North High School - Polaris Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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1901 CINDERMEN REAR ROW: Dexter, Freedman. Morrill. Baker. CENTER ROW: Bantr. Dutton, Pope, Nye. FRONT ROW: Cutts, Barnes. One facet of athletics at North that cannot be overlooked is girls’ sports. Girls' sports can be proud of their sixty-five years of continual growth. Initiated in 1901 with Cora Sun-dcll's girls' basketball team, the)’ have grown so much that at one time or another nearly any sport imaginable has been represented. Since 1918 thousands of North girls have been honored with 'N' letters, pins and awards. With the coming of the G.A.A. (Girls' Athletic Association) in 1922, interscholastic competition, grew sharply. Since 1937 modem dance has been a favorite with North girls; at the present time North has one of the top modem dance groups in the state. North’s Athletics: Something for Everyone North perfect the nunly art in this 1935 picture of the boys gym. 1962, another typical year at Louie and the gym team display city, region, and state trophies. Although football, basketball, and baseball have always been the biggest sports at North, no less than a dozen less publicized sports have involved North students through the yean. While not one of the big three, one sport has constantly produced winning teams. Under the capable leadenhip of coach Louis Burnett, the North High gymnastics team has fought its way to 17 city, 15 region, and 14 state titles. No other gym team in the Northwest has been able to approach such a fine record. One other North team has consistently ranked high. Skiing has truly achieved a place of honor among North sports. Rarely has a year gone by without North grabbing one title or another. Largely due to the excellent coaching of Lars Kindem, North produced six consecutive city championship teams between 1958 and 1963. At the dose of the 1965 season the North skiers had expanded their winning streak to fifty without a single dual meet loss. Boxing as a sport no longer exists at North, but for many years North's reputation in athletic circles rested largely on its fine boxers. Boxing at one time drew more participants than any other sport. In 1934 North FIRST ROW: Amic Swartz. James Legro, Bruce Palmer. Johnny Tobler, Steve Person. SECOND ROW: Charles Moore, Bill Gleason, Paul Juntilla, Bill Ingi-son. John Bruchert. Bob Staboo. Bill Finlayson. THIRD ROW: Tom McBride. Bruce Hinrichs. Loren Smith, Coach Lewis Burnett, Tom Johnson, Creighton Orth. Steve Fritvold. FOURTH ROW: Gary LaFave. Joe Ncuberger, Jerry Waddick, Bill Jordan, Glenn linfors, Gary Leone. sponsored ninety-one boxers Another extinct but once popular sport was speed skating. Winter still gives impetus to swimming, hockey, and wrestling. all of which are now rising in popularity. Spring has always helped North by producing an atmosphere suitable for track, golf, and tennis, all of which have produced title teams at one time or another. In the fall one may see coach Louis Burnett preparing yet another championship crosscountry team. But. no matter what the sport. North's athletics have served to strengthen individual character, and to produce an understanding of team responsibility, characteristics North High graduates have carried into all fields of enJeavor.

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North wings its way to the 1953 Twin G'ty Championship. Jacobi Sets Cage Standards for North Jacobi sets dunked as the 1952 cagers clinch city title. Basketball at North is much the story of one man. J. J. (Jake) Jacobi. Jake coached North basketball for twenty-seven years and produced six city championship teams, four twin-city championship teams and two state runner-up teams in 1933, and 1938. Basketball had started at North in 1919. but for ten years North’s cagers achieved only average success. In 1930 Jacobi took over. Within two years he produced a city championship team and a state runner-up team the following year. There was one three-year period during which North lost only one of thirty games. In Jake’s twenty-seven years with North teams, the Polars finished in the second division only once. When he relinquished his title of dean of Minneapolis coaches in 1957, Jake became athletic director at North, and remains in this office at the present time. 190-1 found N.H.S. city champs in baseball. Teams were organized only to be disbanded because of lack of interest. The outlook for baseball looked dim until the 1920's when Tom Kennedy took control of the team. Under his skillful direction between the years of 1925 to 1929 North won five straight city championships and the 1927 team claims to be the best baseball outfield ever to represent North. Since then North periodically has produced excellent teams, the best of which have been the '}6, ’41. '42, ’52 and ' S0 teams. North's oldest baseball team picture, from approximately 1910. Anyone with information on this picture, please contact North. Another run scores for North as the 1938 season draws to a close.

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In seventy-five years. North has had only five principals. These men, pictured above, are John N. Greer, Waldo W. Hobbs, Albert M. Banks. Harry H. Mass, and the present principal, Chester M. Johnson. Even in the Twenties all students had some business in the main office. 2 c a 0 frC c c K z O—» Mm . •HrMf NIT. $ The Sweet Sixteen graduates of 1891. The outstanding and yet the most tragic graduate of North was Floyd B. Olson, Governor of the State of Minnesota from 1931 until his death in 1936. For many years after his birth in 1891 Floyd Olson knew what it was to live in poverty. His father, a lumberjack, and his mother, a domestic servant, continually tried to make ends meet but the times were bad.” Realizing that he would have to do something to lessen his family's burden, young Floyd took on a small-sized newspaper route. This route helped him stay in North at a time when many of his friends were dropping out for financial reasons. During the time when Floyd was supporting his family he also managed to keep up an outstanding scholastic average and take part in many extracurricular activities. Graduating from North in 1909. he went to work a$ a freight trucker, harvest hand, and farm machinery salesman, managing to enroll in a night law school from which he graduated in 1915. As Hennepin County attorney he won fame by prosecuting members of the Ku Klux Klan and four aldermen who were involved in a city council graft case. His next step was to the governorship. As leader of the Farm-Labor party he served as governor until his tragic death in 1936 at the very apex of his career. Total Alumni Exceeds 30,000 What began and developed under these men and through this office has now produced over 30,000 graduates. These graduates have excelled in the fields of medicine, law, entertainment, journalism, business, government, science, scholarship, and theology. Many have created reputations which are admired and revered by others. These graduates have also been unique in their support of North High School, for North's Alumni Association is one of the most active in the city. It has been generous in its aid to the school. Many gifts, particularly the organ in the auditorium, have been given to North; and financial aid for special school projects, such as Homecoming, has always been cheerfully offered. On May 22, 1966, the Alumni Association will hold an open house for all North graduates in celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first graduating class from North High.