Athletics

Many students came to Mound Condolidated High School by school bus. Students without their own transportation found it hard to participate in activities that were held after school. When Milt Bruhn (MCHS class of 1930) joined the football team in Henry Ebert’s (class of 1928) junior year, it became easier for Ebert to stay for football practice. The Bruhns had a Model T sedan that Milt drove to school. For 25 cents, Ebert got a ride back and forth, so he could stay after school for practice.

When there was a basketball game or a football game, the school would hold a pep fest. Orville Hoefer (class of 1932): "Rah, Rah, Rah, Mound High School!"

Before football, there was basketball. The rival schools were Wayzata, Excelsior and Delano. Mildred Krenke Banks (class of 1921) remembered, "When the girls, clad in voluminous black sateen bloomers and white middy blouses, took to the floor, it caused quite a furor."

MCHS girls basketball, 1922-23
[Classroom Voices, p. 360]

From the 1923 Minoway: "Ever since girls’ basket ball [sic] was introduced into our school we have had exceptionally strong teams. In the 1920-21 and 1921-22 seasons, our teams won every game that they played, winning the Lake District honors without a defeat."

In the 1920s, when Evan "Cappy" Jones was hired as a teacher of mathematics and athletics, he coached all of the sports: football in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball and track in the spring. Football was just getting started in high schools and universities. In the early days, games were held on Friday afternoons, before daylight savings time and before there were lights for night games. School buses waited until after the game to take students home. Sometimes there would be a bus to take students to away games. Though some students preferred study hall, mostly all kids were at the games.

Ira Peterson (class of 1927) said, "I played football and we had a big squad ... 14 guys! We played 11-man. They loaned the uniform, except the shoes.  They couldn’t afford to buy you shoes; you had to buy your own. We won a little better than half of the games."

In the fall of 1927, for the first time in the 10-year history of the school, MCHS won a district football championship. From the 1928 MCHS yearbook: "The success was due to the untiring efforts of the first and second teams, to Coach Jones and to the support that was given the team by the student body and members of the community. They won all but one game and had the highest point count in the conference. In the fall of 1928, Mound was undefeated, beating U. High 13 to 12."

MCHS district football championship team, 1928, with Coach Evan "Cappy" Jones standing third from left 
[1929 Mohian]

The only sport played by youngsters and adults alike in St. Bonifacius was baseball. Coach Jones was a football man and didn't know much about baseball. "So, we helped him out a little," said Henry Ebert (class of 1928). "We had a championship baseball team in 1928. I played second base. Over half of the team was from Boni."

MCHS championship baseball team
[1928 Mohian]

In later years, wrestling was added to the sports options, first with coach Sky Wilcox, and later with coach Harry Backhaus, taking wrestlers to state championships. The Mound Westonka High School girls softball team brought home the state championship trophy in 1997.

Pictured above, left: A.A.U.Wrestling State Champions, 1949. From left: Bill Ogland, Alan Gothman, Coach Harry Bockhaus, Ed Schumacher and Floyd Laumann [1949 Mohian]
Pictured above, right: 1997 State Softball Championship logo