View source for Harold Paulsen

{{short description|American ice hockey player and coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
'''Harold W. "Babe" Paulsen''' (March 3, 1919, in [[Virginia, Minnesota]] – May 11, 2010, in Mankato, Minnesota) was a former collegiate ice hockey player and head coach.

Paulsen played hockey at the [[University of Minnesota]] from 1938 to 1941 and was an [[All-American]] in 1940 at left wing alongside teammate [[John Mariucci]]. He was team captain as a senior in 1940-1941, finishing his career as [[Minnesota Golden Gophers|Gopher]] hockey's all-time leading scorer, a record that would hold for the next 15 years.  He was selected for the 1940 U.S. Olympic Hockey team, but due to World War II those games were cancelled.

With boyish looks, and a small stature, Paulsen earned the nickname "Babe" during his playing days in high school and college.

Following college, Paulsen signed a professional contract with the [[Chicago Blackhawks|Chicago Black Hawks]], but never made it to Chicago. He coached the [[Roseau High School]] Rams varsity hockey team before joining the Navy during World War II. Paulsen returned to Minnesota after the war and completed a master's degree in education. He coached the varsity ice hockey program at [[Thief River Falls, Minnesota|Thief River Falls]] High School.

Paulsen was hired as the first varsity ice hockey coach at [[Michigan State University]] on August 1, 1948. Before recruiting or coaching, Paulsen oversaw the renovation of [[Demonstration Hall]] into an indoor rink with artificial ice-making capabilities. Paulsen struggled through his first two years at Michigan State with a 6–25 record. MSU athletic director [[Ralph H. Young]] felt the hockey program's progress was inadequate and Paulsen resigned after the 1951 season.

Following his coaching career, Paulsen earned a doctorate in physical education from the [[University of Michigan]]. He continued teaching health education courses at Michigan State. In 1956 he left Michigan State to become athletic director at Slippery Rock State Teachers College in Pennsylvania, now [[Slippery Rock University]]. Paulsen moved on to teach physical education at Mankato State College, now [[Minnesota State University, Mankato]], until his retirement in 1988.

In 2001, Paulsen was among 50 former Gopher hockey players honored by the University of Minnesota as "Legends on Ice."

Paulsen's last name is commonly misspelled Paulson in many hockey publications.

== Head coaching record ==
{{CBB Yearly Record Start
|type = coach
|conference =
|postseason =
|poll = 
}}
{{CIH yearly record subhead
|name       = [[Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey|{{color|white|Michigan State Spartans}}]]
|color      = color:white; background:#18453B
|startyear  = 1949
|conflong   = NCAA Division I independent schools (ice hockey)
|conference = Independent
|endyear    = 1951
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = 1949-50
 | name         = Michigan State
 | overall      = 0-14-0
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = 1950-51
 | name         = Michigan State
 | overall      = 6-11-0
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
|overall    = 6-25-0
|conference =  
}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930200847/http://www.mndaily.com/daily/1995/10/31/sports/col31.col/ All-Americans Share a Bond]

{{Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulsen, Harold}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Virginia, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Ice hockey people from St. Louis County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:American men's ice hockey left wingers]]
[[Category:Michigan State Spartans ice hockey coaches]]
[[Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players]]
[[Category:Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota]]
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players from Minnesota]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]