According to a few notes and ad­

ditional lore passed down through the

years, the idea for what was to become the

Minneapolis Dunkers was the brainchild of

Minneapolis businessman and sports promoter

Chet Roan.

He engaged Minneapolis Tribune sports

columnist Charlie Johnson and Gerry Moore,

executive director of the Greater Minneapo­

lis Chamber of Commerce, in a conversation

about starting a breakfast group to meet on

occasion with local and visiting sports figures

of note.

The three, who during the 1950s would be

leaders of the movement to build a new sta­

dium and attract major league baseball and

football to the area, agreed that there would

be multiple benefits to bringing the region's

business and civic leaders together around the

theme of sports.

Roan was charged with writing the

rules. Moore agreed to run the ad hoc group

out of the Chamber offtces, and Johnson was

The Minneapolis Dunkers :is an unusual breakfast. chr.b orig.ina. ted in. M:inne?Polis i.n 1948. The idea was au outgrowth of a University of .M.llm.esota 'M Club breakfast hili in June 1948 dur~ tb.e- N.CA.A. track. meet to han.or t.lrru retirin.g track. coac.lLes.

Chet Roan s_pa.rked th.e tiw~t of this dub and called. together CJtarlie Jolmsan.t Gil.Mad'.hail.Je.rry Moare,C1ar11e Pyie, and. Cliff S01tl.lil.Br to discuss th.e idea.. Th.ese six.men, after careful am.s:ideration., deci.ded to ore-a.niz e, th.e, .Minneapolis Dun.kers and±nv:ited.thlr1y-five other sporlsmlnded business and professional men to the cbarter breakfast at the ..M::h:me.a.polis Athle.t~c Club a.t 7:45AM on October 20,1948.

The rules, larg-ely the creation. of Che.t Roan. and accurately re£le.ctine' the _philosophy of the six. creators, and the name, suggested .by Cllarlie Johnson, were ado-pted and the first Co~ Sta.f£, af v&iciL the six. founders are a part, was elected..

THE MINNE lt.POL.IS

DUNKERS

Histor r

CO\:HtNO STAFF /f'M--19

Jtn;!# Moen /IHJa....t

Cliff ~mer /kllr&f

Gtl Mad'ha;t T~

~il ~ylt ~c....L

Clttt ~an ~~

Aiaat Pouliot ..W~tld.

Ouriic ~ .... ~c..t

Henry lMwood IHrt s.t.a ~riT.~

Karry Bullis Patt1t1 H. Uno StldonCIO!Ibl Mtl Corrit E.WwrDfkM s.v. Duffy ~ ~wald P-1 f..fdS ~W.Gikea t.J. GluA C.T. ~mMI

Gil ¥,aci'Nil Oilt s,,.,.u Owt ~ 1W.t ,._

..lttry MM-t DYrli•..... Ourlio Pyt.

Fl RST SEASON 'C'lt~DHS

l>r. J.JI'IU L. Morr;tl M. M. Perry J. J. Haylf

TotttA P. Htffelr~ Alglt J*ngM

Charlas Jot.A. V.A. uVoir 0..1. Ltag Paul W. !.don Francis L.u.nd WiUim Abc: Pluil Jr. F~k. Mcc-.a fr.tllk. f.. McNally LK.MeNnl Gml&fLMMt

A.l. r~t~liot Chat!u 0. Pylt i:..i:.. Reapfu J_,hF.~IInd OeMt. R.Kia

Halt A.~ W.I).Ry» Phi'r s~ cu~c.s..,.

T~»y Sttdw Aoyd A. WitjUkes­M J.Wrigfd;

assigned the task of fmding many of the origi­

nal guests and of finding a name for the group.

It was Johnson who came up with the name

of Minneapolis Dunkers, and he also suggested

that the group's officers hold sports-related

titles. The person in charge of meetings was

to be the Head Coach. His backup was the

vVater Boy. The person who ran things from

meeting to meeting and year to year was the

Head Trainer. Instead of a Board of Directors

there was to be a Coaching Staff.

Moore, since his office was doing most

of the work, was named the ftrst Head

Coach. Cliff Sommer was the \Vater Boy

and second Head Coach. William MacPhail

Jr. was the Trainer. Chas. 0. Pyle, Roan,

and Johnson were the Assistant Coaches,

and the six of them became the Founders.

Along with A.E. Pouliot, they also became the

fmt Coaching Staff.

All of this was accomplished in a meet­

ing, referred to as a Practice Session, on Oct.

20, 1948. The group decided to seek an initial

charter membership of 35, and agreed that

they would try to schedule a meeting before

the Christmas holidays.

The name of the group was changed from

Minneapolis Dunkers to Twin Cities Dunkers

in 1992, reflecting a geographical expansion of

membership.

- Rule Book 1948 -Purpose ( 1) To honor and pay tribute to Individuals, groups or teams in the City of Minneapolis who through athletic achievement have brought un­usual, singular, and significant publicity most complimentary to themselves, but also to the citizens of Minneapolis. l 2) To honor and bid welcome to the City of l!llinneapolis our visitors from the world of sport who have not only achieved prominence In their particular game, but who have also been a distinct credit to the world of sport.

Squad Limited to fifty men.

Schedule Games will be scheduled only at the call of the Head Coach and his staff. There shall be, how­ever, one stipulated meeting each year and that shall be on the first Monday in December for the sole purpose of selecting the coaching staff for the coming year.

Dues There shall be none.

Ticket Price The cost of the b1-eakfast, whether a member is present or not. Capital Each member at the organizational meeting shall deposit ten dollars with the Trainer to cover the costs of the guests breakfasts and gifts, stationery, and the making of a call list.

When the capital is depleted and the Trainer has satisfied the Head Coach that this Is so, an­other deposit of ten dollars shall be asked of each member.

G1une Program The gun signals the start at 7:411 a.m. promptly and the gun concludes the game at 8:46 a.m. sharp.

The director of the game will give a short sum­mary of the club's history for the benefit of the guest or guests and will introduce the club physician. He in tum will eulogize the guest or guests and present the gift or gifts.

It Is expected that there will be a response from the guest, or a representative of the guests, al­though no formal speeches will be permitted.

Game Rules The staff shall hold their coaching jobs for a period of one year, from January first to De­cember thirty-first.

The nominating committee shall be composed ot five members to be appointed by the Head Coach. Not more than two members of this committee shall be from the current staff.

Changes In the rule book can be made only at the annual meeting. A two-third vote of the members present Is necessary to make a rule change. All members must be notified of the proposed cbange at least one week before the annual meeting. Unexcused absences from games will be rE'· viewed In December by the staff and any mem­ber found gullty of lack of interest shall be dropped from the squad. No member at any time shall bring or ask to bring a guest. In the event a member cannot be present for a breakfast, he shall not send a substitute.

Stat1 Head Coach Water !roy

Bead Coach

Trainer Assistant Coaches

Through this office shall all requests be made for games. He, along with the staff, shall ac­cept or reject the game. He alone shall be responsible for the selection of the director and physician of each game. It shall be his respon­sibility to direct the Trainer to send out the call list. He shall be responsible for the selec­tion of the game site.

Water Boy He will succeed the Head Coach on January first of each year. In the absence of the Head Coach, he shall be in direct charge of the prac­tice and game. He shall keep a history of all games.

Trainer This office is responsible for the collection of deposits and the mailing of the call list. It is his duty to procure the gift and see that said gift Is present at game time.

Asslstant Coaches There shall be four such coaches and it shall be their sole responsibility along with the Head Coach, Water Boy, and Trainer to make the decision a.s to whether or not there shall be a game. A majority vote Is necessary to decide the Issue. It shall also be the responsibility of tile assist· ant coaches along with the entire staff to pass judgment on applications for membership.

Histor

Histor

- HEAD COACHES -1948 GERALD L. MOORE 1980 DAVE NONA 1949 GERALD L. NOORE 1981 GRADY ALDERMAN & 1950 CLIFFORD C. SOHMER PAUL YOUNGDAHL 1951 FRANCIS L."PUG" LUND 1_982 PAUL YOUNGDAHL 1952 C. T. HAGMAN 1983 JOHN HOFFNER

1953 CHESTER R. ROAN 1984 BOB BJORKLUND 1954 CHARLES JOHNSON 1985 JIM BLAKE

1955 \ofELLS J . \~RIGHT 1986 JERRY BELL 1956 CHARLES D. PYLE 1987 CLAYT KAUFMAN

1957 vliLLIAM MacPHAIL, JR . 1988 SCOTT MEYER 1958 E. 1;1. "BILL" BOYER 1989 BILL •/REN

1959 M. M. PERRY 1990 STEVE GOLDSTEIN 1960 LYLE Z. WRIGHT 1991 ~~ARREN SPANNAUS 1961 JARVIS A. TE\1/ 1992 PAT MURRAY 1962 PAUL E. FOSS 1993 LOU NANNE 1963 PHILIP SIEFF 1994 PAT MILES 1964 R. B. RATHBUN 1995 GREG ORTALE 1965 T. FLOYD CULLEN 1996 JIM DUTCHER 1966 ED\1ARD C. ARNOLD 1997 PINKY McNAl\1ARA

1967 A. VERNER MIKKELSEN 1998 ROY SMALLEY 1968 LA\'/RENCE F. HAEG 1999 LINDA MONA 1969 MARSHALL DIEBOLD 2000 JOHN REMES 1970 SIDNEY HARTMAN 2001 KEVIN CATTOOR 1971 PAUL R. GIEL 2002 FRANK BENNETT

1972 FRANCIS C. HUBBARD 2003 MARK DEINHART

1973 \•/ALTER L. BUSH, JR . 2004 HAROLD HIGGINS & 1974 PHILIP LE•IS, JR . DAVE ST . PETER

1975 HARVEY B. ~1ACKAY 2005 DAVE ST. PETER

1976 HOofARD T. FOX, JR . 2006 BILL LESTER

1977 GERALD P. OTTLEY 2007 BILL ROBERTSON

1978 GUNNAR ROVICK 2008 MARGARET SUGHRUE CARLSON

1979 BOB ALLISON