Terry Egerdahl was an athlete par excellence. He was known as “Mr. Versatility,“ “The Franchise,“ or simply “Eggs.“ He was an award-winning three-sport prep star at Proctor High School (PHS), an award-winning two-sport intercollegiate star at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), and he donned the uniforms of the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears. He stood 6’ 2” and weighed 185 pounds.

 

Family Tradition

Egerdahl followed in the footsteps of his brothers Dick Pesonen and Gary Egerdahl from PHS to UMD to the professional ranks. Pesonen was all-conference first team for UMD football in 1958 and ‘59; Gary earned the same honor in 1965 and was the team MVP in 1967 and ‘68. Pesonen went on to play in the NFL for Green Bay (1960), Minnesota (1961), and the New York Giants (1962-64), and in the Continental Football League for the Newark Bears (1965) and the Orlando Panthers (1966-67). Gary Egerdahl played for Orlando in 1969, and Pesonen was his head coach.

Egerdahl, a quarterback, scored eight touchdowns and passed for 10 more as the Rails won the Seaway Division title in the Big 10 Conference. The Rails lost to Mountain Iron in a post-season bowl game.

 

PHS Basketball -- Senior Year, Winter 1971-1972

He helped PHS to its first appearance in the state tournament since 1964, when his brother Gary and Bob Laney led the team. In 1964, Laney set state tournament records for most rebounds in the tournament (69) and in a single game (32). Both records still stand as of 2012. Egerdahl scored 39 points and had 11 rebounds as Proctor defeated Chisago Lakes 76-66 in Hibbing for the 1972 Region 7A Championship. Proctor lost in the first round of the State Tournament to Red Wing 66-59, but Egerdahl scored 23 points and had 18 rebounds. He joined Laney in the Tournament record book, however, as he shot a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. He was named to the All-State Tournament team, and was also All-Big 10, All-District 26 and All-Tri-State Area.

 

Egerdahl’s batting average was .636 (21 for 33) in 1972, which stood as a state record until 1997. He scored 16 runs and had 17 RBI in the 11-game season. His career batting average over three seasons was an even .400, a school record that stood for 39 years until 2011 graduate Justin Scanlon topped it with a .424 career average.

 

He was named all-conference in 1974 and 1976, and he finished second in the conference with a .435 batting average in '74. A leftfielder, he was the team MVP in 1974, ‘75, and ‘76, and team captain in 1975 and ‘76. He won the Anderson-Dahle Award for athletic and academic excellence in 1976 and was also the Alumni Letterman’s Award recipient as the best senior athlete.

 

At various times Egerdahl played quarterback, running back, and wide receiver between 1972-75. He was also the punter, place kicker and punt return extraordinaire. In 1975, he led all of NCAA Div. II in punt return average, at 27.7 yards. The next best in the nation was 15.1. He was named all-conference in 1973, ‘74, and ‘75, Associated Press Little All-America Honorable Mention in 1973 and ’74, and AP Little All-America First Team in 1975. He was the team MVP in 1973 and ’75, and Conference MVP in 1975. He helped the Bulldogs win their first conference title in 11 years in 1973.

 

He held eight school records at the end of his career: 

Chosen as a defensive back by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round (180^th overall) in 1976, he was cut on the next-to-last roster reduction that summer. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears in 1977 but was cut the day after an intra-squad game at Soldier Field in which he participated in 17 plays at safety.

 

 
PHS Coach 

Egerdahl was an assistant football coach at PHS in the fall of 1977, and took over as head coach in 1978. The Rails were 18-9 in his three seasons as head coach, going 8-1 in 1979. He also served as the boys’ ninth grade basketball coach and as an assistant baseball coach. He was Proctor’s community education director and was involved in the project to renovate Proctor‘s football field.

On December 15, 1980, Egerdahl was warming up to play a pick-up basketball game at the Duluth Air Base when he collapsed and died from a heart attack. He was 27 years old. PHS Athletic Director Jeff Caywood told the Duluth Herald: “I suppose we won’t give much thought to anything else for a few days. He was a wonderful guy, a fine coach and a good friend.” UMD Football Coach Jim Malosky said, “He was an extremely easily coached athlete, very gifted, but beyond that, a wonderful person…In 23 years of coaching football here, I can’t say I have had a finer athlete play for me. He may have been the best athlete the school ever had.”

Proctor's refurbished athletic field was dedicated in his honor in 1981. The wooden “Terry Egerdahl Memorial Field” entrance gate stood until 2005. It was replaced by a metal sign on the football press box. He was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1987 and the UMD Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993, the same year as his brother, Dick Pesonen. The UMD football locker room is named in his honor. PHS has bestowed its most gifted senior athlete the Terry Egerdahl Award each year since 1981. In 2006, Egerdahl was inducted into the Proctor Hall of Fame.

Bruce Bennett, “Sports star Egerdahl dies at 27”, Duluth Herald, 12-16-80

“Area loses star, coach”, and “Tracing Egerdahl’s career”, Duluth News Tribune, 12-17-80

UMD Sports Information: www.umdbulldogs.com
Minnesota State High School League: www.mshsl.org
Minnesota Football Coaches Association: www.mshsca.org/football
Booster Club of the Continental Football League, Inc.: www.boosterclubcfl.com
Database Football: www.databaseFootball.com

Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association: www.mshsbca.org

 

Thank you to the staff of the Duluth Public Library