Former Paynesville wrestling coach Virgil Vagle was among 10
individuals inducted into the Minnesota State High School League Hall
of Fame on Thursday, May 18, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Brooklyn
Center.
The 2006 inductees were the 16th group to be enshrined in the Hall of
Fame, which was started in 1991 and is housed in the League’s Brooklyn
Center office. The other 2006 inductees were John Bauer of Anoka, Tom
Malchow of Mendota Heights, Joni Anker of Eagan, Elaine Engle of
Willmar, Mary Grinaker of Moorhead, Wanda Manther of Rosemount; Richard
Stanford of St. Paul, Rodney Urtel of Mankato, and the late Mel Ivonen
of Chisholm. The induction of these 10 honorees brings the Hall of Fame
membership to 153.
The 2006 Hall of Fame inductees were selected through a multi-level
process that included League member schools and a committee of
athletics, fine arts, and education leaders.
Here is brief profile of Virgil Vagle:
Virgil Vagle - Coach
“Virg” Vagle taught math at Paynesville High School for 37 years and
coached wrestling for 39, football for 32, and junior high baseball for
18 years. His wrestlers, among them his five sons, won 17 section
championships, 30 conference titles that included an 18-year unbeaten
streak from 1975 to 1993, and won four state championships in 1987,
1990, 1991, and 2000. He also coached nine individual state champions
and the 1991 wrestling team ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The Paynesville Bulldogs broke the state record for career victories in
1997, making him the coach with the most career wins in Minnesota. His
record stood until January 2004, the year he retired from coaching with
661 wins and a Class A wrestling team that competed with top-ranked
teams in Minnesota regardless of school size.
Vagle served several years as a representative to the Section 5A
administrative committee. His football teams won four conference
championships and he coached in the 1980 Minnesota All-State Football
game. He holds many conference and section Coach of the Year honors in
both football and wrestling and is a member of the Minnesota Wrestling
Hall of Fame, the West Central Tribune (Willmar newspaper) Sports Hall
of Fame, and is a charter inductee to the Paynesville Athletic Hall of
Fame.
Two Minnesota sports books, published in 2003 and 2004, feature Coach
Vagle: Legends and Legacies - Celebrating a Century of Minnesota
Coaches, and Grappling Glory - Celebrating a Century of Minnesota
Wrestling and Rassling. Wresting USA magazine, sponsors of the National
High School Wrestling Coach of the Year Award for which Vagle was
runner-up in 1997, selected him to coach the 2005 USA Dream Team at the
Keen Athletic Dream Team Classic in Dallas, Texas.
Vagle is a graduate of Oak Grove Lutheran High School in Fargo, North
Dakota, and Augsburg College in Minneapolis where he earned his B.A. He
also holds an M.S. degree from St. Cloud State University.
Acceptance Remarks:
Thank you Minnesota State High School
League for sponsoring great programs for our youth and recognizing
participants in this manner. Induction into the MSHSL Hall of Fame is
an honor I will cherish for the rest of my life. I am especially
grateful to my wife Pat, longtime assistants Bob Bowden, Steve Fuchs,
and AD Jim Loomis for your dedication and loyalty. My family, all the
athletes, coaches, administrators, parents, fans, and media that I had
a chance to work with at Paynesville also deserve a special thank you.
It is your support and contributions that made this all possible.