Sports
Robb Stauber: The Goalie Who Never Stayed in His Net
The opinionated hockey YouTube channel “idontgivetkachuk” recently featured Duluth native Robb Stauber in an eight-and-a-half minute video tribute/critique. Slicing together some of the former goaltender’s crazier plays, video creator Paul DeRienzo presents Stauber as a wild and perhaps undisciplined goalie who lived outside the crease. (more…)
Armistice Day Parade, Football and Moonshine Mishap of 1921
In addition to the parade in Downtown Duluth, Armistice Day of 1921 featured two big football games. The Denfeld High School eleven traveled to Coleraine to play for the northern section championship, while the Duluth Kaycees hosted the Minneapolis Marines to determine the state’s professional championship. But the hilarity of the day occurred three miles outside of Floodwood. (more…)
Steve Solkela’s Accordion 5k World Record Attempt
Iron Ranger Steve Solkela ran 5 kilometers through the streets of Virginia while playing an accordion. His finishing time was 34 minutes and 34.91 seconds, which is presumably a record — there seems to be no previous attempts at this stunt.
Video by Nathan Wangensteen.
Wally Gilbert joins Duluth football eleven in 1921
On Aug. 25, 1921 the Duluth Herald reported that former Denfeld and Valparaiso football standout Wally Gilbert had agreed to join the Duluth Knights of Columbus football team. The “K.C.” team, or “Kaysees,” turned out to be the region’s best pro football squad. Facing all Minnesota and Wisconsin teams at Athletic Park in Duluth, the team racked up a 9-0 record and outscored opponents 278-0 before dropping a playoff game in Illinois to the Rock Island Independents. (more…)
Russell Method, crack backfield man
Russell G. Method, a running back from West Duluth who went on to play in the National Football League for six seasons, appears on the sports page of the Duluth Herald 100 years ago today — July 29, 1921. The caption notes he had signed to play “with the K. C. gridiron squad” that fall. (more…)
June of ’71: Leo Spooner wins Reidar Lund golf tourney
Fifty years ago Duluth’s Leo Spooner won his third Reidar Lund Skyline Memorial Golf Tournament at Enger Park. The victory came on June 27, 1971, and was reported in the June 28 issue of the Duluth Herald. (more…)
Duluth Dukes bus for sale on Facebook Marketplace
An interesting ad for a 1956 Flxible Visicoach popped up May 4 on Facebook. The destination sign on the bus reads “Duluth Dukes.” Apparently, it’s a former team bus. (more…)
Woodland baseball team of 1921 had grand season
This photo from the May 21, 1921 Duluth Herald shows the baseball team from Duluth’s Woodland neighborhood, which compiled a 7-3 record — a “grand season” by Roaring Twenties standards. According to the photo caption, the team played indoor baseball in the Cobb School gymnasium.
Rawkers win unsanctioned Homegrown slap-together kickball
Scott “Starfire” Lunt surveys the kickball field in his Homegown jumpsuit.
Ryan Nelson was barking all game from his first base post for the Friday Rawkers. In the eighth inning, he actually uttered something that had a grain of truth: “It almost feels like Homegrown.”
He and 50 other people were in synch Saturday afternoon as an unsanctioned Homegrown Music Festival Kickball Classic broke out at the field in the back of Chester Park. Those who were there will call it good, and witnessed a win by the Rawkers over the Saturday Rollers that now puts Friday ahead in the all-time series, 11 wins to 10. (more…)
Minnesota All Hockey Hair Team 2021: Go with the Flow
Masks, a global pandemic and no cameras on the ice for intros. Hockey hair video maker John King did the only thing he could do this year — go with the flow.
Hairmentown gets a brief mention at the 2:30 mark for it’s junior varsity hockey hair, with King noting JV should stand for “juicy vinaigrette” when referencing the salad of the Hawks.
Highlight Video: NCAA Men’s Hockey Regional – UMD vs. UND
The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs and the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks redefined what it means to pull an all-nighter in college. Last night’s regional hockey tournament final at Sheels Arena in Fargo was the longest game in NCAA playoff history.
Freshman forward Luke Mylymok scored at 2:13 of the fifth overtime to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 victory and a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four in Pittsburgh.
Race Week Jitters
You can die from running a half-marathon. A quick Google search results in roughly 72 million hits about super-healthy folks dropping dead from the exertion of running. Maybe they weren’t all healthy but many of them were in the best shape of their lives.
Welcome to race week jitters. The race day countdown is at three. My running plan strongly discourages any last-minute attempts at getting just one more training run in. I’ve discarded any last-minute hopes of ditching a few more pounds or somehow improving my time by a few more minutes. The momentum from my eleven-mile run is a distant memory. Instead, I’m full of fear.
Running logic says if you can run eleven miles one weekend, then the next step in training is 13.1 miles. There is absolutely no reason I cannot or will not cross the finish line. Except logic has taken a backseat to fear. All I can picture is getting to mile eleven, only to have my body give out on me. I visualize myself seeing the eleven-mile marker and then collapsing from exhaustion. (more…)
John Rudd turning a complete somersault on skis
As documented on this old postcard, Duluthian John Rudd is credited as having performed the first somersault on skies. It happened at Chester Bowl, then known as Chester Creek Hill. (more…)
Winter Sports in Duluth, 1929
This brochure from 1929 highlights “Winter Sports in Duluth,” including the old toboggan chute at Chester Park, as seen on the cover. (more…)
NHL teams will spend five months in Duluth bubble
Not really. It’s a wrong answer on the New York Times weekly quiz. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Hockey
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Hockey
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Duluth Athletic Club Cigar Box
Because nothing says physical fitness like a box of stogies.
Kresge Girls’ Baseball Team of 1920
From the Aug. 28, 1920 Duluth Herald.
R.I.P. Mark Sertich, world’s oldest hockey player
Duluth’s Mark Sertich, the world’s oldest hockey player, was still skating on his 99th birthday in July. He died on Monday from complications of a stroke. (more…)
Minnesota All Hockey Hair Team 2020: The Flow Must Go On
Like a great hair band, John King keeps on goin’ with another edition of the Minnesota All Hockey Hair team.
Video Archive: Minnesota All Hockey Hair Team 2005
Last year John King announced he would end his annual series of videos reviewing the finest hair styles at the Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament. Well, he didn’t. But that’s no reason not to dig into the archives and feature the original Minnesota All Hockey Hair Team of 2005, created for the short-lived TV program The Show to be Named Later.
Cade Fairchild of Duluth East makes the team for his “Ogie Ogilthorpe look,” and East Head Coach Mike Randolph gets special recognition for his “Lloyd Christmas look.”
Video Flashback: Snocross 2019
The 2019 Duluth Snocross will be most remembered for the Thanksgiving Weekend Snowout, which led to the cancellation of the second and third days of the snowmobile racing event. But the there was one day of action, captured above in a short documentary by Adam Jagunich, and below in the official Snocross recap video. (more…)
Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #37: Outdoor Sports Edition
Another trivia card from a board game purchased at Savers. (more…)
Grandma’s Marathon 2019 Double: 52.4-mile Bachelor Party
“Marathons are hard. Double marathons are harder.”
A perennial favorite on Perfect Duluth Day is Eric Strand’s annual video of his jaunt from the finish line to the starting line and back to the finish line of Grandma’s Marathon. Yes, that’s right, he runs the course twice. Every year. The 2019 installment is the eighth-annual Grandma’s Marathon Double, and includes, among others, an about-to-be-married dude named Zach embarking on the 52.4-mile run.