Former Gophers baseball first baseman Mike Walseth, who was first-team All-Big Ten in 1968 and 1969 and first-team All-America in 1969, died Saturday. Walseth was 77.
Walseth, who was living in St. Paul Park, led the Big Ten in home runs and RBI in 1968 and 1969 as the Gophers won back-to-back Big Ten titles. Walseth, who batted .418 in 1969, was the Gophers’ team MVP both years.
He was selected in the seventh round of the MLB amateur draft in June 1969 by the Atlanta Braves. He played 10 seasons of professional baseball, including six seasons in Mexico. He was a Mexican League All-Star in 1976, when he led the league with 171 hits and batted .334.
After his professional career, he coached and taught at his alma mater, Park of Cottage Grove, from 1979 to 1992. He was an assistant to and eventually co-head coach with baseball coach Bill Kroschel. During that time, Park was a section runner-up four times and reached the state tournament in 1987 and 1991.
He also served as an assistant girls soccer coach and assistant and head coach for girls basketball. During his nine seasons as an assistant girls soccer coach, Park made five state tournament appearances, finishing as runner-up at the 1989 state tournament and winning the state championship in 1990.
He also played amateur baseball for 15 seasons and played on the West St. Paul Americans, who won the Class A state title in 1979.
During his high school career, Walseth was a three-sport athlete, earning all-conference honors in baseball, basketball and football. He was named Skyline Conference MVP in 1966 and led Park to conference championships in baseball (1964 and 1966) and basketball (1966).
He is a member of the Gophers’ “M” Club Hall of Fame (elected in 2021), the Minnesota Class A Amateur State Tournament Hall of Fame (2012) and the Park of Cottage Grove Athletic Hall of Fame (2005).
