Seasons
SEASON: 17 | YEAR: 1965
HEAD COACH: T. FLOYD CULLEN
Game 129 | January 25, 1965 | Dick Groat
The National League batting champion and MVP in 1960 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, shortstop Groat was coming off an all-star season in which he led his St. Louis Cardinals team to victory in the World Series against the Yankees. For most of his career with the Pirates he teamed with second baseman Bill Mazeroski as one of baseball's strongest middle infields. He was a two-time All-American basketball player at Duke, where he was named Helms Foundation National College Basketball Player of the Year in 1952, while averaging 25.2 points per game.
Game 130 | March 30, 1965 | Richard Dwyer
The Ice Follies performed nearly 400 times per year, and Dwyer, nicknamed "Mister Debonair," was the star in the mid 1960s. He joined the event as a line skater in 1950 and retired 30 years later as one of the biggest names in the event's history.
Game 131 | April 13, 1965 | Johnny Keane
To the surprise of all baseball fans, Keane resigned after winning the 1964 World Series with the Cardinals. The Yankees, who had lost the World Series to Keane's Cardinals, fired Yogi Berra and hired Keane. The Yankees by that time were an aging group, and Keane's 1965 team finished a distant sixth in the American League, and he was fired 20 games into the 1966 season. He appeared before Dunkers as the new Yankees manager.
Game 132 | May 11, 1965 | Bill Rigney
The former Giant and Miller infielder and manager; Rigney managed the expansion Los Angeles Angels from 1961-1969. He was the American League Manager of the Year in 1962.
Game 133 | June 10, 1965 | Rocky Colavito
Back with the Cleveland Indians in 1965, the handsome, strong outfielder was a huge fan favorite. He had 11 consecutive 20-home run seasons from 1955 to 1966. A six-time All-Star selection, he hit 374 career home runs and finished his playing career with the New York Yankees in 1968. Just before the 1960 season, Colavito, the AL home run champion in 1959, was traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn, who had won the 1959 batting title.
(LtoR) Ken Jensen, Rocky Colavito, Sid Hartman (physician)
Game 134 | July 13, 1965 | Gene Mauch
Six years after he appeared as the Millers' manager, Mauch was back as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. It was his first of four major league managerial stops, and certainly his most painful. The 1964 Phillies blew a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games to go to lose the National League championship to St. Louis. When he retired from managing in 1987, he had set a record as the winningest manager to have never won a league pennant.
Game 135 | September 21, 1965 | Brooks Robinson
Nicknamed "Human Vacuum Cleaner," third baseman Robinson played his entire 23-year career with the Baltimore Orioles. A winner of 16 Gold Gloves, Robinson was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1964. After the 1970 World Series (in which Robinson was named the MVP), losing Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson said, "I'm beginning to see Brooks in my sleep. If I dropped this paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first."
(LtoR) Frank Ryman, Jr., Brooks Robinson, Charlie Johnson (physician)
Game 136 | October 28, 1965 | Lou Hudson, John Kundla
It had been 14 years since Kundla had talked at Dunkers as the Minneapolis Lakers coach. This time he was back as the Gophers basketball coach, and he had his star player with him. Hudson, whose banner hangs in Williams Arena, was a smooth 6-5 forward who played his senior season with a broken shooting hand. He became the first Gopher to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft and went on to a 13-year career with St. Louis, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Lakers.
(LtoR) Back row: Vern Mikkelsen (physician), Pug Lund; Front row: Lou Hudson, John Kundla
Game 137 | November 16, 1965 | Calvin Griffith
Basking in the glow of the Twins making it to the 1965 World Series, Griffith told Dunkers that moving his team from Washington to Minnesota was the best thing he had ever done. Nephew of Hall of Famer Clark Griffith, Calvin remained in the game until 1984 when profitability issues led him to accept an offer from Minneapolis banker Carl Pohlad. Calvin Griffith, not always popular with the fans because of his tight budget, became a beloved figure after the sale and lived an additional 15 years before dying in 1999 at age 87.
Game 138 | December 7, 1965 | Paul Faust, Aaron Brown, Bob Bruggers, John Hankinson
The 1965 football Gophers finished 5-4-1 and tied for third in the Big Ten. Brown, from Port Arthur, Texas, starred at both offensive and defensive end and went on to be an All-Pro performer. Bruggers was a tough linebacker who had gained fame starring for tiny Danube in the 1961 Minnesota High School Basketball Tournament. Faust, a linebacker, and Hankinson, the team's quarterback, were both star athletes at Edina High School. Hankinson had three sons who later starred for the hockey Gophers.