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.
Tom Zwiener
Baseball, Football, and Hockey
Inducted: 1982
Tom Zwiener '55 lettered 3 years in football, 3 years in hockey, and 2 years in baseball at Gustavus. He attended Gustavus from 1948-55, which included two years of active military duty during the Korean War. He was quarterback on the 1949-51 football teams (both '50 and '51 were championship teams), was named All-Conference both championship years, and received Honorable Mention for the Associated Press Little All-America in '51. He led the first aggressive Gustavus passing team and established a Gustavus passing record until it was broken in 1975. Considered a clever signal caller and an accurate passer, he had four successive touchdown passes on four successive possessions in 1951 and led the nation in total offense for several weeks. He also quarterbacked the Gustavus team that lost to Abilene Christian of Texas 14-7 in the Refrigerator Bowl. He played center on the hockey team 1949-51, and was third baseman on the 1951 and 1952 baseball teams.
Following graduation, he was an insurance adjuster for Milwaukee Mutual from 1955-59 in Grand Rapids and from 1959-73 in St. Paul. From 1973-75, he was in sales with Electrolux Corp., and since 1975 has been in sales with Clover Leaf Creamery Co. He and his wife Lynn have two sons, Wade '81 and Steven and a daughter Betsy, and live in St. Paul.