The Minnesota Golden Gophers family lost an athletic legend this past week as three sport star Noel Jenke passes away at the age of 73. An Owatonna native Jenke was the first Big Ten athlete drafted in three professional sports: by baseball’s Boston Red Sox, football’s Minnesota Vikings and hockey’s Minnesota Fighting Saints in the WHA—four years before Dave Winfield would be the more famous member to join that club.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune Jenke had been in poor health and never really recovered from a recent surgery.