Bill Kelly, Class of '53

Bill Kelly's after-school activities at Edina-Morningside certainly were not limited to athletics. In addition to playing on the foot­ball, basketball and baseball teams, he ran track, acted in the school play, served on the student council and wrote copy for the year­ book. "It seemed like Bill volunteered for everything," said former Edina High School teacher and principal Rollie Ring. "He was that kind of person." In athletics, Kelly excelled. In 1952, he was named All-Lake Conference in football during his senior season. His fine performance for the Hornets earned him a spot in the Minnesota High School All-Star game. Kelly went on to study and play sports at Carleton College in Northfield. He was a letterman in football, basketball and baseball and was inducted in the school's athletic hall of fame in 1994. "You get out of something in proportion of what you put into it," said Kelly. "In many respects, timing is everything." He has used that philosophy to succeed in his career as a manufacturer's representative. He has also used it in a happy and successful family life. Bill and his wife, Susan, have six grown children: Mark, Leslie, Tom, Mary, Kris and Scott. Bill plays golf to stay in shape when he isn't working or following the activities of his 12 grandchildren.

Fred Richards, Class of '59

Fred is considered one of the best athletes in the history of Edina-Morningside High School, but his contributions to the Edina community far outweigh anything he did on the football field or the hockey rink. An All-State football lineman in his senior season (1958), Richards was also Willard Ikola's first hockey captain and an All-Lake Conference skater. Fred went on to Stanford University where, after playing freshman football, he decided to concentrate on academics. He earned a B.A. degree in industrial relations and later earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota. After he started a successful career in law, Fred discovered a new challenge in politics. He was elected to the Edina Park Board in 1970 and to the Edina City Council in 1975. He later served as mayor from 1989-1997. "Without a doubt, Edina is the No. 1 community in the state," said Richards. "It sets the standard for all others, whether it is in schol­arship, athletics, the arts, leisure activities or community life." Fred lives in Edina with his wife, Nancy They have three children: Fritz, Katie and Tory.

Todd Smith, Class of '68

In addition to being the best diver in the history of Edina High School, Todd Smith was also one of its best swimmers. Smith was a four-time state diving champion; twice in Nebraska and twice as a member of the Edina High School team. In his junior year at Edina, Smith accomplished something that will probably never be repeated. Besides winning the state diving title, he was the state champion in the 100-yard backstroke. It was the first and only time in state history that an athlete has won a diving title and a swimming title in the same season. "It is very unusual for a diver to also compete in swimming events, let alone do so successfully," said Art Downey, who coached Smith at Edina. Smith was not just a swimmer and diver. He was also a prominent player for the Edina football team as the starting fullback in 1967,

A four-time high school All-American diver, Smith continued his career at Ohio State University, where he earned three more All-American awards. For the past 18 years, Smith has worked for U.S. Diving, Inc. The organization is the national governing body for the Olympic sport of diving.

Bruce Carlson, Class of '70

As the middle brother from one of Edina's most famous athletic families, Bruce Carlson earned All-State honors in both football and hockey. The Carlson brothers, Ted, Bruce and Tim, combined to earn 21 athletic letters at Edina High. Bruce and Tim made the Edina Sun-Current Newspaper's All-Century team in hockey, while Bruce and Ted made the Edina Sun-Current's All-Century team in football. Bruce played on Edina's first state championship hockey team in 1969, then co-captioned the Hornets to the state runner-up title in 1970. In football, Bruce was co-captain and a starting running back and defensive back for Edina's mythical state champions in 1969. Bruce went on to star in hockey at the University of Minnesota. As a senior, he helped the Gophers win their first NCAA national championship and won the Mike Crupi Award as the team's most determined player. For more than 10 years Bruce has been involved in youth hockey in Edina as a coach and more recently as an Edina Hockey Association board member. He served as 1999-2000 president of the EHA. He has been active in the community in other capacities, as well. Bruce was the 1997-98 chairperson of the Edina Highlands Site Council and has coached youth soccer, baseball and flag football. Bruce and his wife, Gail, live in Edina with their two children, Brandon and Jenna.

Anne Lemieux Schmidt, Class of '81

Good things seem to happen in threes for Anne (Lemieux) Schmidt, the first girls tennis player inducted into the Edina Athletic Hall of Fame. Anne led the Hornets to three consecutive state championships. Recently, the number three entered her life again, when she gave birth to her triplet sons, Quinn, Cameron and Drew. Anne and her husband, Paul Schmidt, live in Edina and can't wait until the triplets can get involved in sports. "They'll probably have tennis racquets before they can walk," said Anne, who is still an active player in the United State Tennis Association's 5.0 women's league. Since her freshman year at Edina-East High School, (Lemieux) Schmidt was the No. 1 singles player for Ted Greer's varsity tennis teams. Having twice earned the individual state championship, she was undefeated in her junior year.In the fall of 1982, Anne became the first female to appear on the General Mill's Wheaties box. Anne remains an active year-round athlete. In addition to tennis, she enjoys downhill skiing, water skiing and running. (Lemieux) Schmidt was trained in tennis by her father, Roger, who passed away shortly before the birth of her triplets. The main lesson Roger taught his daughter was to have fun. Anne said that even though her father won't be here to see her enter of the Hall of Fame, he knows about it. "I know he's very proud," said Anne.

Virginia Anderson, Class of '83

One of the most remarkable female athletes in the history of Edina High School, Virginia earned a total of 15 letters in volleyball, basketball and track. While all three sports were important to Virginia, her first love was basketball. She became a varsity starter in her seventh-grade season at Edina-East, playing mostly against girls five and six years older. As she grew taller and stronger, Virginia began to dominate Lake Conference hoops. From her ninth-grade season on, she was a fixture on the All-Lake team. Virginia helped the Hornets to a second-place finish in the state basketball tournament in 1983. Off the court, she won the high school flute contest. An "A" student at Edina, Virginia earned a scholarship to Northwestern University, where she played four years of varsity basketball. She helped lead the Wild Cats to an NCAA basketball tournament appearance. After playing professional basketball in Europe for 10 seasons, Virginia continues her involvement in the sport as a pro basketball agent. She places American players on European teams in Luxembourg, Denmark and Germany. The former Edina star works full-time as a client service manager for the Chase Manhattan Bank of Luxembourg.

Duane Baglien, Coach

When Coach Duane Baglien moved from Fergus Falls High School to Edina-Morningside in the fall of 1957, folks in the Twin Cities had no idea what he would mean to the Hornet program. "We were about 50-50 my first few years," said Baglien. "But we started attracting some of the best athletes in the school — Steve Tanner, Jim Moe, Tommy King, Gary Howarth. More and more good athletes started coming out for basketball." In the 1963-64 season, it all came together. The Hornets made their first appearance at state, losing to Rochester John Marshall in the semifinals. Two years later, the Hornets returned to Williams Arena and won the first of three consecutive state championships. Baglien's teams won 69 straight games to set a state record and had only one loss in three years (in 1968 at Richfield). Baglien was not just a one-sport wonder. He also led the Hornet baseball team to a state title in 1968, after the Hornets had finished sixth in the Lake Conference standings. Baglien's coaching career ended when he went into administration in the fall of 1969. At the time, Edina had a rule that administrators could not coach. Edina lost a great coach and teacher, but gained a top-notch administrator.

Lloyd 'Bud' Sorem, Administrator

In the early 1960s, Lloyd "Bud" Sorem, along with others started a Pee Wee hockey program for boys in Edina. Eager 11 and 12 year-olds looked to Sorem for direction, and he provided the basics that made the boys champions. At that time, hockey was mainly an outdoor sport, which meant that Sorem and the other coaches often had to shovel snow off the rink. Sorem coached outdoors for years, but when Braemar Arena was built in 1965, he got a limited amount of indoor ice time for his teams. He moved up from coaching Pee Wees to coaching Bantams where he had his greatest success. Twice Sorem's Edina Bantams won the national championship. Each of the national championship wins was over an all-star team from the Detroit area. The first championship in 1970 was won in Rochester, N.Y. The second was in 1971 in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1974, Sorem's best team did not win the national championship. It was the year Roseville handed Edina its only loss in the state tournament. Roseville went on to win the national championship. Edina finished the season with a 63-1-3 record. "There is no doubt Bud Sorem was one of the pioneers of our very strong Edina hockey program," said former Edina hockey coach Willard Ikola.