July 10, 2020 by Philip Lewenstein

Sports Played Important Role in Both 1970 and 2020

Social unrest and turmoil dominated the national and campus landscapes in 1970; however, sports remain a positive memory on the 50th anniversary of my graduation from the University of Minnesota.  As sports editor of the Minnesota Daily, I was able to interact with several great coaches and outstanding teams and to follow the state’s professional teams. Today, I regularly and enthusiastically watch and read about a wide array of college and professional sports.

Three of the great Gopher coaches in 1969-70 were Bill Fitch, basketball; Dick Siebert, baseball; and Glen Sonmor, hockey. Other outstanding coaches that year included Roy Griak, track and cross-country; Les Bolstad, golf; Joe Walsh, tennis; Murray Warmath, football; and Bob Mowerson, swimming. Unfortunately, Title IX was two years away, and no women’s teams existed.

Fitch, one of the greatest basketball coaches ever, led the Gophers in the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons, going 12-12 the first year and 13-11 the second year, then leaving in spring 1970 to coach the new Cleveland Cavaliers franchise in the NBA. Fitch took over to rejuvenate a dying program that was 7-17 in 1967-68. Fitch, charming with the media and fans, hung around long after several intense Big Ten games to cool down and chat with me and a few other journalists.

I described Fitch in one of my Daily columns: “Under the appearance of a friendly, easy going humorist, exists a man with an inexorable determination to succeed. And significantly, his indefatigable drive infected those who wrote about, observed, or played for him.”

While a graduate student at Northwestern University, I interviewed Fitch on a Sunday afternoon in winter 1971 in Chicago Stadium after his Cavaliers lost to the Chicago Bulls. In Cleveland, Fitch turned an expansion franchise into a playoff contender.

Fitch left the Cavaliers to coach the Boston Celtics from 1979-to1983, winning the NBA championship in 1981 with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. Fitch later coached the Houston Rockets, which made the NBA finals in 1996; New Jersey Nets; and Los Angeles Clippers. He was elected to the basketball hall of fame in 2019.

Fifty years later, despite some successes along the way, the Gopher basketball team still struggles to be an elite Big Ten team. In 2020, the Gopher basketball team was 15-16 overall and 12^th in the Big Ten. The Gophers defeated Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, but its March 12 game against Iowa was canceled owing to the COVID-19 virus.

During my work at the Daily, I enjoyed covering Gopher baseball under Dick Siebert, one of the greatest coaches in college-baseball history. Siebert, a solid Major League player for 11 seasons, coached the Gophers from 1948 to 1978, and his teams won three NCAA tournaments. In spring 1970, the Gophers won the Big Ten championship with a 15-3 record, then lost in the regional tournament, finishing the season 34-16.

In 2020, the Gopher baseball team had an 8-10 record before the coronavirus caused a premature end to the season after the March 11 game. John Anderson is in his 39^th season as Gopher coach. His teams have continued the winning tradition begun by Siebert, winning 11 Big Ten titles and 10 Big 10 tournament championships.

Also in 1970, the Gopher hockey team won the Western Collegiate Athletic Association regular-  season title for its first league championship in 16 seasons. The Gophers were led by league coach-of-the year Glen Sonmor and all-American goalie Murray McLachlan, who was the league’s most valuable player. Sonmor left the Gophers after the 1971 season to coach the St. Paul Fighting Saints in the World Hockey Association and later the Minnesota North Stars.  Every Sunday morning, win or lose during the weekend, the affable Sonmor was available to visit with me to break down the previous weekend’s games.

I also enjoyed interviewing Murray Warmath, the football coach who led the Gophers to two Rose Bowls, two Big Ten titles, and a national championship. After finishing in a three-way tie for the Big Ten championship in fall 1967, Warmath’s Gophers were 6-4 in 1968, 4-5-1 in 1969, and 3-6-1 in 1970 after I left the university. After a 4-7 record in 1971, Warmath ended his 18-year Gopher coaching career.

The Gophers struggled during most of the 50-year period from 1970 to 2020. However, in 2019-2020, under coach P.J. Fleck, the Gophers were 11-2 with an 31-24 Outback Bowl victory over Auburn on New Year’s Day 2020. Minnesota won seven Big Ten games for the first time in school history and ranked tenth nationally at season’s end.

Amid the turmoil roiling the nation, professional sports continued to grow in popularity in 1970 and beyond. The Timberwolves began play in 1989 as an expansion team, and the Lynx started in the 1999 season. In 2020, there were many more teams to cover than 50 years earlier, but the Vikings and Twins remain the dominant Twin Cities franchises.

On January 11, 1970, the favored Vikings lost Super Bowl IV to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-7 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans in the final AFL-NFL World Championship. As Daily sports editor, I was able to get tickets to home games at Metropolitan Stadium in fall 1969.

The Vikings compiled a 12-2 record; in the playoffs, they beat the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 for the Western Conference title and the Cleveland Browns 27-7 for the NFL title. It was thrilling to watch Joe Kapp at quarterback and the People Purple Eaters defensive line of Gary Larsen, Alan Page, Jim Marshall, and Carl Eller.

Still aspiring to return to and win the Super Bowl after four championship losses in the 1970s, the Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-20 on January 5, 2020, in a Wild Card playoff game and then lost to the San Francisco 49ers 27-10 on January 11, 2020, in the NFC Divisional round in San Francisco. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, 50 years after their 1970 victory over Minnesota.

In baseball 50 years ago, led by new manager Bill Rigney, the Twins won the American League West title with a 98-64 record before being swept by the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 in the American League Championship Series. The Orioles won the World Series 4-1 over the Cincinnati Reds.

I enjoyed watching the Twins led by Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, Cesar Tovar, and Jim Perry, the American League Cy Young winner. The Twins would not return to the post-season until 1987. I attended a spring 1970 Twins-Orioles game with my parents and recall stepping into a hotel elevator with Orioles hall-of-famer Brooks Robinson but not conversing or seeking an autograph.

The Twins have high expectations as they await the start of the 2020 season, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, the Twins were 101-61, the highest number of franchise wins since 1965. Minnesota hit a Major League record 307 homers. The Twins won the 2019 American League Central title before losing to the Yankees 3-0 in the Divisional Series.

In 1970, the Minnesota North Stars finished their third regular season with a 19-35-22 record for third in the West Division. They lost in the West Division playoffs 4-2 to the St. Louis Blues. The North Stars moved to Dallas after the 1992-93 season. The Minnesota Wild began play in St. Paul in 2000-2001. In 2020, the Wild is waiting to resume the season, delayed by the pandemic. After the last game March 8, the Wild were 35-27-7, sixth in the Central Division. The Wild will play the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL playoffs.

With no Minnesota professional basketball team in 1970, I continued to follow my favorite Lakers even after they moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960. In spring 1970, the New York Knicks, led by Walt Frazier and Willis Reed, defeated the Lakers 4-3 in the NBA Championship Series. The Lakers were led by my favorite players, Jerry West, who averaged 31.3 points; Elgin Baylor; and Wilt Chamberlain.

In 2020, the T-Wolves had a 19-45 record, the NBA’s third-worst record at the time of the league shutdown on March 11, and they were not among the 22 teams scheduled to resume the season in July in Orlando.

Amid the unrest sweeping the nation, state, and campuses in 1970, sports were popular with the successes of several Gopher teams, Vikings, and Twins. A half century later, there are more teams, both men’s and women’s, with a continuous schedule of games on TV. Even with  COVID-19, economic downturns, and social unrest in 2020, sports maintains an important place in the fabric of society, and we welcome its uplifting role in our lives.