John Kurtt ’53
Waverly, Iowa
Kurtt came to Wartburg in 1961 after coaching high school boys basketball at New Hartford and in the St. Louis, Mo., area. He played in the first game in Knights Gymnasium as a freshman. As Wartburg’s athletic director, he applied one of the first coats of paints on the bleachers of Schield Stadium and helped former baseball coach Earnie Oppermann build the first baseball field on a site now occupied by the tennis courts. As a coach, he guided the Knights cross country program until 1982 and led the baseball program for 11 seasons. Kurtt ended his basketball assistant duties in 1980. The college’s Alumni Coach of the Year award is named in his honor. Kurtt was also instrumental in moving the women’s athletic program forward.