The dawn of the Golden Age of Dragon football can be traced to 1970 and the arrival of Ross Fortier as head coach. The football fortunes at Moorhead State College began to change swiftly under Fortier's watch, and by year two the Dragons were ready to make a serious run at a Northern Intercollegiate Conference championship.
It was the beginning of a wondrous era that spanned nearly three decades, a reign that included eight conference titles and 10 trips to post-season play, but there were a few speed bumps along the way. Dick Sagehorn remembers all too well.
“The biggest disappointment was not winning my senior year,” remembers Sagehorn. “It still haunts and bothers me to think about it.”
During Sagehorn's final season at State in 1975, MSC, cursed by several narrow losses, slumped to a frustrating 2-7-0 finish. Despite the drop off, few could fault Sagehorn. A rock solid fixture at middle linebacker and the leading tackler for three years, he was clearly at his best as a senior and exited with All-NIC honors.
League coaches felt so strongly about his spirited contribution they also voted him as the Most Valuable Player award, a remarkable anointment for a player off a losing club.
The coronation as the league's best provided some consolation for Sagehorn.
“At the time it was a mixed emotion between having a losing season and winning the award. It was an honor, a kind of a thank you for how I tried to play the game of football.”
A graduate of tiny Bertha-Hewitt High School, Sagehorn was off the recruiting radar of most colleges. “I enrolled at Moorhead State in 1972 and was somewhat timid about playing football at that time. Moorhead State was known as a very physical football team, and I didn't feel I had come out of a strong program. My high school coach was Leo Jacobson, a Moorhead alum, and he gave me a lot of inspiration and helped prepare me for the mental as well as physical part of the game. The biggest adjustment was that the hardest hit I made in high school was a just a weak to routine hit in college. The part of college that appealed to me the most was that I wasn't forced to be there; I choose to be there, so that made it easy.”
There were several highwater marks at Moorhead State for Sagehorn.
“My sophomore year we won the conference, and were a close (team),” Sagehorn said. “I remember being named all-conference as a junior and being elected captain, meeting (Green Bay Packer legend) Ray Nitschke, and (voted) all-conference, all-district and team MVP as a senior.”
There were a few anxious moments along the way, especially the post-season awards parade.
“I remember on the way to the MVP banquet in Minneapolis when I learned I had to prepare a speech. That award was surreal at the time. It seems now that it means a lot more because of where the award came from.”
While the football awards were nice, Sagehorn has other special memories as well, including a rewarding student teaching experience under legendary coach Sid Cichy at Fargo Shanley High School, graduating from college and being inducted into the Dragon Hall of Fame.
Sagehorn surely enjoyed the rough-and-tumble lifestyle of college football clearly profited from the experience.
”I learned no job is impossible; anything can be accomplished with a plan and hard work,” said Sagehorn. “I will not allow others to be my judge; my standards for myself may be greater.”
The Sagehorn name returned to Dragon headlines with the arrival of daughter Kari in 2005. A transfer from University of Minnesota Duluth, she quickly became a trusted member of the MSUM pitching staff and is currently completing an advanced degree in athletic administration at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Sagehorn is a system administrator for a manufacturing company in St. Michael. “I do computer, printer and network maintenance, contracting for a few small companies on the side,” Sagehorn said. “I have refereed basketball in the metro area the last seven years and also umpire fast pitch softball at the high school level. Early on I coached some football but in the last eight years I have pretty much coached only fast pitch.”
Once the focal point of his collegiate career, sports have clearly taken a backseat to family for Sagehorn.
“I am celebrating my 25th year married to a great wife, Sandy, with three great children, Tara, Chad and Kari, and a new grandson, Hugh Thomas. We live in Maple Grove, and our family has (enjoyed) lots of blessings.”
After all these years, Sagehorn still keeps an eye on his Dragons.
“I've always followed them and tried to make games when ever possible. I've also watched the financial effects take its toll, and my wife and I try and contribute something to football and softball each year. There needs to be more support from all athletes who played in the past, and if every athlete would donate something back I think MSUM could regain its place of respect and start growing again.”
Sagehorn was a member of the Dragon Hall of Fame induction class of 2001, an honor he will never forget.
“When I was selected into the Hall of Fame it was right after my dad died, and that will always help me remember when it happened. When I was giving my acceptance speech, I heard (former Dragon coach) Ron Masanz told people at his table that the way I played football, I was the real deal.”
Thirty-five autumns ago Dick Sagehorn produced a season for the ages, not to be forgotten by Sagehorn or his Dragon pals.
No comments:
Post a Comment