Craig Anderson

Craig Anderson – Pine Island – Craig Anderson graduated from Mabel-Canton in 1971 and from Winona State University in 1975. Craig was one of nine players selected to the All-Century baseball team at Mabel-Canton, as was his brother, David. After earning 17 letters at Mabel-Canton in baseball, basketball, football and golf, Craig went on to pitch at Winona State where he was a captain his senior year. Craig coached one year at Central City, Iowa before coming to Pine Island where he has been head baseball coach for the past 31 years, compiling an overall record of 405 wins and 278 losses. During that time, Craig’s teams have won seven conference titles and six district or sub-section titles as well as three section championships, advancing to the state tournament in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Craig started the American Legion baseball program in Pine Island and won a DII State Championship in 1995. Craig has also been the summer recreation baseball director for the past 30 years. Craig is a former Dick Siebert Award winner and he has been very involved in the coaching profession. Craig has served as Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association president, Minnesota High School Baseball Advisory Board, District 4 representative on the Minnesota High School Coaches Association Delegate Assembly, Minnesota High School Coaches Association representative on the Minnesota State High School League Representative Assembly and he is a past President of the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association and the National High School Baseball Coaches Association. Craig is also been chairman of the Class AA All-State selection committee and is chairman of the South team for the Lion’s All-Star Games Selection Committee.

 

Lou Branca

Lou Branca – Rochester John Marshall – Lou Branca graduated from South St. Paul High School in 1946 and from St. Cloud State in 1953. After graduating from high school Lou served two years in the U.S. Navy. Upon discharge he entered professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a pitcher and attended St. Thomas in the off-season. Upon his departure from professional baseball he transferred to St. Cloud State since he was ineligible to play baseball at St. Thomas due to his pro experience, but he was eligible at St. Cloud State. Upon graduating from St. Cloud State, Lou taught and coached for a year in Illinois and a year at Cleveland, Minnesota before moving to Faribault where he was an assistant coach until taking over as the head coach in 1962 for five years. Lou then moved to Rochester John Marshall where he was the head coach for 20 years, retiring after the 1986 season. Lou won a Big Nine championship at Faribault in 1964 and won three more Big Nine titles at John Marshall. Lou was Big Nine Coach of the Year three times and was honored with the Retired Coach of the Year Award by the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association. Lou was President of the Coaches Association in 1977.

 

Darwin Busselman

Darwin Busselman – Prior Lake – Darwin Busselman graduated from Lake Wilson High School in 1964 and Augustana College in 1968. Darwin earned six letters in baseball, five in football and four in basketball while in high school and he played baseball and football in college. After college he was offered a chance to be a kicker with the Omaha Mustangs, a farm team of the Kansas City Chiefs. It so happened that Jan Stenerud was the kicker for the Chiefs at that time and Darwin wisely concluded that his chances of ever kicking for the Chiefs were not that great, so he went immediately to his lifelong dream of coaching and teaching. Darwin started his career at Prior Lake and has now been there for 39 years during which time he has been the head baseball coach for all that time. He was also the head football coach for 14 years. In baseball, Darwin has won 482 games while losing 318. He has won a number of conference, district and subsection titles. He has been named a Missota Conference Coach of the Year and section coach of the year. Darwin was a Dick Siebert Award winner in 2005.

 

George Horihan

George Horihan – LaCrescent – George Horihan graduated from St. Peter’s High School in Hokah, Minnesota in 1957 and from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1971 with a master’s degree from Winona State University in 1975. George did a number of other things before embarking on an educational career, including spending six years in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1969, being discharged as a Sargeant. George started his career at LaCrescent in the fall of 1972 and was an assistant in baseball, basketball and football. In 28 years as head baseball coach from 1974 through his retirement in 2001, George’s teams won 404 games and lost 210. His teams won 11 conference championships and 13 district or sub-section titles. George guided two teams to the state tournament, 1986 and 1999, winning the consolation title in 1999. George was also and assistant basketball coach for 25 years at LaCrescent. George also spent 28 years as the American Legion baseball coach and was in charge of the summer recreation programs in LaCrescent for most of his career there. His American Legion teams won three Division Two State Championships, in 1989, 1994 and 1997. In 1995 the high school baseball field was named George Horihan Field.

 

Bill Kieffer

Bill Kieffer – Lake City – Bill Kieffer graduated from Hastings High School in 1949 and from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1953. Bill started his teaching and coaching career at Breckenridge in 1953, where he coached football. In 1957 Bill moved to Lake City where, over the years, he coached football, golf and baseball. In 16 years as head baseball coach, Kieffer’s teams won 174 games while losing just 49, an outstanding winning percentage of .780. His teams won 10 conference titles in those 16 years with two district championships and a section championship in 1972, winning the consolation title at the state tournament that year. They were the only team to score off state champion Richfield in the state tournament that year. During the season the team won 15 straight games. Bill’s first team at Lake City in 1965 finished 4-5 and that was his only losing season. That was also the most losses any of his teams had in 16 years. Playing in the tough Hiawatha Valley League, Bill’s teams posted a 98-18 record, a phenomenal winning percentage of .844. His teams also had a 41-16 record in post season play, a winning percentage of .719. Bill coached in the Lions’ All Star Series in 1978 and is a Retired Coach of the Year award winner in 1992. He is a member of the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame and the Lake City High School Hall of Fame. The High School baseball field is named Bill Kieffer Field.

 

Bob Mullan

Bob Mullan – Bagley – Bob Mullan graduated from Strasburg, North Dakota High School in 1962 and from Dickinson State College in North Dakota in 1966. Bob began his career in Barrett, Minnesota in the fall of 1966, serving five years as head baseball coach, winning two conference championships. He then moved to Bagley and has served as head baseball coach for 35 years, winning 21 conference championships. His teams have posted a record of 514 wins and 260 losses, a winning percentage of .664. His Barrett team won one district title and his Bagley teams have won 15 district or sub-section championships. His 1978 team won the section championship and placed third in the state tournament. Bob has been voted Northland Conference “Coach of the Year” 14 times and was honored with a National Gold Award by Scholastic Coach Magazine in 1989. Bob coached the North team in the 1992 Lions’ All Star Series and coached the Bagley Legion team for many years. He was also president of the Northland Conference for many years.

 

Gene Olive

Gene Olive – Richfield – Gene Olive graduated from Minneapolis Roosevelt in 1941 and from the University of St. Thomas in 1951. After high school Gene spent three years in the Coast Guard. He then signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1946 and was a final cut from the major league roster. After being sent down to Triple A Memphis, he set a minor league record with 59 stolen bases. Gene started his coaching and teaching career at Prior Lake in 1951 before moving to Richfield in 1953 when they opened a new high school. Gene built a dynasty in baseball at Richfield High School, winning 146 games while losing only 34, a phenomenal winning percentage of .811. In his first two years at Richfield his teams went 13-12 so they went 133-22 over his last 10 years. His record at Prior Lake is not known. From 1958 through 1965 his Richfield teams won seven conference titles, six district titles and two section championships. His 1962 and 1965 teams both won state championships, with his 1965 team going undefeated at 25-0. Gene is a past Dick Siebert Award winner and has received the Retired Coach Award from the state Baseball Coaches Association. Gene is one of the founding officers of the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association. Gene is a member of the Richfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame, the Minnesota High School Hockey Hall of Fame and the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame.

 

Ken Picha

Ken Picha – Melrose – Ken Picha graduated from Eden Prairie High School in 1966 when there was just 112 students in his graduating class. Ken graduated from St. Cloud State in 1970. Ken started teaching and coaching at Eagle Bend in the fall of 1971. While there he was a head football coach and an assistant boys basketball coach. After three years, Ken went to Melrose as an assistant boys basketball coach, a position he held for 27 years. Ken also served as head football coach for a few years. It wasn’t until 1979 that Ken became head baseball coach. In the past 29 seasons, Ken’s Melrose teams have compiled a record of 427 wins and 181 losses for an outstanding winning percentage of .702. During that time Melrose won 12 conference championships, eight district or sub section titles and four section championships, in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999. His 1998 and 1999 teams both finished as state runners-up. Ken has won numerous district and section coach of the year awards as well as state Class A Coach of the Year in 1998. Ken is a past president of the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association and a Dick Siebert Award winner in 2004. Ken ran the summer baseball programs in Melrose for many years, coached the Babe Ruth team for about 15 years, winning state championships in 1996 and 2000, and coached the American Legion team for 30 years. One of Ken’s most prized accomplishments is the fact that his high school teams have not had a losing record in any of the 29 years he has been head coach. He is currently an assistant baseball coach at St. Cloud State.