Sports Memories by Tom Jones

 

50 years ago: 1969

• Minneapolis businessman Bob Short, who had owned the Washington Senators for only two weeks, announced he was hiring Hall of Famer Ted Williams to be the team’s manager.

• Bill Orban and Tom Reid made their debut for the Minnesota North Stars after they were acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade for Andre Boudrias and Mike McMahon.

• Charles William’s 43 points were not enough as the Minnesota Pipers fell to the Indiana Pacers 140-133 in front of 4,706 fans at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum in American Basketball Association action.

 

25 years ago: 1994

• The Alden-Conger girls’ basketball team rallied to beat Faribault Bethlehem Academy 57-56 in overtime. Tammy Newman recorded 16 points, with Melissa Mattson and Jenni Sorensen adding 10.

• The Albert Lea ninth-grade boys’ basketball team captured third-place finishes in its own tournament as well as one in Faribault. The Tigers defeated Mankato West 41-31 in Albert Lea and 61-27 in Faribault to take home third.

• The Albert Lea B-squad hockey team captured the Big Nine Conference championship with a 7-4 win over Rochester Mayo. Coaches Tom and Steve Falk guided the Tigers to a 10-2-1 conference record and 17-3-1 overall.

 

10 years ago: 2009

• Kelli Hanson recorded 47 saves as the Albert Lea girls’ hockey team knocked off the two-time section champion Austin Packers 4-0 in a game played at Riverside Arena. Madi Passingham had two goals for the Tigers, with Katie Nelson and Lauren Klick netting the others.

• The Glenville-Emmons girls’ basketball team defeated Hope Lutheran 48-34 in a game that featured a leaky roof in the first half of the game at Hope Lutheran in Winona that forced the game’s second half to be played at Winona Cotter. Kalli VanRyswyk had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Wolverines.

• Albert Lea’s head boys’ hockey coach Roy Nystrom recorded his 600th career win as a coach in the Tigers’ 6-2 victory over Rochester John Marshall. Nystrom’s win total included 506 wins with the Tigers. Casey Marka had a hat trick in the victory.

 

This year

• Head Augustana softball coach Gretta Melstad, a 1994 graduate of Albert Lea High School, is entering her 13th season as head coach for the Vikings. Her teams have made NCAA tournaments in eight of her seasons there and she has a career record of 548-301, including three years at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri.