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.
Bob Klindworth
Cross Country and Track & Field
Inducted: 2009
The only Gustavus men's cross country runner to qualify for the NCAA Championships three times in his career, Bob Klindworth was one of the truly outstanding cross country and track and field distance runners in Division III in the early '90s. In cross country, Klindworth qualified for the NCAA Championships in his sophomore (finishing 98th), junior (finishing 36th), and senior (finishing 47th) seasons. At the conference level he placed 13th in 1990, fourth in 1991, and second in 1992, earning all-conference honors all three years, and at the region level he finished 19th in 1990, sixth in 1991, and third in 1992, earning all-region honors three times. In track and field, Klindworth was the MIAC Indoor Champion in the 5,000 meters and the MIAC Outdoor Champion in the 10,000 meters in both 1992 and 1993. In 1993, he earned All-America honors with a seventh place finish in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. An outstanding student as well, Klindworth was an Academic All-Conference and CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree in both 1992 and 1993.
After graduating cum laude in 1993 with a major in physics, Klindworth attended New Mexico State University where he received his doctorate in physics in 1999. He then taught physics at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois for one year before accepting a tenure track position at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2001. After three years at UW-La Crosse, Klindworth accepted a teaching position at Century College in Maplewood, Minnesota in the 2004, where he currently teaches physics. Bob lives in White Bear Lake, Minn., he has a son, Cirdan.