Delver Daly

Upcoming Events

Schedule

No upcoming events at this time

Delver Daly
Class of 2007
Gymnastics
1939-41

In the 104-year history of University of Minnesota men’s gymnastics, only 11 Golden Gophers have captured an individual event NCAA Championship. Delver “Del” Daly became one of the Maroon and Gold’s first national champions in 1941 when he took home the flying rings title. Since then, only one other Golden Gopher Ken Bartlett in 1953 has captured an NCAA crown on the rings.

Daly, a Minneapolis native, starred for the Maroon and Gold from 1939, leading Minnesota to top five NCAA finishes in three consecutive national meets. In 1939, he won the Big Ten flying rings title to help the Golden Gophers to a runner-up finish at the conference championships. At the NCAA meet, Daly captured his first career All-America accolade with a third-place finish in the high bar. His showing helped Minnesota finish fifth in the nation that season.

During the 1940 campaign, Daly paced the Golden Gophers to their seventh Big Ten Championship, becoming only the sixth Minnesota gymnast to capture the Big Ten all-around crown. The Maroon and Gold then parlayed its conference title into a third-place showing at the NCAA Championships.

As a co-captain, Daly wrapped up his career at Minnesota in 1941 as the Golden Gophers finished as runners-up at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. Daly added another national title and All-America honor to his list of accomplishments, taking home the flying rings championship.

Daly graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in education and was inducted into the Minneapolis Edison High School Hall of Fame. He served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a Communications Officer aboard three different ships, and was released from duty in December 1945. Daly remained involved with the U.S. Naval Ready Reserve and was recalled to active duty in August 1951 during the Korean War. He retired from the Navy Reserve in 1979 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Daly taught physical education at St. Louis Park for 37 years, retiring in 1983. Daly was active in the teacher union movement and served a number of terms as President of the St. Louis Park Federation of Teachers.

M Club Hall of Fame

Upcoming Events

University of Minnesota Athletics

Related Videos