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Today Dave Schlesser 1975 is pursuing his love of farming on 600 acres of land near Maurice, Iowa. It is his family farm, and he raises corn, beans and alfalfa. He also has some livestock with feeder cattle and stock cows. His wife’s name is Lynn, and they have a son, Conner Renshaw, who is a freshman this year at Morningside. Dave said he is very impressed with how the Morningside campus looks these days and how many activities there are for the students.
A few stories from Dave:
Dave’s first game on the summer tour in Europe was against a Russian team that had three players that were 7 feet 2 inches tall. International rules provided that on rebounds, it was every man for himself. Dave got several stitches and wondered if he had made a good choice.
After that first summer in Europe, Dave and several other players from the North Central Conference were invited to take part in a big tournament in Moscow. He was sharing a Pullman car with Joe Mueting, a former foe and good friend from the University of South Dakota. In the middle of the night, the lights came on and two Russian soldiers came in, yelling, “Roust!” Dave and Joe hurriedly “snapped to” in their skivvies and the soldiers searched their baggage. They were soon gone. To this day, when Dave and Joe meet, they greet each other with a loud “Roust!”
Dave mentions that on road trips, most players would avoid their coaches except during the game, but Morningside players loved being around Coach Callahan because he was so much fun.
He also remembers with fondness the old Morningside routine that players did before leaving for the dressing room just before the game. A captain would lead it and the rest of the players would follow side to side, forward and backward, and they would finally close with an exciting leap. The crowd would go crazy and the enthusiasm would build for the tip-off.
Here are some records that Dave still holds after all of these years:
Morningside:
DII Free Throw Attempts in a game: 20, vs. Augustana, 1974-75 (Tom Betz 1989 later tied this record)
Career Scoring Average: 20.6, 1973-75
Rebounds in a Season: 501, 1974-75
Rebounding Average in a Season: 17.3, 1974-75
Rebounding Average in a Career: 16.7, 1973-75
North Central Conference:
Rebounds in a Season (conference games only): 237, 1974-75
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