Cokato's Hoopsters

Museum Staff. "Cokato's Hoopsters." In The Midst Of. Cokato Historical Society. (December, 2023) vol. 43, no. 5.

Cokato High School Boys' Basketball team, 1922. Philip Wagner, Gustaf Bongfeldt, Simon Anderson, Willard Holmquist, Earl Berg, Raymond Halvorson, Walter Hasti, Lloyd Johnson, Clifford Hedberg, Mr. S. Carroll Simonson, Coach. Photograph by Gust Akerlund.

​​Cokato High School boys basketball team was formed when the girls team disbanded in 1904, and the sole basketball was now up for grabs. Their first game was played outdoors against Howard Lake, resulting in Cokato losing 13 to 19. The next few years were developing years, with varying amounts of interest from the Cokato boys. Eventually, in 1907, Cokato basketball became an official varsity sport. The first game was played in Stevenson Hall, and resulted in a loss to the Acme Athletic Club.

In 1925, the Cokato boys basketball team became district champs for the first time in the school’s history, defeating Howard Lake 24 to 28.  Unfortunately, the Cardinals lost to Hutchinson in the Regional  tournament held at the Excelsior Center, and did not progress to the State Tournament.

In 1949, the Wright County Conference organized, and Cokato proceeded to become conference champions in 1954, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1967, and 1968.

The last season of the Cardinal Hoopsters ended in 1972. That year CHS placed second in the Wright County Conference and ended with a 16 and 6 record. The following year, the Dassel and Cokato High Schools merged and a new era featuring the D-C Chargers basketball team was born.