American basketball player (1928?2013)
Vern Mikkelsen
Mikkelsen, circa 1950s
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Born
| (
1928-10-21
)
October 21, 1928
Parlier, California
, U.S.
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Died
| November 21, 2013
(2013-11-21)
(aged 85)
Wayzata, Minnesota
, U.S.
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Listed height
| 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
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Listed weight
| 230 lb (104 kg)
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High school
| Askov (
Askov, Minnesota
)
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College
| Hamline
(1945?1949)
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BAA draft
| 1949
:
territorial pick
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Selected by the
Minneapolis Lakers
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Playing career
| 1949?1959
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Position
| Power forward
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Number
| 19
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1949
?
1959
| Minneapolis Lakers
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1968?1969
| Minnesota Pipers
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Points
| 10,063 (14.4 ppg)
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Rebounds
| 5,940 (9.4 rpg)
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Assists
| 1,515 (2.2 apg)
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Stats
at NBA.com
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Stats
at Basketball-Reference.com
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Basketball Hall of Fame as player
|
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006
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Arild Verner Agerskov Mikkelsen
(October 21, 1928 ? November 21, 2013) was an American professional
basketball
player. One of the
National Basketball Association
's first
power forwards
in the 1950s, he was known for his tenacious defense.
[1]
Also an ironman, he played in 699 out of a possible 704 during his career. He was a six-time All-Star and four-time Second Team All-Pro, and was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame
[2]
and the sport's
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
in 1995.
Along with fellow Hall of Famers
George Mikan
and
Slater Martin
he was a key part of four championships with the
Minneapolis Lakers
, today's
Los Angeles Lakers
.
Mikkelsen was also an All-American in college, and earned a master's degree from the
University of Minnesota
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Mikkelsen was born in
Parlier, California
and was raised in the
Danish-American
community of
Askov, Minnesota
. His father, Michael, was an immigrant from Denmark who became a
Lutheran
pastor in Askov.
[3]
College career
[
edit
]
Mikkelsen entered
Hamline University
in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
on a basketball scholarship at the age of 16. In his senior year, Mikkelsen led NCAA Division II in field goal percentage.
[2]
Hamline won the
1949 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
[3]
and Mikkelsen was voted an All-American. He would later receive a master's degree in psychology from the
University of Minnesota
.
Professional career
[
edit
]
Minneapolis Lakers (1949-1960)
[
edit
]
Mikkelsen played with
George Mikan
and
Jim Pollard
in the frontcourt of the
Minneapolis Lakers
. The Lakers won four NBA titles during Mikkelsen's career.
[1]
Mikkelsen played in six
NBA All-Star Games
and was named to the All-NBA Second Team four times in his career.
Mikkelsen ended his career after ten seasons in the NBA in 1959, having played in 699 of a possible 704 regular-season games. He led the NBA in both personal fouls and
fouling out of games
for three straight seasons during his career, and finished his career with 10,063 points scored. Mikkelsen still holds the league record for career games fouling out with 127, which he did in only 631 games (the NBA did not record that statistic until his second season).
Honors and awards
[
edit
]
In 1956, Mikkelsen was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame.
[2]
Mikkelsen was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
in 1995 along with Laker coach
John Kundla
.
[3]
In 2002, during halftime of a Lakers/Timberwolves game, Mikkelsen and fellow Hall of Fame teammates
George Mikan
,
Slater Martin
, Arlee Pollard (widow of
Jim Pollard
),
Clyde Lovellette
and Coach
John Kundla
were each presented with championship rings. The Minneapolis players received the same rings provided by the NBA to the champion Los Angeles Lakers that same year.
Coaching
[
edit
]
Mikkelsen later coached and was general manager of the
Minnesota Pipers
of the
American Basketball Association
.
[4]
Personal life and family
[
edit
]
Mikkelsen's wife Jean died in 2002 after 47 years of marriage. Their two sons are named Tom and John. In 2006 a biography was published by John Egan titled
The Vern Mikkelsen Story
.
Mikkelsen died on November 21, 2013, in
Wayzata, Minnesota
surrounded by his family.
[5]
NBA career statistics
[
edit
]
Regular season
[
edit
]
Playoffs
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"4-time NBA champion Vern Mikkelsen dies at 85"
,
The Washington Post
, November 22, 2013, archived from
the original
on November 23, 2013
- ^
a
b
c
NBA Register: 1986-87 Edition
. The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1986. p. 337.
ISBN
9780892042272
.
- ^
a
b
c
Goldstein, Richard (November 22, 2013),
"Vern Mikkelsen, Hall of Famer Who Won Four Titles With the Lakers, Dies at 85"
,
The New York Times
- ^
Remember the ABA: Pittsburgh/Minnesota Pipers
Archived
March 10, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Lakers legend Vern Mikkelsen has died at age 85"
.
Star Tribune
.
External links
[
edit
]
Links to related articles
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