Arild Verner Agerskov Mikkelsen (October 21, 1928 – November 21, 2013) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. One of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

's first

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

s in the 1950s, he was known for his tenacious defense. Also an ironman, he played in 699 out of a possible 704 during his career. He was a six-time All-Star and four-time Second Team All-Pro, and was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame and the sport's

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 1995. Along with fellow Hall of Famers

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of t ...

and

Slater Martin Slater Nelson "Dugie" Martin Jr. (October 22, 1925 – October 18, 2012) was an American professional basketball player and coach who was a playmaking guard for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Elmina, ...

he was a key part of four championships with the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

, today's

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. Mikkelsen was also an All-American in college, and earned a master's degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Early life

Mikkelsen was born in

Parlier, California Parlier is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 14,494, up from 11,145 in 2000. The city has one of the state's highest percentage of Latinos, a large majority of whom are s ...

and was raised in the

Danish-American Danish Americans ( da, Dansk-amerikanere) are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. History The first Dane known to have arriv ...

community of

Askov, Minnesota Askov is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 364 at the 2010 census. Minnesota State Highway 23 serves as a main route in the community, and Interstate 35 is nearby. History The village was originally within t ...

. His father, Michael, was an immigrant from Denmark who became a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

pastor in Askov.

College career

Mikkelsen entered

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

on a basketball scholarship at the age of 16. In his senior year, Mikkelsen led NCAA Division II in field goal percentage. Hamline won the

1949 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1949 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 12th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Hamline ...

and Mikkelsen was voted an All-American. He would later receive a master's degree in psychology from the

Professional career

Minneapolis Lakers (1949-1960)

Mikkelsen played with

and

Jim Pollard James Clifford Pollard (July 9, 1922 – January 22, 1993) was an American professional basketball player and coach. As a player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Pollard was considered one of the best forwards in the 1950s and was k ...

in the frontcourt of the

. The Lakers won four NBA titles during Mikkelsen's career. Mikkelsen played in six

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...

s and was named to the All-NBA Second Team four times in his career. Mikkelsen ended his career after ten seasons in the NBA in 1959, having played in 699 of a possible 704 regular-season games. He led the NBA in both personal fouls and fouling out of games for three straight seasons during his career, and finished his career with 10,063 points scored. Mikkelsen still holds the league record for career games fouling out with 127, which he did in only 631 games (the NBA did not record that statistic until his second season).

Honors and awards

In 1956, Mikkelsen was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame. Mikkelsen was inducted into the

in 1995 along with Laker coach

John Kundla John Albert Kundla (July 3, 1916 – July 23, 2017) was an American college and professional basketball coach. He was the first head coach for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its predecessors, the Basketbal ...

. In 2002, during halftime of a Lakers/Timberwolves game, Mikkelsen and fellow Hall of Fame teammates

, Arlee Pollard (widow of

Clyde Lovellette Clyde Edward Lovellette ( ; September 7, 1929 – March 9, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. Lovellette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the first basketball player in history to ...

and Coach

were each presented with championship rings. The Minneapolis players received the same rings provided by the NBA to the champion Los Angeles Lakers that same year.

Coaching

Mikkelsen later coached and was general manager of the

Minnesota Pipers Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

Personal life and family

Mikkelsen's wife Jean died in 2002 after 47 years of marriage. Their two sons are named Tom and John. In 2006 a biography was published by John Egan titled ''The Vern Mikkelsen Story''. Mikkelsen died on November 21, 2013, in

Wayzata, Minnesota Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is situated along the northern shore of Lake Minnetonka about west of Minneapolis. Known for its small-town character and lakeside lo ...

surrounded by his family.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Notes

External links

*
Vern Mikkelsen profile
@ LakersWeb.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikkelsen, Vern 1928 births 2013 deaths American Basketball Association executives American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American people of Danish descent Basketball coaches from California Basketball coaches from Minnesota Basketball players from California Basketball players from Minnesota Hamline Pipers men's basketball players Minneapolis Lakers draft picks Minneapolis Lakers players Minnesota Pipers coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Parlier, California People from Pine County, Minnesota Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from Fresno County, California University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni