Minn. "Old Timers" honor ex-Toms coach DuWayne Deitz

August 26, 2007

Former Tommie player and head football coach Duwayne Deitz is among five being inducted into the Minnesota Old Timers Football Coaches Association's 2007 Hall of Fame class.

The ceremony is Sept. 18 at the Prom Center in Oakdale. The cost is $25 per person, with social hour starting at 5:30 and dinner at 6:30. For tickets contact Gary Gustafson at 651-777-0286. 

As a Tommie player, Deitz made the Catholic Small College All-American team in 1954. Deitz coached at White Bear Lake High before being named Tommie head coach football in 1970. He guided St. Thomas to winning records in seven of the 11 seasons from 1970-80, with MIAC title shares in 1973 and 1979.

Three years after a 1-9 finish in Deitz' first season, the 1973 Tommies closed 9-1 and shared the MIAC championship with Minnesota-Duluth. That team opened with a 14-13 road win at St. Cloud State, and went 6-0 vs. current MIAC foes including a 17-10 win over St. John's. In 1979, the Toms posted a stunning 30-0 win over St. John's on the final day of the season, creating a four-way tie for the MIAC title among UST, St. John's, Concordia and St. Olaf. The 30-point win still ranks as the Toms' largest home winning margin over the Johnnies since 1922. 

Two of Deitz' players were later chosen for the St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame -- Mark Dienhart, an All-American and Academic All-American offensive lineman, and the coach's son, Doug Deitz.

Others being inducted into the Old Timers' group are former NFL linebacker Bob Nelson, a Stillwater native who later played at Nebraska and in the pros with the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders; Dick Mulkern, former coach at White Bear Lake and Hamline University; Chuck Elias, a former coach at Minneapolis Central; and Frank Pince, former St. Paul Central player.