The First Power Forward

The Lakers of the 1950's era was one of the most successful basketball dynasties of all time. George Mikan was the established star center of that team. Another skilled center was a Dutchman from the University of Hamline and to solve the problem of having two very large and talented centers, the Lakers moved the Dutchman to the forward position.

A hard-working and dedicated athlete, Vern Mikkelsen was born and raised in a variety of small Danish communities all over the US. His family moved to the Danish community of Afkove in Minnesota when he was in the seventh grade and it was here that he was introduced to basketball.

His upbringing alienated Mikkelsen from the rules of most of the major sports so that when he went into his school's gym and seeing some kids playing basketball, he had no idea what the game was all about. After observing them for some minutes, he was asked to play and was given the ball and responded by running the ball to the basket and did a lay-up. All the while, the other kids were yelling "travelling!" but Mikkelsen had no idea what that meant and continued running down the court anyway without dribbling the ball once.

Mastering the game, Mikkelsen became a legend at his high school but since he lives in a small Danish community, he was as foreign as a cactus outside of his town.

As fate would have it, a flat tire on the car of the basketball head coach of the University of Hamline was fixed by a local mechanic. He told the mechanic that he was on his way to recruit a hot-shot highschool player from northern Minnesota. The mechanic was quick to mention Mikkelsen and for some reason, the coach decided to have Mikkelsen's address and found him harvesting vegetables on his parent's farm.

Hamline, in the 1940's is among the best small college teams and played all the big school teams in the area. At 17, being a large, tall and strong player, Mikkelsen was positioned at center and learned to score with his back to the basket. During those times, a truly gifted 6-10 athlete is a rarity.

Again fate would play a role. His first college game was against DePaul and the reigning Mr. Basketball himself, George Mikan, who later became his professional teammate, winning together 4 NBA championships for the Lakers (1951, 1952, 1953 and 1955).

Their first meeting was memorable. Right at the start of the first game of the season, Mikkelsen scored a basket against Mikan. The funny thing is that he apologized to Mikan for making the basket. Mikan responded, "That's ok, you won't get anymore."

Graduating from Hamline in 1949 after leading the school to an NAIA championship, the Minnesota Lakers picked Mikkelsen, but during that time, since he was still 20 years old, he could not sign any legal document until he reaches the age of 21. So he had to wait for his father to drive to Minnesota and have his professional basketball contract signed.

Mikkelsen adjusted his game from center to forward, having to face the basket and score from different spots away from the cylinder. Applying the attributes of his previous position to his new game, he literally invented the power forward spot. Mikkelsen was the sixth player ever to score more than 10,000 points and played an ironman-type 699 games out of a possible 704 professional games.

Being one of the most widely respected players of his era, Mikkelsen was genuinely nice and good hearted. Teammate and Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor sums up Mikkelsen's personality. "I remember Vern as a hardworking, dedicated veteran. He was always willing to share his knowledge and give me advice about the game. Vern helped to make the transition from college to pro ball easy for me. I have a great deal of respect for Vern as a person and a player."

Mikkelsen's cardboards are on the $20-$30 price range. His rookie card, 1957-1958 Topps #28 costs $100. His second year card is one of the rarest in the hobby - a 1950 Scott's Potato Chip card valued between $1,000 to $2,000. Check out Fleer's 2005-2006 Greats of the Game for Mikkelsen's autographed card, as well as 'graphs of other basketball greats.

[email protected]