MINNEOTA MEMORY

The Minneota Rotary club played a traveling girls' basketball team called the "All-American Redheads" as a fundraiser in the winter of 1977-78. Players for the Minneota team were, front row, left to right: Dr. Charles Vandersluis, Marvin Stensrud, Frank Rebnord, Mark Christianson, Virgil Ufkin, Pastor Richard Erickson, Dr. William Merritt, Jim Rolbiecki, JJ DeSutter. Back row, left to right: Ralph Larson, Arden Hammerstrom, Dennis Swedzinski, Unidentified (if readers know who this man is, please email editor@minneotamascot.com), Pastor Jerry Staehling, Nels Myhre, Rueben Obe, Leon Ousman, Ralph Hagen. The All-American Red Heads began in 1936 and played around the country until 1986. They played approximately 200 games a year and would travel 60,000 miles by car. The All-American Red Heads were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.