Apr. 2—GRAND FORKS — A few weeks ago, Jeff Bakke, current Grand Forks Red River head boys track and field coach, visited former Roughriders coach Ken Hallgrimson in a Grand Forks assisted living facility.
"It was a really fun conversation," Bakke said. "He was talking about some of his best athletes in the early days."
Right to the end, Hallgrimson was an avid supporter and historian of Red River track and field.
Hallgrimson, who died last Thursday at 96, is remembered as a Red River coaching pioneer and a long-time track and field supporter who never shied from honest assessments.
Hallgrimson, a member of Red River's Athletics Hall of Fame, was the original head coach of three programs at Red River. In the school's inaugural season in 1967-68, he coached boys cross country in the fall, then boys track and field in the spring. In the fall of 1974, he was the first girls basketball coach.
Hallgrimson was named the North Dakota High School Class A Track Coach of the Year and the National High School Region 6 Track Coach of the Year in 1976. He was also the North Dakota High School Class A Boys Golf Coach of the Year in 1981, 1982 and 1986. His Red River boys golf team was state Class A champion in 1981, 1982 and 1986.
Hallgrimson, who retired from coaching track in 1978, was assistant track coach under Ken Rio at Grand Forks Central until 1967 when Red River opened.
Hallgrimson, who had a stint in the Navy and attended Jamestown College (1952 graduate), missed only five North Dakota state track meets from 1955-2019.
"He would call after every track meet," said Bob Zimney, who was an assistant under Hallgrimson for one season before taking over the head job for the next 37 years. "He'd call me several times a season to check in and see what was going on. He liked to keep a pulse on things."
Hallgrimson, who taught business classes at Red River and was an avid golfer, attended Red River track meets as recently as last season.
Tim Delmore is entering his 49th season as an assistant Red River track and field coach. Tim's dad coached with Hallgrimson in Cando, N.D., and Tim is Hallgrimson's godson.
Hallgrimson gave Delmore his first coaching job while Delmore was a high jump athlete at UND.
"Forty-nine years, and I haven't had a bad year yet," Delmore said. "It's a lot of fun for me and glad Ken got me started. There's only one Hallgy. There was no clone of him. He was very knowledgeable and kept up on things. You always knew where you stood with him. He said what he thought. He was pretty typical of males of that age: gruff exterior and soft inside.
"Ken was pretty progressive in his thinking. When women's track first started, Ken was pretty supportive of all those things. Track was definitely his love. I think he called (Bakke) twice a week the last 10 years to get updates on the meets. Even at 90, he knew every one of our kids and what they did. That's what kept him going, staying involved in track."
Bakke is entering his 10th season as head coach and is just Red River's third all-time head coach after Hallgrimson and Zimney.
"He called me after every single track meet," Bakke said. "I talked to him once and a while during the fall and winter just to talk Red River sports but track was every single meet. He just wanted to know how things were going and excited to hear about progress. It was always fun to talk to him because his memory was incredible. He remembered details from decades ago ... the 50's, 60's, 70's ... he remembered the splits and times."
When Hallgrimson attended Red River meets, Bakke would send athletes over to introduce themselves.
"I'd say 'Go talk to this ...