Tink Larson was a head coach for 50 years at the high school, American Legion, VFW and adult amateur levels. During most of those 50 years, Larson was the head coach of four programs during the year.
His retirement was short lived, as Larson joined the Minnesota State University coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2009.
Larson started his coaching career at age 19 when he was head coach of the American Legion, Babe Ruth and adult amateur teams in his hometown of Kasson, Minnesota.
Larson then served as head coach at Waseca High School for 35 years, head coach of American 7 Legion teams at Waseca and Kasson for 50 years, head coach of the Waseca VFW team(16U) for 42 years, and manager/coach of Waseca and Kasson amateur teams for over 40 years. Larson is still an assistant coach for five programs: Minnesota State University-Mankato, his alma mater, and the Waseca High School, American Legion, VFW and amateur teams.
During his 50 years as a head coach, Larson's teams won over 2500 games, including a high school state championship in 1990. His teams have won numerous championships. His high school teams have had over 75 players play college baseball and they have produced over 100 all-conference players, 15 all-state players, two high school All-Americans and eight professional players.
Larson was a Minnesota high school Coach of the Year twice and three times he was an ABCA National Coach of the Year finalist. He has been inducted into 11 Halls of Fame.
Not only has Larson been a head coach of over 4500 baseball games, he has also been very involved in other areas of the game. He is a past president of the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association. He has served on the state coaches association Delegate Assembly for over 30 years. He has been in charge of the state baseball coaches association's Junior Showcase since its inception in 2007. He has been the webmaster for the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association website.
Larson has been president of an adult amateur league for over 40 years and is commissioner of both the American Legion and VFW leagues in their respective districts. Larson was also director of summer recreation baseball programs in Waseca and Kasson for over 25 years and has been the head groundskeeper for the past 45 years at the city baseball field in Waseca that is named after him.
