Seasons
SEASON: 24 | YEAR: 1972
HEAD COACH: FRANCIS C. HUBBARD
Game 203 | January 17, 1972 | Brooks Robinson, Dave LaRoche
Robinson finished fourth in the MVP voting after the 1971 baseball season and was making his second appearance at Dunkers. The Twins, needing bullpen help after the 1971 season, traded shortstop Leo Cardenas to California for LaRoche. In his single season with the Twins the left-handed reliever won 5 and saved 10 games. He was traded at the end of the 1972 season to the Cubs for Bill Hands and Joe Decker.
Game 204 | February 11, 1972 | Cal Stoll
In 1972 Stoll became the first "M" man since Bernie Bierman to coach the Gopher football team. He left Wake Forest to join the Gophers and led his first team to a fifth-place finish with a 4-4 conference record.
Game 205 | March 9, 1972 | Joe Robbie
A native of Sisseton, South Dakota and former Twin Cities resident, Robbie was the owner of the Miami Dolphins from 1966-'90. Along with Coach Don Shula he built the Dolphins into a powerful football team that won two Super Bowls and a perfect 14-0 record in 1972. In 1987, using only private funds, he designed and built Joe Robbie Stadium, a $115 million facility that was a model for future pro football stadiums.
Game 206 | April 20, 1972 | Ray Scott
A television sports pioneer, Scott called his first NFL game on the Dumont Television Network. His original Minnesota Twins radio partners were Bob Wolfe and Halsey Hall. Wolfe left after one year and was replaced by Herb Carneal. The team of Scott, Hall and Carneal worked together from 1962 to 1966 when Scott left for a full-time job with CBS Television.
Game 207 | April 27, 1972 | Curt Gowdy
The long-time voice of the Boston Red Sox, Gowdy joined NBC in 1965 as the lead announcer for both Major League Baseball and the American Football League. He called many of the greatest moments in sports including Ted Williams' home run in his final major league at bat, the notorious AFL game that was cut off by the network production of Heidi, and the Joe Namath-guaranteed victory of the New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
(LtoR) Fran Hubbard, Curt Gowdy, Sid Hartman (physician)
Game 208 | May 26, 1972 | Ted Williams, Bob Short
For Williams it was his first Dunkers appearance since 1958. Short, the Minneapolis business entrepreneur who had enticed Williams from retirement to manage his Washington Senators, had just moved that team to Texas. Williams kept his commitment to Short to stay with the team during the controversial move. The team finished the season in 6th place with a record of 54-100, and Williams' managerial career was over.
Game 209 | June 21, 1972 | Steve Braun, Ralph Rowe, Bobby Darwin
Braun had joined the Twins in 1971 and had one of his best seasons in 1972, hitting .289 with 50 RBIs, fourth best on the team. Darwin, acquired in an off-season trade for Paul Ray Powell, hit 22 homers for his new team. Along with Harmon Killebrew, Darwin was the only player in the history of Metropolitan Stadium to homer into the upper deck in left f1eld. Rowe, a career minor league manager, was rewarded with a coaching job for the Twins from 1972-1975.
Game 210 | July 13, 1972 | Frank Quilici
A utility infielder for the Twins throughout much of the 1960s, Quilici became a Twins coach in 1971, and was named manager on July 6, 1972, following the f1ring of Bill Rigney. The highlight of his playing career was the 1965 World Series in which he had two hits in one inning off Dodger starter Don Drysdale. That accomplishment tied a World Series record, held by many different players.
Game 211 | July 21, 1972 | Lou Nanne, Phil Esposito
Nanne and Esposito grew up together in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. "Espo" played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruin' and New York Rangers. He was a first-team All-Star from 1969-1974. Playing on a line with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfleld, with Bobby Orr on defense, Esposito led the Bruins to Stanley Cup victories in 1970 and 1972. A popular Boston bumper sticker of the time said, "Jesus saves, Esposito scores on the rebound."
(LtoR) Back row: Fran Hubbard, Walter Bush, Jr., Norm McGrew; Front row: Lou Nanne, Phil Esposito
Game 212 | September 21, 1972 | Dr. Harvey O'Phelan
A long-time member of Twin Cities Dunkers before his death in 2007, Dr. O'Phelan was an internationally known pioneer in sports medicine. He served as team physician to the Minnesota Twins, University of Minnesota and numerous U.S. Olympic teams. His patients included Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek. When Gopher basketball star Lou Hudson broke his right hand, it was Dr. O'Phelan who developed the cast that would allow Hudson to continue his All-American season.
Game 213 | November 2, 1972 | Fran Tarkenton, Ed Marinaro
The first running back in NCAA history to have more than 4,000 career rushing yards, Marinaro was picked by the Vikings in the second round out of Cornell University. Marinaro finished number two to Pat Sullivan in the Heisman Trophy voting, an accomplishment which earned him the nickname of "Avis." After football he turned to acting and had a regular role in the popular Hill Street Blues. Tarkenton was back from the Giants and led the team to a 7-7 record in 1972.
Game 214 | November 29, 1972 | Halsey Hall
The 1972 season was the last one in which Halsey was a regular member of the Twins broadcast crew. A legend in both newspaper and broadcasting circles, Hall teamed with Cedric Adams on WCCO Radio's nightly 10 p.m. news with Adams doing the news and Hall the sports. Northwest Airlines pilots for years said they knew when Cedric and Halsey's show was over because the lights all went out across Minnesota at the same time. He was quick with a quip and was especially entertaining to Twins fans during rain delays. Halsey died in 1977 at age 79.
(LtoR) Paul Giel (physician), Halsey Hall
Game 215 | December 13, 1972 | Cal Stoll
This was the first time in history that one speaker made two appearances in the same year. Stoll had just finished his first of seven seasons as Gopher football coach. While the season ended with a disappointing 4-7 record, the Gophers finished strong with victories over Northwestern, Michigan State and Wisconsin, setting the stage for what was to be Stoll's best season in 1973.