The only Blue  Devil to gain All Conference honors four times in basketball. He led the squad to conference basketball titles and  national tournaments in 1942 and 1943. He captained the squad in 1942, 1943, and again in 1947 after his discharge form the Navy where he served during World  War II. He also earned three letters in baseball.

Harley Hesselman led the Blue Devils to conference basketball titles and the national basketball playoffs in Kansas City in 1942 and 1943. He made the all-conference basketball team four times and served as captain of the Stout team in 1942, 1943 and 1947. He ranks 17th in all-time Blue Devil scoring with 829 points and ninth in scoring average with 13.8 points. He earned three letters in baseball. His career at Stout was interrupted by World War 11 when he served on a destroyer in the South Pacific. Hesselman received his bachelor's degree in 1947 from Stout and now serves as manager of the Mondovi Telephone Co. He is a past president of the board of directors of the Wisconsin State Telephone Association. He also served as president of the Mondovi Hospital Board and headed up the hospital's fund drive.


HESSELMAN PASSES AWAY IN 2013

MONDOVI (April 12, 2013) - When he left Stout Institute in 1947, Harley Hesselman was the Blue Devil basketball program's all-time scoring leader.  A long-time resident of Mondovi, Hessleman passed away April 8, 2013, at the Heritage Court Memory Care Facility in Eau Claire. He was 90.

Hessleman came to Stout Institute in 1940 from the Neenah, Wis., area, and went on to become a three-time team captain of the Blue Devil basketball team. During his first tenure at Stout, Hesselman twice led the Blue Devils to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City,  Mo., once during the 1941-42 season and again the next year in 1942-43 season.

Hesselman joined the US Navy durng World War II and returned to Stout for the 1946-47 school year where he rejoined the basketball team and was again named team captain. Hesselman was a first team all-conference selection in 1943 and in 1847. Hesselman earned his bachelor's degree in industrial education in 1947.

Hesselman, who also played baseball three seasons for the Blue Devils, finished his career with 829 points, the program's leading scorer until Bob Sorenson and Jim Bolm both surpassed him in consecutive seasons. Bolm (859 pts) played from 1954-58, and Sorenson (1034 pts) from 1955-59. Hesselman is currently ranked 41st on the list. Durring Hesselman's career, the most games a Stout team played in a single season was 17 during the 1941-42 season.

Hesselman was elected to the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978 as a member of the inaugural class.

Hesselman went on to have a long career with the Mondovi Telephone Company where he worked his way up from linesman to eventually becoming president and general manager. Hesselman married his wife, Elma, on May 14, 1944, and they had three children.

For a complete obituary, click here.