Richard Swanson

I graduated from UMD with a B.S. in the fall of 1971 with a major in Social Science and minors in Political Science and Geography. I also went back to UMD in 1973-74 to pick up a further degree.
While at UMD I was a Social Science representative to the UMD student government and wrote a humor column for the UMD Statesman both in 1969-71 and 1973-74.
I participated in intramural sports and we were very successful with an organization called CHUG along with several other former Denfeld students that dominated the "Frat League".
I taught and coached in Duluth from 1975 through 2010 when I retired.
I taught various social studies classes at Cathedral, Washington Jr,
Woodland Jr., Central High School and 22 years at Denfeld.
I coached girls basketball at Duluth Cahtedral with Mike Johnson's wife Mary, at Hermantown with Bev and Skip LeClair. I was a varsity assistant at Duluth Central and went to State Tournaments in 1984 and 1986.
At Denfeld our GBB team went to State in 1992 finishing 4th. Our Teams at Denfeld were able to win over 300 games and 6 Lake Superior Conference titles and I was fortunate to be elected to the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000.
I head coached softball at Duluth Centrral from 1985-87 and at Denfeld twice from 1988-1998 and 2004 to the present. Our teams have won over 300 games and 8 LSC titles and went to State in 1990 finishing 4th. In 2015 the City Council voted to rename the Wade 6 and 7 fields the Dick Swanson Fields as an homage to living that long around high school kids with a modicum of sanity.
I now work with the Denfeld Alumni Association which has a very easy membership - just graduate from Denfeld. We try to promote the positives that involve the school, give tours, and have been given the stewardship responsibility of the Denfeld Hall of Fame.

In 1965, our junior year, Mr. Dale Strand was my English teacher. We were given the assignment of making an oral presentation about a fellow classmate.
Tom Sobczak decided to make his "the athletic failures of Dick Swanson". Believe me, there was ample fodder. It was mostly hyperbole and very funny or the class laughed a lot anyway.
Well, not so funny to Mr. Strand. He gave us both a "C" grade. Tom for supposedly hurting my feelings and me for letting him do it. Lighten up!

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