Ken McGonagle is a 1948 graduate of Royalton High School. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1952, completed his master’s degree in education at the University of Illinois in 1958, and fulfilled his doctorate at the University of Indiana in 1970.

 

McGonagle lettered as a starting pitcher for the Minnesota Gophers in 1952 and 1953. He also was a two-year letterwinner for the Gophers Basketball team in 1950 and 1951. McGonagle played for the state champion Little Falls Red Sox while also playing minor league baseball for the Duluth Dukes from 1952-1954. During this time, McGonagle was signed by the Cincinnati Reds organization.

 

After his collegiate days were over, McGonagle became a teacher and coach and worked in Texas and Illinois. As a coach, he won a Texas state basketball championship at St. John’s Private School. After moving to Evanston, Illinois, McGonagle began coaching baseball and soccer, where he won 11 league championships in baseball as well as 10 league championships and 4 state championships in soccer. He was the Baseball Man of the Year in Illinois in 1963. McGonagle is a member of both the Illinois High School Baseball and Soccer Coaches Hall of Fames. McGonagle and his wife Cele now live near Cushing, but spend their winters in much warmer Tucson, Arizona.