Indigenous to Minnesota and ex-goalie for the “Fighting Sioux,” self-made millionaire Ralph Engelstad may have been one of the leading philanthropists in America. Ralph was most widely known for his numerous donations to his former college and for his devotion to the handicapped.
Born January 28, 1930, he grew up in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, about 70 miles from Grand Forks. He was the grandson of a Norwegian immigrant farmer, second in line in a family of five children born to Christian and Madeline Engelstad. The son of a salesman, Ralph attended St. Bernard’s Catholic School and began working when he was just twelve years old. Ralph dreamed of someday becoming a Prowler.
He played four years in goal for the Thief River Falls Lincoln Prowler hockey team, the first Lincoln High School team to ever play in the state tournament (Lundin). In his state tournament emergence as a freshman in 1945, when goalies wore no masks, he was hit between the eyes with a puck during warm-ups before the championship game, but went on to play an exceptional game, though losing 4-3 on two third period power play goals.
Hockey fascinated Ralph as he headed for the University of North Dakota (Smithwick). A star hockey player in high school, he worked his way through college unloading boxcars, with the help of a hockey scholarship and playing goalie for UND’s Fighting Sioux. Not only did he play goalie for UND from 1948-1950, he also received an offer to try out with the Chicago Blackhawks. After two years at UND, he joined a few teammates in California playing for the San Bernadino Shamrocks and working construction. Realizing the importance of a formal education, he returned to UND and earned his business degree in 1954, where he played hockey as a member of the Grand Forks Amerks, a semi-pro team.
Shortly after, he married his college sweetheart Betty Stocker, and began Engelstad Construction in Grand Forks; the buildings he constructed are still standing and serving well. After making a quick fortune there (vowing to become a millionaire by age 30, he achieved his goal at 29), he moved his company to Las Vegas, to build FHA-financed housing for the federal government and began buying property with money he had made as a building contractor in Grand Forks (Westman).
Engelstad bought unrefined land around Thunderbird Field in 1965. He boosted his fortune a few years later when he sold Howard Hughes the 145 acres in North Las Vegas for more than $5 million; the land was used to build what is now the North Las Vegas Airport.
1930: Married Carol Henning and moved to the family home in Pacific Grove. His father
Ralph grew up in Shanghai, China, where he had a distant and non-loving relationship with his father. Ralph took the opportunity to come to America in hopes of achieving his degree and eventually PhD. While this is a relatively simple goal for most people in America, it became more than a bourdon for Ralph; often getting sidetracked to pursue bigger and better things.
moved to Chicago at the age of 5. Nobody liked him there, and he was in many
It was Sunday, February 10, 2008 here in Buffalo at the HSBC Arena. The Buffalo Sabres were playing the Florida Panthers. Thousands of spectators cheered as Buffalo took a 4-3 lead. The puck flew down the ice to the corner left of goaltender Ryan Miller. Players from both team rushed after the puck, 10 minutes and 4 seconds into the 3rd period Florida forward Olli Jokinen...
There have been many historical moments with the University of Dayton Flyers Men’s Basketball team, but Mark Weaver recalls of the one that meant most to him. It took place on March 24, 1967, in Louisville’s Freedom Hall for the Final Four of the NCAA (National College Athletic Association) tournament against the highly favored North Carolina Tar Heels (Collett 228). This was the third straight NCAA tournament appearance for the Flyers, but their first ever Final Four (Collett 228). It turned out that the Flyers smashed North Carolina, seventy-six to sixty-two. Don May hit a record thirteen straight field goals and scored thirty-four points (Collett 228). Mark Weaver, a lifetime fan said, “I remember that game like it was yesterday, it almost brings tears to my eyes. I have never seen UD party like we did the night of that game. I have been following Dayton basketball since the mid-1960s and I have yet to witness the team getting a greater win than the one over the Tar Heels.”
The most memorable moment in hockey history came thirty-four years ago with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The Americans defeating the dominant Soviet team at the Olympics was not only an important triumph for USA Hockey, but for the entire nation. Contrary to popular belief, the underdog win was not only the result of a miracle; it was also the result of a hard-working team led by Coach Herb Brooks. With increasingly negative views on the position of the United States in the Cold War, the Miracle on Ice and the gold medal win lifted the spirits of the nation and brought hockey into the American spotlight.
According to Peter Singer, we as a society must adopt a more radical approach with regards to donating to charity and rejecting the common sense view. In the essay Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Singer argues that we have a strong moral obligation to give to charity, and to give more than we normally do. Critics against Singer have argued that being charitable is dependent on multiple factors and adopting a more revisionary approach to charity is more difficult than Singer suggests; we are not morally obliged to donate to charity to that extent.
Prior to being adopted his mother, Elizabeth Lucas, abandoned him leaving his paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Porter, to raise him until she died in 1918. Do to Cullen’s childhood confusion many are unaware of his place of birth. According to different sources he was born in Louisville, Kentucky, Baltimore, Maryland and New York. Cullen stated that he was born in New York City but no one is sure if he truly meant it.
was the earliest recorded in a game that took place in Montreal. As the Canadians love and knowledge for the game of ice
During his lifetime he was known as the wealthier self-made man in the world. Howard Hughes’ riches directly and indirectly helped America’s economy flourish for many decades. For one, Hollywood films accounts for a portion of U.S goods and service revenues. Also, he created many job opportunities for men who could not seek job during the depression and beyond. Two, Hughes was known for spending excessively thought-out his life and more so towards he later adulthood. He purchased an entire Nevada hotel, after refusing to leave when asked. He became Navada’s biggest landlord. Hughes went on a one hundred million dollar buying spree; he bought casinos, local airport, and a television station. All of which helped expand America’s economy. Also,
Many hockey purists thought that no one would ever be able to match Richard’s stellar season, but 36 years later in 1981 the New York Islanders sharp shooting Mike Bossy duplicated the feat, scoring two goals in the final five minutes of the 50th game of the season to become the second player ever to score 50 goals in 50 games. He finished the season with 68 goals. Most hockey fans couldn’t believe Bossy’s achievement, and were sure the feat wouldn’t be matched for the longest time. And the fans couldn’t have been more wrong.
By 1940, he had moved up to the Canadians senior team in the Quebec league. Due to his fractures, he returned and played the whole 1941-42 season for the senior Canadia...
Jackson, T., "NHL's Heroes and History - 1880 -1926 ," July 2, 2011, Web, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg9qBRs8sX4&feature=related.
We began the customary after game handshake, with the goalie at the front, and coaches bringing up the rear. As we worked our way down the line, the other team’s eyes widened when they realized I had been a girl. I walked off the field to meet up with my family, who informed me I had an exceptional performance. My mom, who always tracked my progress, said I had saved sixty four percent of the shots they had took. I was extremely proud of myself,not only for the way I had played, but because I was able to show people that despite my gender, I am just as good of a goalie as any boy.
1988-2000 Starting over with a $100,000 gift from his dad, he started feeding cattle and drilling oil wells using the newly developed “horizontal drilling technology”. In 1990 he moved to Lufkin, Texas where he continued feeding cattle and drilling oil wells. In 1992 he assembled a 36,000 acre drilling block in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana and through 1996, had drilled the five deepest horizontal oil wells in the world. Unfortunately the Louisiana venture was a technical success, but it was a financial failure. None of the five wells ever paid out. In 1993 he married Rita Irene Ambrosia and they still live in Lufkin where he continues to manage his oil and gas properties and invest in cattle futures.