Athletic Hall of Fame
The Gustavus Adolphus College Hall of Fame was established in 1978 at which time 19 "Charter Members" were inducted either as coaches or as athletes. As of the fall of 2022, 348 individuals (321 athletes, 16 coaches and 11 benefactors) have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
The former Hall of Fame room on the second floor of the Lund Center was originally partially endowed by the families of both Dwight Holcombe's (the only father/son combination holding membership in the Hall). The hardwood plaque upon which the individual plates are permanently displayed, now in the Hall of Champions, was donated by the family of former football coach and Hall of Fame member Jocko Nelson, who passed away in 1978.
Sven Langsjoen
Basketball and Football
Inducted: 1981
Sven "Beanie" Langsjoen '48 lettered four years in both football and basketball, and graduated summa cum laude. He was a star halfback on the '45 and '46 championship football teams and was named All-Conference both of those years. From July '44 to November '45 he was a member of the Navy V-12 unit stationed at Gustavus and was a regular on the '45 championship basketball team although it was not recognized as such by the conference because of wartime regulations. He was awarded the Schleuder Medal for excellence in athletics, scholarship, and leadership in '47, and the Myrum Key for the highest grade-point average of graduating senior athletes in '48.
He received his M.A. from Univ. of Wisconsin, an M.F.S. from Univ. of Maryland, and a Ph.D. from Univ. of Wisconsin. He taught at St. Olaf College prior to joining the staff at Gustavus in 1958. While at Gustavus, he was Professor of German and chair of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures.
Beanie and his wife Miriain had a son, Thomas '73, and daughter, Laura.