COKATO BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Museum Staff "Cokato Boys Basketball." In The Midst Of, Cokato Historical Society (December, 2022) vol. 42 no. 4.

The Cokato High School basketball team, 1924-25. Photograph by Gust Akerlund.

When the Cokato Public School girls’ basketball team folded in the fall of 1904, the lone basketball (literally there was only one) was up for grabs. Soon after, a boys team was formed and the first game was played against Howard Lake out-of-doors in February. 

According the the 1972 Cokato High School Yearbook, boys’ basketball was officially organized as a Varsity sport at Cokato High School in 1907. Their first game was against ACME Athletic Club in Stevenson Hall. Cokato lost 27-23.

​In 1925, Cokato’s basketball team became District Champions, and the County Champions the following year. In 1927, the school added a new gymnasium, providing the Cokato girls’ and boys’ basketball teams with their first indoor basketball court at the school. Dassel won the first game against the Cardinal's boys varsity team in the new facility, 26-21.

The Cardinal basketball legacy ended in 1972, with a record of 16 and 6. In the Wright County Conference, the Cardinals came in second, behind Howard Lake. The final team was coached by Dick Fredeen.