Harold W. "Babe" Paulsen (March 3, 1919, in

Virginia, Minnesota Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Iron Range's commercial center. The population was ...

– May 11, 2010, in Mankato, Minnesota) was a former collegiate ice hockey player and head coach. Paulsen played hockey at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

from 1938 to 1941 and was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1940 at left wing alongside teammate

John Mariucci John Peter Mariucci (May 8, 1916 – March 23, 1987) was an American ice hockey player, administrator and coach. Mariucci was born in Eveleth, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota where he played for both the hockey and football ...

. He was team captain as a senior in 1940-1941, finishing his career as

Gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They ar ...

hockey's all-time leading scorer, a record that would hold for the next 15 years. He was selected for the 1940 U.S. Olympic Hockey team, but due to World War II those games were cancelled. With boyish looks, and a small stature, Paulsen earned the nickname "Babe" during his playing days in high school and college. Following college, Paulsen signed a professional contract with the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, but never made it to Chicago. He coached the

Roseau High School Roseau High School is a public high school in Roseau, Minnesota, United States serving students from grades 7 through 12. It is part of Roseau Community Schools, Minnesota ISD 682. The school's hockey program has matriculated several NHL and Olym ...

Rams varsity hockey team before joining the Navy during World War II. Paulsen returned to Minnesota after the war and completed a master's degree in education. He coached the varsity ice hockey program at

Thief River Falls Thief River Falls, sometimes abbreviated as TRF, is a city and county seat of Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. History Thief River Falls takes its name fro ...

High School. Paulsen was hired as the first varsity ice hockey coach at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

on August 1, 1948. Before recruiting or coaching, Paulsen oversaw the renovation of Demonstration Hall into an indoor rink with artificial ice-making capabilities. Paulsen struggled through his first two years at Michigan State with a 6–25 record. MSU athletic director Ralph H. Young felt the hockey program's progress was inadequate and Paulsen resigned after the 1951 season. Following his coaching career, Paulsen earned a doctorate in physical education from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He continued teaching health education courses at Michigan State. In 1956 he left Michigan State to become athletic director at Slippery Rock State Teachers College in Pennsylvania, now

Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in the Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania area of the United States. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Edu ...

. Paulsen moved on to teach physical education at Mankato State College, now

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

, until his retirement in 1988. In 2001, Paulsen was among 50 former Gopher hockey players honored by the University of Minnesota as "Legends on Ice." Paulsen's last name is commonly misspelled Paulson in many hockey publications.

Head coaching record

External links

All-Americans Share a Bond
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulsen, Harold 1919 births 2010 deaths Sportspeople from Virginia, Minnesota Ice hockey people from St. Louis County, Minnesota American men's ice hockey left wingers Michigan State Spartans ice hockey coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota University of Michigan alumni Ice hockey players from Minnesota 20th-century American sportsmen