Top five athletes in Minnesota history

-- Maurice Draine

Magazines and newspapers all across the country are ranking former and current athletes by putting together a top-five list. For some strange reason, there is seldom any Minnesota representation on these list. With names like Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett and Harmon Killebrew, how can Minnesota athletes not have been included? It’s time for Minnesota to rise up and honor our own and put together a top-five list consisting solely of Minnesota athletes. Remember Minnesota sports fans, this is an exclusive list and everybody couldn’t make it. Ladies and Gentlemen, with no future ado, I give you the top five athletes in Minnesota history.

5. Mike Modano (NHL)
Drafted by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1st round (1st overall) in 1988, all rights to Modano were then transferred to the Dallas Stars after the Minnesota North Stars franchise relocated in 1993. Modano has put together a very impressive career that lasted 13 years. Take a closer look as his resumé...

Olympic Silver Medal (USA) in 2001-02; NHL Second All-Star Team in 1999-2000; Stanley Cup (Dallas Stars) in 1998-99; NHL All-Star in 2002-04, 1997-99 and 1992-93; NHL All-Rookie Team in 1989-90 and WHL East All-Star Team in 1988-89.

Modano was a beast on the ice; he once scored 29 points in 30 games in the 1994-95 season. He led the North Stars with 60 assists, 93 points and had seven game-winning goals on 307 shots in during 1992-93.

In the playoffs, he was no slouch either. In the 1990-91 season, he scored 28 goals, 64 points and 20 points in 23 playoff games. Modano scored seven goals and 10 points in nine playoff games in1993-94. Two years later, he would go on to lead the Dallas Stars with 36 goals, 45 assists and 81 points. In 1996-97, he led the team with 35 goals, 48 assist, 83 points and a +43 plus/minus rating, the second highest in the league.

Modano also had nine power-play goals, five short-handed goals, and nine game-winning goals on 291 shots in 1996-97. On Mar. 10, 2000, he passed Brian Bellows (342) as the Dallas Stars’ all-time leading scorer. He ranks fifth on The Hockey News Top-50 players’ list. With all his mind-boggling stats, Modano has a firm grip on the number five spot on the great athletes in Minnesota history list.

4. Kirby Puckett (MLB)
Kirby Puckett totaled 12 solid seasons with the Minnesota Twins. The 1982 first-round draft choice could hit for power and average, or what ever else he wanted. Batting a career average of .318 with 207 home runs. Puckett led the Twins to two World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. His accolades look like this...

Post season: 1987 ALCS, 1987 World Series, 1991 ALCS, 1991 World Series

Awards: All-Star (10): 1986-1995; All-Star Game MVP 1993; Gold Glove (6): 1986-1989, 1991-1992; ALCS Most Valuable Player, 1991.

Puckett finished among the top 10 in MVP voting seven times, only to have his career end prematurely after the 1995 season due to irreversible retina damage in his right eye. The damage was due to an accidentally fast ball in the face.

3. Harmon Killebrew (MLB)
Although very quiet and laid-back, Harmon Killebrew was nicknamed “killer” because he demonstrated raw power every time he hit the ball. He hit an amazing 573 career homeruns, surpassed only by Babe Ruth and Ralph Kiner among American League sluggers. Killebrew’s honors include...

Post season 1965 World Series, 1969 ALCS and 1970 ALCS; 11-time All-Star winner, 1959, 1961 and 1963-71.

Awards: American League MVP Award in 1969.

During his 22-year career with the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, he tied or led the league in home runs six times, crushed 40 or more on eight separate occasions and knocked in 100 or more RBIs nine times. "Killer" won the American League MVP Award in 1969 when he led the league in home runs, RBI, walks and on-base percentage.

2. Fran Tarkenton (NFL)
Tarkenton completed an amazing 3,686 passes during his career. He also used his impressive scrambling ability to gain 3,674 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. Tarkenton was the first “running quarterback.” He made it cool to run just as effectively as you could pass. We now call that a double threat. Today, quarterbacks are considered the most dangerous players on the field.

Tarkenton’s honors look like this...

Two-time All-NFL All-Pro in 1973 and 1975; MVP in 1975; Tarkenton threw 47,003 yards and 342 TDs (both former NFL records) in 18 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants. Tarkenton was also selected to nine Pro Bowls. Tarkenton played for the Vikings from 1961 to 1966. He was then traded to the New York Giants in 1967 until 1972, when he was traded back to Minnesota. After all that, he led the Vikings to three Super Bowls in the ’70s, but lost all of them.

By the time he retired, Tarkenton held almost every single NFL passing record. He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and is widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time due to his running and passing ability.

1. George Mikan (NBA)
Believe it or not, in the ’40s, basketball was considered a sport better suited for shorter men rather than taller men. This was all before George Mikan stepped onto the scene. Standing 6 feet 10 inches tall and towering over all his opponents, Mikan dominated the game of basketball for the Chicago Gears, then for the Minneapolis Lakers and then later for the Los Angeles Lakers. Mikan’s resumé...

NBA champion (1950, ’52, ’53, ’54); five-time All-NBA First Team (1950-54); fur-time NBA All-Star (1951-54); All-Star MVP (1953); Voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996); NBL champion (’47, ’48); MVP (’48); All-NBL First Team (’47, ’48); BAA champion (1949); All-BAA First Team (1949).

He was not clumsy, but possessed superior coordination and a fierce competitive spirit. Mikan was so good that before his time all the leagues he played in had to change the rules of their games just to keep Mikan from scoring 100 points a game. Mikan was the prototype for the dominating big men of today. With rules put in place just to stop him, Mikan still averaged 22.6 points over a nine-year career. These facts and stats are all worthy of Mikan claiming the number one spot on the countdown.