Background
Mikkelsen was born in Parlier, California and was raised in the Danish-American community of Askov, Minnesota. His father, Michael, was an immigrant from Denmark who became a Lutheran pastor in Askov.
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Mikkelsen was born in Parlier, California and was raised in the Danish-American community of Askov, Minnesota. His father, Michael, was an immigrant from Denmark who became a Lutheran pastor in Askov.
University of Minnesota.
He was one of the National Basketball Association"s first power forwards in the 1950s and was known for his tenacious defense. Mikkelsen entered Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota on a basketball scholarship at the age of 16. In his senior year, Mikkelsen led National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II in field goal percentage.
He would later receive a master"s degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota.
Mikkelsen played with George Mikan and Jim Pollard in the frontcourt of the Minneapolis Lakers. Mikkelsen played in six National Basketball Association All-Star Games and was named to the All-National Basketball Association Second Team four times in his career.
Mikkelsen ended his career after ten seasons in the National Basketball Association in 1959, having played in 699 of a possible 704 regular season games. He led the National Basketball Association in both personal fouls and disqualifications for three straight seasons during his career, and finished his career with 10,063 points scored.
Mikkelsen still holds the league record for career disqualifications with 127, which he did in only 631 games — disqualifications were not recorded in the National Basketball Association until his second season.
In 1956, Mikkelsen was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Basketball Hall of Fame. Mikkelsen later coached and was general manager of the Minnesota Pipers of the American Basketball Association.