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Sports Memories by Tom Jones

10 years

• The Albert Lea American Legion Post 56 baseball team opened their season with an 8-3 loss to Austin. Parker Mullenbach had two hits and an RBI to lead Albert Lea.
• The Albert Lea Grizzlies adult amateur football team’s two game winning streak ended as they were defeated 24-12 by the Southwest Huskerz. A 35-yard pass from Tony Tolbers to Marquis Shaw in the second half got the Grizzlies within 12 at 24-12 but that ended the scoring for Albert Lea.
• Kyle Ooms, a 2012 graduate of Albert Lea High School was one of 51 Academic All-Conference award winners at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. In his basketball career at Albert Lea High School, he amassed 1106 career points.

20 years

• The Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament held its ninth annual event in Albert Lea at the Northbridge Mall with 230 teams participating. The team of Max Jeffrey, Matt Northrup, Ben Koppelman and Chris Koppelman, who were sponsored by Skyline Barbers won the Sportsmanship Award in the men’s 30 and over division.
• At an exhibition game played at baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Minnesota Twins 10-7. Michael Restovich and Tommy Watkins hit solo home runs for the Twins. Matthew LeCroy of the Twins won the home run hitting contest held prior to the game.
• The Albert Lea VFW baseball team defeated Louie Toulouse’s Glenville-Emmons Legion team, 6-2 in a game played in Emmons. David Hird, Ben Berhow and Matt Vietze all had three hits for Albert Lea. Nathan Cooper went 2-for-3 for Glenville-Emmons. Josh Jordahl went the distance to pick up the win.

50 years

• Rodney Tovar hit a home run to lead the Name of the Game to a 14-6 win over the VFW in men’s “A” league softball play.
• The Albert Lea “B” Legion baseball team fell 6-5 to New Richland. Steve Foss and Paul Nies pitched for Albert Lea in the loss.
• Minnesota Lake high school pitcher Randy Brandt was selected in the Major Leage Baseball draft by the San Francisco Giants. He had just completed his senior year where he won six and loss one while striking out 110 batters in 51 innings.
• Lowell Barr took first place in the 220-yard dash and second in the 100-yard dash in the boys’ 10-11 age group for the Albert Lea Recreational Track Team in a meet held in Rochester. Victor Bryson took first in the long jump.
• The Worth County Fairgrounds hosted a demolition derby in Northwood. The event is still carried on today, as the Masters of Disaster are putting on a derby Saturday night at the same location.
• Brad Haase hurled a three-hitter to lead the Albert Lea “A” Legion team to a 6-1 win over Mankato East. Bob Olson hit a first inning home run to lead Albert Lea as part of a four-run first inning.
• Joe Frazier stopped Jerry Quarry in the fifth round of a scheduled 12-round heavyweight bout held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
• The Albert Lea Swim Club traveled to Owatonna and St. Louis Park in a pair of weekend contests. Albert Lea’s Angie Keating took second place in the 50-yard butterfly in the 10 and under class. Her brother Ray took third place in the 200 individual medley in the 13 and 14 age group.

Alumni update

The Waldorf University men’s hockey team have announced the signing of two 2021 Albert Lea High School graduates. Defensemen Dylan Carlson and Spencer Clark will be joining the Warriors after playing for the Steele County Blades in Owatonna, where Carlson played three seasons and Clark two. The Warriors will open their home season on Oct. 11 at the City Arena when they host Midland University.