Dale Hanson helped the Gophers gain dominance in wrestling before becoming a pilot during World War II. Lieutenant Hanson holds the heroic distinction (as far as I can tell) of being only one of a very few (I can only identify 3) Gopher athletes to die while serving his country.
Dale Hanson was born in Postville, Iowa on June 2, 1918. His father Edd Hanson was a Norwegian immigrant who worked as an automobile mechanic. The nickname PeeWee came when Dale joined his high school wrestling team despite only being an 85 pound freshman. He followed his wrestling coach Dave Bartelma to the University of Minnesota where he would become the first Gopher All-American not born in the state of Minnesota.