BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 62,293
- Reaction score
- 18,972
- Points
- 113
per Pat:
There are occasions when we hear of athletes demanding that their Division I college allow them to play two sports. Noel Jenke upped that when being recruited by the Gophers as a 1964-65 senior at Owatonna High School.
“My dad told Minnesota that he wasn’t going there unless he could play three sports,” said Joe Jenke, Noel’s son. “They agreed, but then the coach [Murray Warmath] made him play spring football rather than baseball.”
Noel Jenke, 73, died in a Milwaukee hospital Thursday. He had health problems in recent years. He had surgery earlier this month, was readmitted last week in serious condition, and was taken off life support Thursday. He had both a negative and a positive test for COVID-19 during his hospital stays.
Jenke was a hard-hitting linebacker and potent lefthanded hitter in baseball. Remarkably, he played Gophers hockey — as a freshman, then three seasons of varsity (34 games) — after arriving from a high school without a hockey program.
There was an Owatonna junior program started by Kenny Austin, a Roseau transplant, and Jenke starred on midget teams that went to national tournaments.
Jenke was part of a tremendous defense that took the Gophers to a Big Ten tri-championship with Purdue and Indiana in 1967. He was a team captain later and drafted in the 12th round by the Vikings in 1969.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
There are occasions when we hear of athletes demanding that their Division I college allow them to play two sports. Noel Jenke upped that when being recruited by the Gophers as a 1964-65 senior at Owatonna High School.
“My dad told Minnesota that he wasn’t going there unless he could play three sports,” said Joe Jenke, Noel’s son. “They agreed, but then the coach [Murray Warmath] made him play spring football rather than baseball.”
Noel Jenke, 73, died in a Milwaukee hospital Thursday. He had health problems in recent years. He had surgery earlier this month, was readmitted last week in serious condition, and was taken off life support Thursday. He had both a negative and a positive test for COVID-19 during his hospital stays.
Jenke was a hard-hitting linebacker and potent lefthanded hitter in baseball. Remarkably, he played Gophers hockey — as a freshman, then three seasons of varsity (34 games) — after arriving from a high school without a hockey program.
There was an Owatonna junior program started by Kenny Austin, a Roseau transplant, and Jenke starred on midget teams that went to national tournaments.
Jenke was part of a tremendous defense that took the Gophers to a Big Ten tri-championship with Purdue and Indiana in 1967. He was a team captain later and drafted in the 12th round by the Vikings in 1969.
Noel Jenke, a three-sport athlete for the Gophers in late 1960s, dies at 73
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
