UMD Greats Get The Call to the Hall

Most players, athletes and coaches will tell you they play and coach for the love of the game.

Some are so good, they will always be remembered.

UMD Athletic Hall of Fame will grow to 109 members by the end of the week.  Induction for the 2012 UMD Athletic Hall of Fame will be Friday night on campus and the school will honor five new mebers.  The public is invited.

One of the five to get the call to the hall, is Hermantown boys high school soccer Head Coach David Thompson who was a standout basketball player at UMD.  He said, "It's a very humbleing thing for me, it makes you think about your former teammates, friends and all of the things that you have that are good in your life.  I wouldn't have it if it wasn't for my education at UMD and what I learned there.  It's hard for it to sink in."

Thompson is also a teacher in Hermantown and played some pro basketball is Sweden when his UMD playing days were over.  He was the NIC conference Player of the Year his senior UMD and named an NAIA All-American.

Joining Thompson are:  Dick Fisher (football, hockey and track) and Renee (Fluegge) Voltin (softball and volleyball) --  former men's basketball and men's golf coach George Fisher, 13-year National Hockey League veteran Jim Johnson and basketball All-American David Thompson will all be paid a lasting tribute this Friday (Oct. 5) when the University of Minnesota Duluth Athletic Hall of Fame holds its 15th enshrinement ceremony.

Jim Johnson was a standout defenseman for the UMD mens hockey team and played in the NHL for 13 years.  He also coached at the NHL level as an assistant coach and will be with the San Jose Sharks this year as an NHL Assistant coach whenever the NHL lockout ends.  His son Derek, was a freshman for the UMD Bulldogs a year ago, and is expected to get even more ice time this year.  The UMD men open the season next week.  Derik will wear the same jersey #6 that his Dad did in college.

Johnson comes back to the Northland every summer and helps out with the ALS Fishing tournament.  He is joined by former Twins great Kent Hrbek and Wild Assistant Coach Darby Hendrickson for that event every year.

The UMD Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet, which is open to the public, will be held at the Holiday Inn and Suite's Lake Superior Ballroom in downtown Duluth. The event kicks off with a 5:30 p.m. social, followed by a 6:15 p.m. dinner, and a 7 p.m. program.

Dick Fisher was a 12-time letterman with UMD in football, hockey and track and field and said he has many memories of his UMD days, especially scoring goals against the Gophers was one of his highlights.  He said it wouldn't be fair to highlight one team or teammate, because they all meant alot to him and every team and teammate was special.

Fisher is the last UMD Athlete to start in both football and hockey and played his high school sports at Duluth East.

George Fisher arrived on the UMD campus in 1978 and, over the course of the next six years, helped elevate both the Bulldog men's basketball and men's golf teams to national prominence. He took over a basketball program which had produced just one plus-.500 record  the previous five seasons and proceeded to compile what remains the best winning percentage in UMD history (.710 off a 121-49 record) while guiding UMD to three Northern Intercollegiate Conference championships (1981-84) and four NAIA District 13 playoff appearances (1980-84).

Voltin was selected UMD's Outstanding Female Senior Athlete in 1987-88 after closing the books on a rewarding collegiate career. The Coon Rapids, Minn., product anchored the UMD mound staff for four years and exited the Bulldog program owning virtually every team single-season and career pitching record

The practices and games might be over for this special group of athletes and coaches but the memories live on and will always in the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame.  The group will also be honored at halftime of the UMD Football game on Saturday night vs MSU-Moorhead.  It's a 6pm kickoff at Malosky Stadium.  The Bulldogs are now 4-1 overall and ranked #10 in the country.