Sports Memories by Tom Jones

 

50 years ago: 1969

• President Richard Nixon threw out the opening pitch of the Washington Senators home opener against the New York Yankees. The game marked the managerial debut of Ted Williams for the Senators. The tradition of a president being at the first game of the season started in 1910 when William Howard Taft threw out the first ball at a Senators game.

• The Minnesota Twins were set to open their season on the road against the expansion Kansas City Royals in the newly formed Western Division of the American League. The Twins were guided by first-year manager Billy Martin, who selected lefty Tom Hall to start the opener.

• The newly formed Albert Lea wrestling club placed five wrestlers in the Olympic Development Tournament in Coon Rapids. Tom Lair, John Demo, Ted Naegeli and Gary Neist placed second in their classes and Dave Weseman finished third.

• Coming off a 13-3 season the previous year, Albert Lea High School baseball coach Don Buhr welcomed back eight lettermen for another season, including Randy Bottelson, Ron Brackey, Larry Brandt, Ron Erickson, Jay Gustafson, Lynn Hebel, Dick Humphrey and Greg Sainsbury. The Tigers were set to open the season at Fairmont.

 

25 years ago: 1994

• Thirteen-year-old Beau Zuehl was first runner-up in the Youth Male Freestyle Limited Division and 17-year-old Tony Flatten was the second runner-up in the Young Adult Male Freestyle Unlimited Division at the Minnesota Bowhunters Inc. State Indoor Animal 600 Round Competition that was in Coon Rapids.

• The Minnesota Twins opened their season with an 8-2 loss to the California Angels in a game played at the Metrodome. Making his Angels debut, Bo Jackson drove in two runs, while Kevin Tapani lost his second consecutive opening assignment for the Twins after winning his first three.

 

10 years ago: 2009

• The Albert Lea Tigers baseball team opened its season with a 14-1 win over Waseca. Logan Kortan pitched four innings of hitless ball, giving up one unearned run to get the victory.

• The Glenville-Emmons baseball team picked up its first win of the season with a 6-4 victory over Spring Grove. Jon Mittag pitched four innings of shutout ball to get the win for the Wolverines and also went 2-for-2 at the plate.

• The Albert Lea boys’ tennis team opened its season with a 4-3 loss to New Prague. Brian Reindal picked up a win at No. 3 singles for the Tigers. The No. 2 doubles team of Noah Christopherson and Kevin Zogg, along with the No. 3 doubles team of Jeff Thorstad and Dyllan Engerbretson, also picked up wins.

 

This year

• Parker Mullenbach, a 2016 graduate of Albert Lea High School and son of Bruce and Laurie Mullenbach, is a junior on the Bethel University baseball team. He has started all 15 games for the Royals and is currently hitting .289 with six runs batted in. He has seen time at first and second base as well as designated hitter for the Royals, who are 8-7 on the year and coached by former major league infielder and New Ulm native Brian Raabe. He plans on playing for the Edina Buckshots, a Class A town team, this summer.