Herb Wolf

FAIRMONT — Fairmont coaching legend Herb Wolf will be inducted posthumously into the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 13.

Wolf, along with fellow 2020 inductees Darby Carlson of Maple Grove, Don Dvorak of New Prague, Gary Palm of St. Anthony Village, Todd Smrekar of Cambridge-Isanti and Ken Solarz of Upsala/Swanville, will join recently-elected 2021 members Bill Kinnunen of Grand Rapids and Paul Twenge of Minnetonka as honored guests at the MSHSBCA’s Hall of Fame Banquet at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Omni Hotel in Eagan.

The Hall of Fame class of 2020 was not formally inducted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All eight soon-to-be Hall members were honored by the Minnesota Twins during the team’s game against Toronto on Sunday at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Jerry Krause, a former player under Wolf’s tutelage during his high school athletic career at Fairmont High School, served as Wolf’s proxy during Sunday’s celebration.

“Herb was one of the most prominent sports figures in the long storied history of Fairmont High School,” said current FHS activities director Mat Mahoney. “The school and the community take great pride in him receiving yet another honor.”

Wolf already was a member of the Mankato State Coaching Hall of Fame and the esteemed Minnesota State High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, in addition to being a charter member of the Fairmont High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.

Wolf served as Fairmont’s head baseball coach for 30 seasons — 1947-76, retiring with an overall record of 271-136. The dugout legend guided Fairmont to six conference championships, 16 district titles and five regional crowns during his long tenure. The Cardinals qualified for state in 1963, 1964, 1968, 1971 and 1975 — placing third in both 1964 and 1971, while capturing runner-up state honors in 1975.

Wolf, who was involved with all levels of baseball during the summer, also was a founding member of the Fairmont Baseball Association in 1946.

Herb Wolf and his wife, Jeanette, made a $150,000 donation to the Fairmont Baseball Association prior to their passings. In honor of all of his contributions to the Cardinals’ program, Fairmont’s varsity diamond is named Herb Wolf Field.

Wolf, however, was not limited to making huge contributions to the Fairmont baseball team as he played a key role in creating the high school’s boys gymnastics program. Wolf’s teams won 26 consecutive district crowns, in addition to capturing runner-up accolades four times and netting three third-place finishes at the state meet.