Seasons
SEASON: 18 | YEAR: 1966
HEAD COACH: EDWARD C. ARNOLD
Game 139 | January 24, 1966 | Al Kaline, Joe Garagiola
It was winter baseball banquet time again, and Garagiola was back as the guest speaker and emcee. Kaline went right from high school to the Detroit Tigers in 1953 and became the youngest player in history to win an American League batting title when he hit .340 in 1955. A 15-time All Star, Kaline won 10 Gold Glove awards as a right fielder and was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1980. He played his entire 21 years with the Tigers.
(LtoR) Back row: Vic Root, Charlie Johnson (physician); Front row: Al Kaline, Joe Garagiola
Game 140 | March 2, 1966 | Walter Bush Jr.
Fresh out of Breck and Dartmouth, the Hopkins native helped start the Central Hockey League in 1955. Bush played a key role in establishing the expansion Minnesota North Stars in 1967. He was named the NHL Executive of the Year in 1973. He was a long-time supporter of both amateur and Olympic hockey in the United States, and the national headquarters of USA Hockey was named for him 1999. He joined Dunkers in 1967, the year after he appeared as a guest speaker.
Game 141 | April 1, 1966 | Duane Baglien
Almost two decades after Dunkers began, Edina basketball coach Duane Baglien became the second high school coach to be a featured guest. His team had just gone undefeated and won the state championship. He won the state title again in 1967 and 1968 and won 69 straight games in what was to be the "Edinasty" of Minnesota high school basketball. Baglien was a Gopher basketball and baseball letter winner. Stars of his Edina teams included Bob Zender, Jeff Wright, Roger Schelper and Jay Kiedrowski.
Game 142 | April 27, 1966 | Tom Harmon
Thought by many to be the greatest football player in University of Michigan history, Tom Harmon won both the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award in 1940. Playing both halfback and quarterback, he led the nation in scoring in both 1939 and 1940. Winner of a Purple Heart as a pilot in World War II, he was one of the first athletes to transition from pro football to the broadcast booth. He is the father of Kristen Nelson, who married recording artist Rick Nelson. His son, Mark Harmon, a veteran television star; is married to actress Pam Dawber. He is the grandfather of twins Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, rock singers who perform under the name of "Nelson."
Game 143 | June 2, 1966| Emmett Ashford
In 1966 Ashford became the first African American umpire in major league baseball. He brought flash and style to what had been a very staid profession. He retired in 1970 at the then mandatory retirement age of 56 and died of a heart attack at age 65.
Game 144 | September 8, 1966 | Jim Kaat
A 14-year member of the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, Kaat was on his way to his best season in 1966 when he won a league-leading 25 games and was named American League Pitcher of the Year. He started three games for the Twins in the 1965 World Series and defeated Sandy Koufax in game two. He may be best remembered as one of the greatest fielding pitchers of all time, winning the Gold Glove Award every year from 1962 to 1977. He retired in 2006 after 20 years as a Twins and New York Yankee broadcaster.
(LtoR) Norm McGrew (physician), Jim Kaat, Paul Giel
Game 145 | September 19, 1966 | Ronald Gibbs
In 1966 Gibbs was the supervisor of officials in the National Football League. He talked to Dunkers about rule changes and his recollections of the 1958 NFL championship game in which he was the lead official. That game, won in overtime 23-17 by the Baltimore Colts over the New York Giants, is often referred to as "the greatest game ever played." The overtime was the first in NFL history, and the game was the first televised live from coast to coast.
Game 146 | October 4, 1966 | Wren Blair
When the National Hockey League expanded to Minnesota for the 1967 season, one of the first hires of the new Minnesota North Stars was head coach Blair. He held the head coaching job through the team's first three seasons and later served as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is best-known in hockey circles as the man who discovered a very young talent named Bobby Orr.
Game 147 | October 10, 1966 | Fran Tarkenton
Like Kaat, Tarkenton was making his second Dunkers appearance in 1966. He still holds the Vikings' team record for career passing yards and career passing touchdowns. He frequently clashed with coach Norm Van Brocklin, and after the 1966 season was traded to the New York Giants. He returned to the Vikings in 1972, leading them to three Super Bowls before his retirement in 1978.
Game 148 | December 14, 1966 | Chuck Killian, Mike Gillham
Future Dunker Chuck Killian, a center; captained the 1966 University of Minnesota team, which finished fifth in the Big Ten with a 3-3-1 conference record. Gillham captained the 1966 Gopher track team.