The idea was not original. In fact, it was an idea born in the bleacher seats at a Hamline-St. Thomas basketball game in 1960. As Jack Campbell, former Anoka High School basketball coach and athletic director, and Jack Blesi, Anoka County Union sports editor at the time, watched college basketball, the conversation got around to reunions and organizations. Campbell spoke of the good time former athletes of St. Paul Central High School had at a lettermen’s reunion that year and wondered aloud with Blesi whether such a thing could be pulled off in Anoka.

The two agreed that Anoka High School athletics had tradition that went back decades. Also, most of those who wore the letter “A” during their Anoka High School days were still loyal supporters of this athletic tradition which, indeed, deserved some form of recognition.

Blesi took it from there.

Rallying support from former Anoka High School lettermen who graduated during his era in the 1950s, including two individuals who were significant community leaders-Charlie, Sell and Wayne Wallace-and garnering ideas and help from those athletes who played at Anoka in the 1940s, 1930s, and even the mid-1920s, the Anoka A Club took shape in the form of a reunion banquet. The Minnesota Vikings’ first draft choice, Tommy Mason, spoke, dinner was served, and the former athletes who attended shared the unique camaraderie.

There were few pretenses from the very beginning. The A Club was not a political action committee or a booster club. In a manner of speaking from the perspective of the 1960s, it was an annual club for the boys of Anoka High School sports. The main requirements were simple; you had to be male and an Anoka athletic letter-winner. This was an exclusive group.

The annual banquet proceeded with great success through the 1960s, achieving its objective of re-uniting, story-telling, and recognizing the success of friends who had one great thing in common: Anoka High School Athletics and Academics.

Starting in 1967, the objectives of this group began to broaden into something beyond a reunion. The leaders of the A Club organization recognized that this forum of passionate alumni could be the foundation of support in the form of scholarships to graduating Anoka Senior Athletes. The First Scholarship was awarded in memory of a deceased member and former all-around athlete, Everett Vevea. It was more of a recognition award, citing not just the best athletes of the year but the individual whose overall contributions to Anoka High School teams were significant in the areas of leadership’ citizenship, scholastic achievement, and athletic ability.

The first few scholarships were $ 100 – the leftover money raised from the club’s annual banquet.

Though the A Club has a personality in itself, there are several individual personalities who made it go since 1960. Certainly, Jack Blesi kicked this whole idea off. Another is Carl Youngquist, a 1960 Anoka High School graduate, letterman, and 2016 inductee to the Anoka High School Hall of Fame. Carl served as a leader and Club Chairman for the majority of the A Club’s first half-century of existence.

Additionally, Billy Bye, a former great Anoka High School and University of Minnesota athlete contributed greatly to the success of the A Club. Billy served as the traditional master of ceremonies at the banquet. Bye also had invaluable connections with the professional sports world and the University of Minnesota. These connections helped the committee each year in search of a keynote speaker. In honor of Billy Bye, the Billy Bye Memorial Fund was created. The funds raised, largely through the A Club, aim to support students who need financial assistance and are unable to participate and gain the benefits that school activities provide.