The Living End

By Larry Scott, retired
Sports Information Director

Nearly a half century later, it remains one of the greatest singular performances in Dragon lore, and for Bruce Bausman, surely the signature moment of a remarkable but often overlooked athletic career.

It was opening day, 1963, when Bausman, a slender 6-2, 197-pound senior wide receiver, teamed with quarterback Kevin Wimmer for a record 203 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a shocking 31-14 smackdown of North Dakota State University at Dacotah Field in Fargo, ND.

While Dragon fans of today can only gasp at the thought of a romp over the heralded Bison, to Bausman and his football pals at Moorhead State College, it was simply a non-conference win. Well, Bausman admits, there was a little more to it.

“What’s often overlooked is that we beat them the year before as well,” Bausman recalled. “They had brought in Darrell Mudra as head coach, and the press were all oriented to NDSU. I don’t know if we believed because I’m not sure if we knew what we had.

“Those 203 yards came on only four catches, and that’s not what we had anticipated. They didn’t expect it, and we didn’t expect it. I was not known as a speedster. In fact, when I later played in the Continental League, one of our coaches said I had 9.8 hands but 12.8 feet.

“I don’t even think our coaches expected that, but Wimmer could lay it right in there; that was the secret. We really hadn’t practiced it much. It was just accidental. Coach (Dwaine) Hoberg came out of the old Bernie Bierman school at the University of Minnesota---run the single wing, three yards and a cloud of dust. If you tried something else, it was just for variety.”

It was heady stuff for Bausman and the Dragons, but the good times soon evaporated.

“It only lasted for a short time, however, after I broke my arm in the homecoming game. It was a little deflating because I was second in the nation in receiving after the NDSU game and was starting to get letters from the NFL, including the Packers and Cowboys. After the injury, the rankings and letters ceased.”

A 1960 graduate of St. Louis Park High School, Bausman lettered in football and track but had few expectations of a rewarding collegiate career. “I was just a very average player,” Bausman confessed. “In high school, I was a blocking end, and there’s not much notoriety in that, and we ran the single-wing, which meant we hardly ever passed the ball. Later, when I came to college, we started throwing the ball, and I found out I could catch it.

“Jim Camp, an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, lived in the neighborhood and was willing to take me on as a walk-on, but I got a half tuition and fees scholarship at MS.”

It didn’t take Bausman long to make an imprint.

“I started my first game as a freshman, the first game ever played at (Alex) Nemzek Stadium,” said Bausman. “I caught 32 passes as a sophomore; that was the most I caught in a season.”

Bausman readily admits he gained much of his football acumen from an unlikely source.

“My sophomore year I wrote to Raymond Berry of the Baltimore Colts, and he sent me a whole slug of materials he used. We corresponded for several years, and I remember I would go to sleep the night before a game reading his stuff. He was a self-made man, my hero and my instructor.”

A three-time All-NIC choice, Bausman was the recipient of the Glenn Galligan Award, given annually to the league’s outstanding senior. “That kind of surprised me since I missed half the season,” Bausman said.

Football may have been his greatest passion, but Bausman relished the entire collegiate experience. “I played on the hockey team and participated in the weights in track. I was class president my freshman year and elected to the student council for two years. I was also the student representative on the Faculty Athletic Committee and a member of the Owl fraternity.”

Bausman’s diligent work habits weren’t limited to football.

“I had a variety of jobs in college, and I think I worked about 40 hours a week. I was an assistant manager at King Leo’s Drive Inn; refereed hockey games; taught driver’s training and was head hockey coach at Dilworth High School as a freshman and sophomore. I also was a park director for one summer; whatever it took.”

It was a much smaller setting, a stage that provided a comfortable fit for Bausman.

“When I started, there were about 1,250 students and a real intimacy about Moorhead State. It seemed everybody belonged to one of the organizations. As the school got bigger and bigger, the value of fraternal and sorority life got deluded.”

Bausman graduated with a major in Spanish and a French and business minor, a rare combination that quickly paid dividends. “My first job interview, that took two days, was conducted in three languages, and you had to answer the questions in the language that was posed.”

He landed his first real job, but he still wasn’t ready to put away his spikes.

“I took a job with International Multi-Foods in their overseas division, and my first assignment was in Madison, WI. The weekend I got there, I saw an ad in the newspaper that they were starting a semi-pro team, the Madison Mustangs. I tried out and played successfully for them. The next year I was invited to try out for the Charleston Rockets in the newly formed Continental League.

“I started out as the 13^th wide receiver on the depth chart, but I made the team and ended up starting. During the season, I had a shin splint and tailbone problem and spent the last half of the year on injured reserve.

“I went back to Minneapolis and started with Red Owl stores in the human resources department. Later, I was the senior vice president of real estate and for Musicland. We were the largest movie and music retailer in the world. My territory included the UK, Hawaii, Virgin Islands, Manhattan and Los Angeles, so it kept me moving, but once digital downloading came in, I was spending my last two years closing stores and negotiating reductions. It just got tiring.”

After leaving the music industry Bausman relocated to a sprawling ranch in Colorado, but he wasn’t completely ready to ride off into the sunset. He still does consulting work and sees special value in an intern experience. “I tell my grandchildren become an intern and get an idea of what the real world is like in that profession.”

Bausman still relies on those trusty values that shaped his football career, and firmly believes patience, preparation and persistence will ultimately open the right door. “I found out that I could compete; if you have the right kind of tools they will work in any environment.”

BAGLEY: QUEEN OF THE HILL

By Larry Scott, retired

Sports Information Director

Winning never gets old for Jen Bagley.

Surely one of the greatest players to ever grace a Minnesota State University Moorhead softball uniform and arguably the greatest Dragon pitcher of them all, Bagley continues to add chapters to her sparkling intercollegiate softball career.

Bagley recently completed her 10^th season as head softball coach at Missouri Western State University in 2011 and guided the Griffons to a 40-15 record and a first ever MIAA regular season title. She was saluted as MIAA Coach of the Year for a third time and pocketed her 300^th career collegiate victory in February.

A product of Hoyt Lakes on the Minnesota Iron Range, Bagley once carried a laminated picture of Minnesota Twins legend Kirby Puckett in the back pocket of her softball uniform for good luck. She charted a rewarding schoolgirl career in volleyball, basketball and softball at Mesabi East High School.

“I didn’t start playing softball until eighth grade, and Mr. (Tom) Gillach, who was my PE teacher, was quoted as saying he would get the two biggest girls in class and teach them how to pitch. You can how imagine how horrified I was, because the last thing an eighth grade female wants is to be thought of as big.

“He took me under his wing. He would play catch for me and take me to different clinics, and that’s how it started. Now, kids are playing competitive ball as early as 12 and 13 years old.

“I was in track, but I wasn’t very good. I ran high hurdles and was terrible; I still have the scars on my knees to show it. We played basketball and volleyball, and my family golfed and skied, so we were very active.”

MSU Moorhead head coach Katie Wilson won the spirited recruiting battle and signed Bagley to a scholarship at MSU Moorhead. It was a stroke of good fortune that would soon lift Minnesota State Moorhead to national prominence.

“I wanted to be a Paralegal major. I had gone to Minnesota-Duluth pitching camps and had a close relationship with their pitching coach, but they didn’t have Paralegal as a major. I looked at places in the state that offered it, including Winona State and Moorhead State. Katie Wilson called me; we visited, and it just felt right.”

The most dominant pitcher in Dragon softball history, Bagley was a four-year starter and anchor of a pitching staff that led MSUM to NAIA national tournament appearances in 1993 and 1994. She was named to All-NSIC teams in 1995 and 1996 and also lettered in golf at MSU Moorhead.

“We played in two national championships in (Columbia) Missouri. I thought our 1993 team was awesome with Jill Knisley, Kim Bieck, Missy Jaeb, Cheryl Johnson, Amy Tenute, Dana Gross, Deb Kazmierczak, Kailey Smith and Pauline Stern.”

The rules were simple when Bagley took the mound---she would be in charge and the batter would benefit by quickly coming to that realization.

“My rise ball and my curve ball were my best pitches; I threw about 60 per cent rise balls and 40 per cent curve balls. Once in a while, I would throw a changeup, but I felt my speed was my strength. My pitches usually moved really well, but I didn’t always know where they were going.

“I honestly believed every time I got on the mound I was just going to dominate. I don’t know where that came from. I guess I was just that naïve; I had no fear. Pauline Stern was my catcher all four years, and we worked together calling the game. I think we worked mostly to my strengths as opposed to what the batters’ strengths and weaknesses were, and we set hitters up depending upon what was working for me that day.”

After graduation, Bagley accepted a position with a local law firm and was appointed pitching coach for the Dragons.

“I got hired at Forrest Hutchinson and Assoc. in Fargo after I graduated, and I was also named an assistant coach at MSU. They let me come in early and leave early to get to practice, and that was great. After a couple of years, it dawned on me I could make a living as a head coach, so I went and got my master’s degree at North Dakota State.”

After completing her degree at NDSU she served as an assistant softball coach at Humboldt State University in California and helped guide the Jacks to a 54-14-1 overall record and a third place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

“That was a great experience, a pivotal time in my life when I said ‘yes, this is what I want to do.’ I learned so much from coach (Frank) Cheek in one year on how to run a program, not only the Xs and Os, but the intensity of a program, and it taught me a lot about the kind of coach I wanted to be. He was a huge mentor in my life.”

Bagley was installed as head coach at Missouri Western in 2002 and has averaged 33 victories a season. The Griffs have qualified for the NCAA Central Regional Tournament five times in the last seven years under Bagley’s watch.

She has also taken her act abroad as head softball coach at American Internal Sports Tours for four summers, coaching athletes in Prague in the Czech Republic, Holland, Italy, France and Belgium.

“I’ve loved every moment of it. It’s so awesome to be a part of a program long enough where you have alumni that are ‘my girls.’ Watching these kids in this period of their lives---being real life career women, getting married and starting families---it’s really a special time in their life, and I’m just fortunate to be a part of it.”

While Bagley largely welcomed the warmer climes of Missouri, she confesses that she still misses the wacky winters of the upper Midwest. “Believe it or not, I miss the weather and being able to play in the snow, but we can be outdoors practicing in February and still have the change of seasons,” Bagley said.

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Foley's Finest

By Larry Scott, retired
Sports Information Director

Some things never change, and while there are few certainties in high school sports, there is one constant you can always count on---expect Foley High School to make a serious impact at the Minnesota State High School Wrestling Championships. Every year.

For over a half century the little school by the Rum River in central Minnesota has been a major player on the prep level, especially under coach Lyle Freudenberg, a former wrestling captain at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

The onetime Dragon recently completed his 29th season as head coach at Foley High and guided FHS to a fourth place finish at the 2011 Minnesota State Class AA Championships at St. Paul. “We were in the finals in 2009 and 2010, and we had a couple of really nice squads. We had a good squad this year, too,” said Freudenberg.

Under Freudenberg's watch Foley captured state titles in 1989 and 1993 in the two-class system, and again in 1994 in the expanded three-class field. He was twice named Minnesota High School Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Freudenberg was appointed head coach of the Falcons in 1982 at the age of 30, and admits he was attracted to Foley by the rich wrestling tradition.

“I wanted to get into a good wrestling program and learn a little bit more,” Freudenberg said. “When I came to Foley they had two coaches who had been here about seven or eight years, and they were both outstanding technicians and coaches,” said Freudenberg.

Freudenberg cannot imagine a more perfect place to chase his dream.

“Foley had a strong wrestling tradition back then. They started in 1954 and had only one losing season, 1959. We haven't had a losing season since, and they've always had success. The fans are very knowledgeable about wrestling, too, and sometimes we draw close to 2,000 fans for a dual. The community is really supportive.”

A 1970 graduate of Parkers Prairie High School, Freudenberg lettered in football, track and wrestling and placed third as a senior at the state wrestling tournament. It was a pair of former Dragons who pointed him to MSUM.

“Andy McCarty was my coach, and he had graduated from Moorhead State, and Al Holmes, an assistant coach at the time, recruited me. The scholarship depended if you made the varsity team. There were no guarantees then, but I did get a partial scholarship.”

A fast learner, Freudenberg barged his way into the Dragon starting lineup as a freshman, beginning a run of four productive seasons that created a batch of pleasant memories.

“In my senior year in 1974 I won a conference title at 150 pounds,” said Freudenberg. “I was one of the captains along with Bob Bowlsby, and I qualified for the nationals as a junior and senior. I was ranked in the top 10 at the time but didn't place.”

Freudenberg worked his craft under the careful eye of Hall of Fame coach Bill Garland.

“Bill was a good technician,” Freudenberg said. “My style in high school was quite a bit different than college. I was more of a mat wrestler in high school, so it took a couple of years to convert me to the college style of wrestling, but Bill was very patient with me. It took a while to get me over the hump.”

“Bill always wanted to wrestle the best competition. When I was a senior we wrestled against several Big Ten schools, and I learned a lot about the mental part of wrestling. Because I changed my major to Biology I needed another year, and I spent my last year an assistant coach under Garland.”

“I started teaching at Oakes, North Dakota in 1975. Back then jobs were hard to come by and it seemed like a good start for me. I coached there for three years and really enjoyed it, and came to Foley as an assistant in 1978. I got the head job in 1982 after four years.”

A great ambassador for his sport, Freudenberg is continually on the lookout for talent, someone who can help his Bears, and someone he can help.

“It gets tougher, and kids have a lot of options these days. One thing about wrestling, you're always talking to kids, trying to get them to come out. It's not a recruiting sport like football, everyone wants to play football. Wrestling is a very popular sport in Foley, but not everywhere. You still have to go out and get the kids.”

He remains convinced that wrestling can positively shape lives as well.

“You learn a lot about yourself, how to handle stress and develop a great work ethic,” Freudenberg said. “What I learned in high school and college allowed me to continue coaching at a pretty high level for quite a few years and still put in a lot of time and energy into the program, not only the varsity program but K through 12 as well.”

Despite his long and prosperous career, Freudenberg isn't ready to ride off into the sunset. “I'm close to retirement, but I enjoy the teaching part and coaching. I've got some great assistant coaches who make my job easier and make our whole system work. That makes it funs as well.”

His sons Josh (25), and Jared (23), both competed for him and daughter Laura (21) remains close to the sport as well. “Both of my sons wrestled for me, and that is one of the most rewarding things for a parent. It made doing all those extra things as a coach a lot easier knowing they were involved in the program.” His wife Lynn also teaches at Foley.


A seventh grade Life Science teacher, Freudenberg insists there are valuable measuring sticks other than victories to assess his teams.

“If the kids aren't much fun to coach, the season won't be much fun. We've always been successful, and it's fun to win, but the day-to-day thing in the room, and seeing them improving week-to-week is more important.”

SCOTTY'S STROLL: Lowell Bolger, the Ambassador of Dragon Basketball

By Larry Scott, retired Sports Information Director

For nearly six decades, he has been a been an integral part of the Minnesota State Moorhead basketball scene, a connection that has outlasted eight men's head coaches, four university presidents, three conference name changes and two home courts.

A member of the Dragon Hall of Fame and the exclusive 1,000-point club, Lowell Bolger enrolled at Moorhead State Teachers College in 1954, the beginning of a life-long love affair with the Dragons. More than a century later, he is still around, prodding his Dragons on and shouting encouragement from his traditional perch in the shadows of north basket.

Long after he stopped playing the game and almost 20 years since he retired from coaching it, Bolger is still drawn to basketball, fascinated by its ever-changing nature and the joy it still brings him.

“I watch a lot of basketball, and it's still enjoyable,” Bolger said. “It's a more physical game and a much, much tougher defensive game. Now you have to work hard to get your shot off. It's a fast-paced, tougher game.”

Bolger lives for game night, soaking in the environment while carefully observing MSUM coaches Karla Nelson and Chad Walthall work their courtside magic. “I enjoy watching our women play, and I think Chad's done a good job with the men's team, too. I really think he's just one or two players away.”

A Moorhead native, Bolger attended St. Joseph's School and Moorhead High, and caught the basketball fever at a young age. “We practiced at the high school, but played our home games on the hard, tile floor of the junior high.”

Bolger started three years with the Spuds and earned all-conference honors twice. He also lettered in football and baseball and helped Moorhead High advance to both the basketball and baseball state tournaments. Bolger was recruited by University of North Dakota head basketball coach Louie Bogan.

“Coach Bogan met with me and my family and offered me a scholarship, and I told him I was going to go. That summer after I graduated, I was playing baseball for the Moorhead Chix and (MSTC coach) Larry MacLeod was on the other team. I was at first base, and somehow we started talking, and he said he wanted to meet with me. A lot of my teammates, including Donnie Betzen, Ken Grabinske and Ron Miller, were already here (MSUM), and they said I should talk to him. Those guys really talked me into sticking around.”

Bolger accepted the invitation to join his pals, and hit the ground running as a freshman in 1954.

“I started all four years; it was a great experience. When I got here, I already knew a lot of the guys, and I was confident. I have no regrets; it was a lot of fun, a great four-year experience.”

He still has vivid memories of a cast of remarkable players, both fellow Dragons and opponents.

“I played with a lot of great players, including Sherm Moe, Denny Anderson, Kenny Reitan and John Torgerson, and that helped me a lot. If I got open, the ball would be in my hands.” Bolger also fondly remembers many of imposing opponents. “Vern Baggenstoss was a big, strong powerful player from St. Cloud. Bill Brady of Mayville State and Bill Quenette of Concordia College were both very good players.”

It was the best of times, but after four seasons with the Dragons it was time to move on, and Bolger was ready for another challenge.

“I graduated with Social Studies and Physical Education majors. I always wanted to be a teacher and coach. I still had a love for the area, and I really didn't want to go too far away.”

Bolger struck gold when he landed the head coaching job at nearby Hawley High School in 1958 at the tender age of 22 years. It was a union that would soon pay remarkable dividends for both parties.

“I knew they were going to be good,” said Bolger. “I watched them play at Concordia the year before, and I knew they had some good players, including Dick Reidberger and Ron Hendrickson. When Lyndon Sonju (transferred) in, that was the key.”

Bolger and the Nuggets carried their dreams all the way to the 1959 Minnesota State High School Tournament, a one-class show on the biggest stage of them all, Williams Arena. It was the premier sporting event in Minnesota, a wondrous adventure Bolger will never forget.

“We beat Moorhead in the district tournament, that was the biggest thing, and then we had to win two games in the regions at Concordia. That was great, the place was packed.”

“The state tournament was overwhelming, something I'll never forget,” said Bolger. “We got lots of telegrams left and right, including ones from the firemen and police. It was a great trip. There are so many great memories, and I still see some of those players.”

Bolger thoroughly enjoyed his stay with the Nuggets, but the call from his alma mater was too enticing. “I stayed at Hawley for three years and decided to go back to Moorhead State for my master's. Larry (MacLeod) had taken a sabbatical, and I worked for Glen Cafer.”

Bolger later moved to Duluth East High School as an assistant coach. “We got beat by Edina in the finals of the state tournament when (Jeff) Wright hit a corner shot. I started at Moorhead in 1966. My last year of coaching was 1982, and I retired from teaching in 1993.”

“I spent one year under Shocky Strand and then Bill Quenette came in as head coach. We went back to the state tournament my first year, and got beat again by Edina in the championship game.”

It wasn't just basketball, however, that stirred Bolger, and he was more than willing to become a champion for another group of eager but challenge young athletes.

“I used to bring a sack lunch to my phy ed office at Probstfield,” Bolger remembers. “I noticed a class of handicapped students would come in, and I thought maybe they would let me do some things with them. The other teachers thought that was great, so I brought some balls and we started playing little games and races. I really enjoyed it, and it hit me, so I went to the school board and said 'why can't we include them in our physical education program'? We did.”

Bolger quickly came up with a plan to put a foundation under his dreams.
“We raised money from the people in Moorhead, and we began taking the students swimming, going to the Y and the bowling alley and to Camp Confidence in Brainerd. Later, the Special Olympics started, and we really got involved. We ended up having the state and regional meets here for years. We worked hard to make it the best we could, and the people at MSUM were absolutely fantastic to us.”

Lowell and his wife Priscilla have three children, sons Jeff and Joe and daughter Kim and five grandsons. It's just perfect for a Bolger starting five, and basketball is in their blood. “Jordan (Bolger) is the first man off the bench at Eastview High School and Austin (Nelson) is a sophomore at Moorhead High.”

Bolger missed only one MSU Moorhead game this winter. “I had to watch my grandson play,” he said. Clearly he's not done watching basketball anytime soon.

While Bolger appreciates the Dragons, the feeling is mutually shared by members of the MSUM athletic staff. MSU Moorhead women's coach Karla Nelson especially appreciates Bolger's unwavering loyalty.

“One of the first things I notice when I walk out on the court is if Lowell Bolger and Jim Phillips are in the stands,” Nelson said. “When I see them I know it's 'game on.' ”

“Lowell is very supportive and his big heart matches his Dragon pride. He has always been very encouraging for me and the women's program, and I appreciate that very much.”