Alumni Spotlight: Erv Kessel ‘59

When Erv Kessel took the field for the Blue Hawks in the 1950s, he became part of a football tradition that is now celebrating its 100th year. Looking back, he remembers the sacrifices it took to play, the teammates who became lifelong friends, and the experiences that shaped his life.

Kessel had excelled as a quarterback at Dickinson High School and drew the attention of Jamestown College, which offered him a $100 scholarship. He turned it down to stay close to home and help his father care for his mother, who faced health challenges. The youngest of 13 children, Kessel grew up in a family rooted in sacrifice. His parents were born in Russia and spoke German. They arrived in the United States not knowing how to read or write, though his mother could read in German.

The summer before his freshman year, Kessel ran into Harry Weinbergen, Dickinson State’s athletic director, at a grocery store. Weinbergen asked if he would be attending Dickinson State that fall, and Kessel said yes, even though he knew what awaited him. “You got nothing. And that’s the way it was,” he recalls. Scholarships were scarce, but he was determined to play. “I was so happy to become a Savage,” he says, referring to Dickinson State’s mascot at the time.

In addition to football, Kessel also competed in basketball, track, and baseball. To make college possible, he worked at the local creamery, waking up at 5:15 a.m. six days a week to deliver milk before class and practice. Without a car, he often relied on rides or walked home alone, sometimes cutting across the railroad tracks late at night.

Despite the challenges, Kessel thrived on the field and cherished the friendships made along the way. Playing during the “one-platoon” era, when athletes played both offense and defense, he remembers a core group of 16 players carrying the team. His teams captured North Dakota College Athletic Conference championships in 1955 and 1958, facing schools like Bottineau, Wahpeton, and Jamestown. Both the ‘55 and ‘58 teams are now a part of the Blue Hawk Hall of Fame.

He learned from influential coaches, including Paul Kemp, who played in the 1954 Rose Bowl, and Paul Roach, who later coached in the NFL. Roach pushed Kessel and his teammates to compete at a high level, and Kessel earned second-team All-State college football honors. “This guy influenced me big time,” Kessel says. “He was a lifelong friend.” Roach’s career eventually took him to the Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers, and Denver Broncos before serving as a football coach at the University of Wyoming.

Those lessons carried into Kessel’s own career in education. After graduating in 1959, he taught and coached in Beach, Richardton, and Watford City before returning to Dickinson. There, he served as head football coach at Dickinson High School and later built a respected driver education program that served students across the region.

Decades later, Kessel reflects on how much the game has changed. “When I played, the average weight might have been 200 pounds, if that,” he laughs. “I always said, I’m glad I played when I did, because I was only about 135 pounds. But then, it worked and I’m so happy it worked.” Today, he credits coaching and training for athletes’ growth. “They know how to train. We never picked up a weight in our life. But these kids keep their nose to the grindstone, and I see that.”

For Erv Kessel, being part of Dickinson State’s first 100 years of football has been more than just a memory. It reminds him of the opportunities the game gave him and the friendships that lasted a lifetime. His story is one of sacrifice, perseverance, and pride, qualities that continue to define the Blue Hawks.

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By Alician Parks, DSU HF Student Writer