Robert Matteson, ’37 • Football, Baseball, Hockey
Class of 1937: Football, Baseball and Hockey
Robert Matteson is remembered as a versatile and accomplished athlete at Carleton. He won a total of nine letters in football, baseball and hockey. Matteson was co-captain of the 1936 football team that had a 6-1 overall record and tied for the Midwest Conference championship. He also was a standout in intramural competition, winning championships in heavyweight boxing, table tennis and squash.
During World War II, Matteson received the Silver Star for the capture of SS General Ernst Kaltenbrunner, head of the Nazi Gestapo. He served with the 80th Infantry Division of the 3rd Army, was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and four battle stars, and given a battlefield commission by General George Patton.
The Matteson name has long been associated with Carleton athletics. The Matteson Memorial Basketball Award, a memorial to Robert’s brother, Charles Matterson, who died during his sophomore year at Carleton, was established by their parents in 1934. The Matteson Award has been given annually to the member of the Carleton basketball team judged to possess the most outstanding abilities in basketball and scholarship and the highest qualities of character and sportsmanship.
Dale Kramer, ’78 • Cross Country, Track & Field
Class of 1978: Cross Country and Track & Field
Dale Kramer’s name is synonymous with cross country and track at Carleton. From 1974 through 1977, he was among the nation’s best collegiate long distance runners, garnering NCAA Division III All-American honors seven times and winning four national championships- two in cross country (1977, 1978) and two in track’s 5,000-meter event (1976, 1977). At the time of his induction, he still held the school record for the 5,000-meter at 13:55.
In his junior year, Kramer finished second in the first cross country meet of the season. From that point on, he won every college race he ran for two years, right through the conference and NCAA championships. The only exceptions were the NCAA Division I championship and the Drake Relays events, where he faced primarily Division I competition.
Kramer had won the Minnesota State Class A two-mile championships in both his junior and senior years at Glenwood High School.
Upon leaving Carleton with a degree in chemistry, Kramer was awarded an NCAA post-graduate scholarship to study animal science at the University of Minnesota.