his exceptional talent, speed, and determination. His resilience in the face of both triumphs and challenges have left an indelible mark on the sports world. His legacy is a testament to the importance of staying true to one’s roots, preserving our cultural heritage, and overcoming obstacles with fortitude.
As I navigate my own path, his story remains a source of inspiration and a reminder of the enduring spirit of our family.
coffeehousepress.org
Former Duluthian Crystal Gibbins writes about northeast Minnesota hockey legend Henry Boucha on the Coffee House Press website.
NFC Championship Game of 1973: Vikings vs. Cowboys
It was 50 years ago today — Dec. 30, 1973 — when the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium to win the National Football Conference Championship, sending the team to its second of four Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s.
The 27-10 upset of the Cowboys preceded a 24–7 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII at Rice Stadium in Houston.
Part Way to the Majors: The 1970 Duluth Dukes
The 1971 educational film Part Way to the Majors, a documentary produced by ABC News for the Sunday afternoon series Discovery, follows the Duluth-Superior Dukes as they road trip to Sioux Falls, S.D. The film starts and ends at Wade Stadium in Duluth. (more…)