2013 Hall of Fame Bios

John Anderson

 

John Anderson – University of Minnesota – John graduated from Nashwauk-Keewatin High School in 1973 and from the University of Minnesota in 1977.  John was a pitcher for the Gophers until an arm injury ended his playing career.  He became a student coach with the Gophers and was voted MVP by the players on the 1977 team that went to the College World Series and included Paul Molitor.  John became a graduate assistant under Dick Siebert and when Siebert died in 1978, he was named an assistant coach.  John then became the head coach at the University of Minnesota at the very young age of 26 in 1982.  In 32 years as head coach his teams have won 1124 games while losing 748.  John is the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten history with over 500 wins in conference play.  The Gophers have won nine Big Ten regular season championships, along with 10 runner-up finishes, and nine Big Ten Tournament championships.  They have appeared in 28 Big Ten tournaments and 17 NCAA tournaments, the most by any Big Ten team since 1982.  John has been Big Ten Coach of the Year six times and was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008.  Coach Anderson has relied heavily on recruiting Minnesota High School graduates for his team and has been instrumental in organizing clinics, camps and fall leagues for high school players.  His latest accomplishment is the new, all-turf, Siebert Field for which he was one of the main fundraisers.  John’s leadership at the state’s highest level baseball program has made him a very worthy member of the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

 

 

Tarry Boelter

 

Tarry Boelter – Slayton High School - Tarry graduated from Sleepy Eye Public High School in 1974 where he played for his father, Don Boelter, who was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009.  Tarry played his college ball at the University of Minnesota and teamed alongside Paul Molitor in 1977 as the Gophers reached the College World Series.  In 1978 Tarry signed a professional baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins and played two and a half seasons before entering the coaching field.  He has spent the past 27 seasons at Murray County Central where his teams have compiled a 350-206 record.  His teams have won 10 conference titles and seven runner-up finishes.   They have been runner-up in sub-sectional title games 9 times, have been runner-up in sectional title games 3 times, and won the section championship twice.  His team reached the state tournament in 1992, taking third place, and in 2001 when his team won the state consolation title.  Tarry has been active with baseball at all levels in Slayton, organizing youth baseball programs and Legion baseball in Slayton for the past 25 years, while organizing and playing in a men’s senior league. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Colletti

 

Jim Colletti – Irondale High School – Jim graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School in 1961 and from St. Cloud State in 1965.  Like so many good athletes back then, Jim played football, basketball and baseball in high school. At St. Cloud State, Jim played football.  Jim’s first head baseball coaching position was at Wells High School in 1966 where he stayed for four years.  Jim then moved to Irondale, becoming the head coach in 1975 and coached there for 28 years, retiring in 2002.  Jim’s record in 32 years was 388 wins against 252 losses.  His teams won eight conference championships.  He took Wells to the state tournament in his first year of coaching in 1966 where they lost by one run in the first round.  He went on to take Irondale to the state tournament three times, 1985, 1992 and 1994.  They were also region runner-up three times.  They had a great run in the early 90’s when they went 62-13 from 1991-1994 and were ranked number one in the state several times during this period.  Jim is proud of the fact that in 28 years at Irondale he never had to cut anyone from the program as they usually had five teams, two 9th grade, a sophomore, a JV and a varsity team.  Jim also coaches basketball and football at Irondale and was the Activities Director for 30 years before retiring from that position in 2006.  He still does a little work in the athletic department at Irondale and is one of three executive directors of Region 5AA.

 

 

Wayne Dietz

 

Wayne Dietz – Woodbury High School – Wayne Dietz graduated from Gaylord High School in 1971 and from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1975.  Wayne was a superb three-sport athlete in high school in football, basketball and baseball.  He was selected for Gaylord’s Outstanding Senior Award and was a first alternate for an appointment to the Air Force Academy.  At Gustavus he played football and baseball.  Wayne became the head baseball coach at Woodbury in 1981 and coached for 28 years.  Counting his years as an assistant he coached there for 32 years.  His record was 278 wins and 257 losses with St. Paul Suburban Conference championships in 2000, 2001 and 2005.  He coached Woodbury to the state tournament in 2004 where they lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Eden Prairie in the championship game.  Wayne was a three-time St. Paul Suburban Conference Coach of the Year and coached in the all-star games for both baseball and basketball.  Wayne also coached football at Woodbury and was winner of the Butch Nash Award in 1998.  Wayne passed away on October 14, 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Erzar

 

Jim Erzar – Deer River High School – Jim graduated from Ely Memorial High School in 1970 and then went on to play baseball for two years at Vermilion Community College before graduating from St. Cloud State in 1975.  Jim immediately started his career at Deer River and has had a long and storied career at there.  After six years as an assistant coach, Jim took over as head coach in 1982 and is still in that position after 32 years.  His teams have won 340 games against 285 losses.  They have won nine conference championships and have been to the state tournament twice, finishing sixth in 2006 and 4th in 2011.  Jim was the MSHSBCA coach of the year in 1970.  Jim started the American Legion program in Deer River in 1981 and has coached and/or managed the team from its inception through the present.  He also started the official Little League baseball program in Deer River in 2001.  Jim is also a high profile official.  He officiates high school, junior college and DII basketball and is the MSHSL basketball officials’ rules clinician for Northeast Minnesota.  He has also umpired baseball for many years and has umpired in five Division I American Legion state tournaments, including four championship games.  Jim has retired from teaching math and physics after 37 years, but continues to coach the high school and American Legion baseball teams.

 

 

 

Doug Hudson

 

Doug Hudson – Rochester Lourdes – Doug graduated from Rochester Mayo High School in 1969 where he played baseball under Hall of Fame coach Dale Massey.  Doug graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1974.  Doug started the baseball program at Rochester Lourdes in 1988 after they had not had a team since 1954.  He was the head coach for 21 years before retiring after the 2008 season.  His teams won 319 games and lost 160, a winning percentage of .666.  They won 10 conference division championships, seven sub-district/sub-section titles and four region championships.  His teams had outstanding success at the state tournament with an overall record of 10-2 in state tournament play.  They won consolation championships in 1994 and 2001 and were state champions in 1996 and 2002.  Twice in his career Doug was section and state coach of the year.  In 1997 and 2003 he coached in the High School All-Star Series and in 2009 he received the Dick Siebert Award.  Doug was very active in the youth baseball programs in Rochester.  Doug is a commercial insurance agent and has been in the insurance business for 37 years, the past 26 at the Heartman Agency in Rochester.  He and his wife will celebrate 30 years of marriage in a couple weeks.

 

 

 

Bucky Kendig

 

Bucky Kendig – Como Park – Bucky graduated from Washington High School in St. Paul in 1959 and from the University of St. Thomas in 1972.  In high school he was a member of the 1956 Washington team that won the state championship and in 1959 the Washington team made it to the state tournament semi-finals.  While at St. Thomas he was all-conference in baseball and also played hockey.  Bucky’s first year as a head coach was 1977 at St. Bernard’s where he spent 14 years.  He then was head coach at St. Paul Johnson for eight years and finished his head coaching career with four years at St. Paul Como Park, retiring after the 2003 season.  During those 26 years as a head coach, his teams won 324 games while losing 219.  He won a conference championship at St. Bernard’s in 1985 and at St. Paul Johnson in 1992.  They were also section runner-up in 1992.  Twice Bucky was selected as St. Paul City Conference Coach of the Year, once at St. Paul Johnson and once at St. Paul Como Park.  Bucky was also the state’s Class AA Hockey Coach of the Year in 1995.  Bucky is a member of the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame St. Bernard’s High School Sports Hall of Fame, Mancini’s Hall of Fame for baseball and the St. Paul Old-Timers Fast Pitch Softball Hall of Fame.  Bucky is now retired, but is still a part-time driver education instructor for the St. Paul public schools.

 

 

Joe Schleper

 

Joe Schleper – Shakopee – Joe Schleper graduated from Albany High School in 1946 where he was a three sport standout in football, basketball and baseball.  Joe started his college career at St. John’s University, but after a short stint in professional baseball with the Detroit Tigers organization in 1949, he was no longer eligible to play at St. John’s, so he transferred to St. Cloud State and played there and was the baseball MVP in 1951.  Joe was then drafted into the armed services and served in the Korean War in 1952 and 1953 so he didn’t start his teaching and coaching career until the fall of 1953 at Belgrade High School where he coached baseball, basketball and football.  He spent nine years at Belgrade until moving to Shakopee where he was baseball coach for 14 years.  Joe was also athletic director at Shakopee from 1962 through 1990.  The baseball field in Shakopee is named Joe Schleper Stadium in honor of all his playing, coaching and volunteer work in baseball at Shakopee.  Joe is a charter member  of the Shakopee High School Hall of Fame, a member of the Albany High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame,  Joe was a past president of the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association and has received the Dick Siebert Award and the Jim Dimick Award from the MSHSBCA.  Joe passed away on May 8, 1998.