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Teams of Distinction

2014: Baseball Team of 1965

How special was the Richfield High School undefeated baseball team of 1965? It took 33 years to duplicate their success.

Richfield went 25-0 during it's dream season of 1965, and no other Minnesota team went undefeated until Cretin-Derham Hall posted a 29-0 record in 1998.

Richfield's championship team was bolstered by a strong pitching staff that included left-handers Al Payne and Larry Peterson and right-handers Greg Wasick and Dave Cosgrove.

2015: Gymnastics Team of 1975

Has it really been 40 years since Richfield High won the state girls gymnastics title?

Coach Bonnie Benson guided the Spartans to the title in 1975, only three years after the birth of the Title IX era in girls athletics.

The Spartans tied Burnsville for the state title in that memorable season. Coach Benson called her athletes "trail blazers" in the sense that they were the first Richfield High girls team to win a state championship.

2015: Football Team of 1963

The fall of 1963 was a special time for the Richfield High School football team, as the Spartan went 9-0 and won the Lake Conference championship.

Head coach Bob Collison, the Godfather of Richfield football, said that was one of his favorite years. There was nothing fancy about the way the Spartans played the game.

"the Lake Conference was very competitive in 1963 said Collison. "my recollection is that Edina was the team to beat to win the Lake title."

2015: Baseball Teams of 1971 & '72

The Spartan baseball team had a tremendous two-year, winning back-to-back state titles under the direction of Coach Jim Hare.

Hare followed coaching legend Gene Olive and continued a championship tradition. "Gene was a tough act to follow," said Hare. But with a group of talented players, Hare was equal to the task.

The 1971 team, who finished 24-1 was favored to win state in 1972. The 1972 team, after a slow start, came on strong in the end and defended their title with a 19-4 mark.

Honors & Awards

The Richfield Spartan Foundation is proud to support a variety of honors and awards recognizing outstanding achievement in our community. Over the years we have continued to expand the number and value of the awards distributed due to the generosity of individuals and sources such as the Desmond Foundation and the Patch Foundation.
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