About the authors...

 

 

Bob McDonald is the most winning coach in Minnesota history  and one of the winningest coaches in the nation. After  graduating from Chisholm High School in 1951, Bob briefly attended the University of Michigan. He then returned to northeastern Minnesota, where he was a member of the 1952 Hibbing Junior College National Runner-Up basketball team. Bob next attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he played forward for two years on their squad. Upon graduation from U.M.D., Bob spent four years teaching and coaching in McGregor and two years in Barnum. He returned to his hometown of Chisholm, where he coached from 1962 through the 2014 season. In Chisholm, Coach McDonald led his teams to eleven Minnesota State Tournaments and three State Championships.  Basketball was an important part of life in the McDonald family, as each of Bob's (and his late wife, Darlene's) six children were All-State selections.  With his children and now grandchildren involved in the education and coaching realm, the impact and influence of the game of basketball continues for another generation of McDonalds. Today, Coach McDonald and his wife, Carol (who was once his prom date and classmate), enjoy their life together in Hibbing, Minnesota.

 

 

Melody Swenson is the author of two previously released Minnesota sports history books, Champions of Carlton County-State Tournament Teams (2008) and Champions of Minnesota's Arrowhead-Boys Basketball State Tournament Teams (2013). Melody's love of history and sports has led her to chronicle and share the stories of those who have represented themselves, their communities, and northeastern Minnesota. Ms. Swenson is a graduate of Barnum High School, received her B.A. from Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota), and her Master of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Melody and her family live in Cotton, Minnesota. For more information about her previous books, see the links page or email her via the contact page above.