Brent Bednar

March 6, 2004

BEDNAR IS NAMED AS NEWEST HALL OF FAMER

1970's Minnesota great Brent Bednar was inducted as the newest member of the prestigious Table Soccer Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at the recent season-opener in Las Vegas. Bednar, one of the game's first truly great goalies, was honored for a career that began in the mid '70s and ended with the demise of the "Million Dollar Tour" in 1981. He was a product of the famous Minnesota high school program that also spawned current hall of famers Jim Wiswell and Doug Furry.

A fierce competitor, Brent was known as a player who always seemed to come up with a big defensive stand just when it was needed the most. He possessed lightning-quick reflexes, and his ability to "race" the opposing forward to the open hole was legendary, allowing him to completely shut down some of the game's top offensive forwards. "He wasn't just good at it", said hall of famer Mike Bowers, who accepted the honor for the absent Bednar, "He was the best defensive racer of all time. There's never been a player who could put on a race defense like Brent."

Bednar's career highlights included a second place finish in Open Doubles with partner Mike Belz at the 1975 World Championships, an event that took place just months after "Belz and Bednar" had defeated Wiswell and Furry to win the gigantic Minnesota State high school championship. One year later Brent and Mike won the world doubles title on the professional tour, and they followed that up with a win in doubles at the Super Singles event in 1977.

Brent was also the pro tour's leading money winner in 1976 and reached the finals of the $100,000 Super Doubles tournament in 1979, by winning Open Doubles with Ken Alwell. Considered one of the toughest and most competitive of the game's early stars, Brent Bednar also "exemplified sportsmanship and professionalism", according to Bowers, who was both competitor and friend to the newest inductee.

Bednar becomes the 23rd player, promoter, executive, or sport-contributor to be inducted into the Hall, which was founded in 1986 by Johnny Lott, and revived by the U.S.T.S.A. in a ceremony held in Long Beach, California in 1996. Since then, eleven new members have been added to the original 1986 class of twelve, including super-goalie Brent Bednar, whose "competitiveness", "sportsmanship" and "professionalism" make him a welcome addition to this exclusive club of foosballlegends.