Carl R. Pohlad*

Born in 1915 in Des Moines, Iowa, Carl Pohlad was the third child in a family of eight. His father was a railroad brakeman who struggled to support a large family. As a boy, Pohlad helped his mother deliver laundry and clean the houses of Valley Junction's more affluent inhabitants. "My mother was exceptional," said Pohlad. "She never went to school, but she was very wise. She worked so hard, but she always had time to give us the love and guidance we needed."

In high school, Pohlad was hired to milk cows on a farm owned by a local banker. Soon he was driving his employer on rounds to collect loan payments. Not long after, he began making the collection rounds himself and doing odd jobs at the banker's office. Even though he found his new job interesting, Pohlad cared more about sports. He starred on the high school football team and began thinking about playing football in college.

Pohlad graduated in 1933 and was recruited by Bing Crosby to play for Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Even with the help of a sports scholarship, Pohlad needed an income to support himself. He opened a used-car business and put to use the skills he learned during his Iowa banking days. His part-time business prospered, and when the football season ended in his senior year, he left college and returned to Iowa.

Pohlad used his profits to buy into a fledgling finance company in Dubuque, Iowa, where he stayed until he joined the U.S. Army during World War II. He served as an infantryman in France, Austria, and Germany, where he earned several awards and a battlefield commission. When he returned, his partner had purchased a Minneapolis-based holding company, Bank Shares, Inc., which owned three banks, including Marquette National.

Pohlad moved to Minneapolis, and when his partner died in 1955, he became president and CEO of Bank Shares and Marquette National. Pohlad later acquired several regional banks and diversified into the soft-drink industry. He also owned the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise from 1984 until his death in 2009.

Pohlad had this advice for young people: "Work hard and look for opportunity in every life experience. We live in a dynamic country where each individual is limited only by his or her personally defined horizon."