Class of 1927: Football, Basketball, Track & Field

A native of Red Wing, Minn., Oliver "Hon" M. Nordly was the third of four brothers who were exceptional high school athletes, and the second of three to enroll at Carleton. In high school, he competed in football and track and was a member of two state championship basketball teams, and was named an All-State forward in 1922.

At Carleton, he won letters in the same three sports. In football, he was a starter for three years, and did most of the kicking and passing. In his junior and senior years, the gridders lost only two games, both to Northwestern. He was a high jumper and javelin thrower in track, but it was in basketball where he received the greatest acclaim. He started at center for three years. He was an All-Conference choice in both 1925-26 and 1926-27. He was also elected president of his senior class.

Fomr 1927 through 1937 Nordly coached football, basketball and track at Rochester High School. He won three conference championships in each sport, and took three Rochester teams to the state basketball tournament. From there he moved to the University of Northern Iowa. In 14 years there, his teams won five conference championships in basketball and eight in golf. During World War II, "Hon's" basketball teams at Iowa Pre-Flight won 80% of their games.

A member of the North Central Conference Hall of Fame, Nordly also served a term as supervisor of officials. His civic duties included ten years on the Cedar Falls City Council and two years as chairman of the Metropolitan Planing Commissions. He was the recipient of the "Service to Mankind" award, given annually by the local Sertoma Club.