**PLEASE RSVP HERE ASAP**

SAINT PAUL, MINN.—Please join us on Saturday, September 14 at 3 p.m. in the Kay Fredericks Room in Klas Center as we honor the legacy Duane Benson "67 by retiring #50 for Hamline Football! Watch the Pipers take on Minnesota Morris after the event at 6 p.m. at Klas Field. RSVP AT THE LINK ABOVE!!!!

Benson '67 was one of the greatest athletes in Hamline history. A HU Hall of Fame inductee, Benson earned four letters in football, track & field, and served as the team's captain. He was named MVP of the MIAC in 1966, helping Hamline go 6-1 and winning our first conference football title in 45 seasons.

After graduating from Hamline, Duane Benson '67 went on to play for ten years in the NFL as a linebacker in Oakland, Houston, and Atlanta. In his five years with the Oakland Raiders, he was selected as the Outstanding Defensive Player four times. Elected a captain of the Raiders in 1971, he played with the team in four playoff games, two league championships, and one Super Bowl. Duane Benson was inducted in the 1970 edition of Outstanding Young Man of America.

In addition to his professional football career, Benson spent four decades in public services in a variety of roles, including time in the Minnesota State Senate, the Minnesota Business Partnership, and was a founding member of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the public body that built and now operates U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.