Hall of Fame
Herbert E. Dierenfield excelled in football at Macalester and earned a total of six varsity letters. As a Macalester football player from 1914-16, Mr. Dierenfield played both offensive and defensive positions. He played on the 1915 Macalester team that was named City Champions and he was also selected as an All-State end that year.
One of Mr. Dierenfield's athletic highlights at Macalester was when he helped beat St. Thomas 6-0 during the 1916 football season. It was described as a close, hard-fought contest; Macalester won with only a few minutes remaining when Mr. Dierenfield caught a pass and ran 40 yards for the touchdown.
In addition to earning three letters in football, Mr. Dierenfield received three letters as a catcher on the Macalester baseball team. During the 1915 season, he was the team's top fielder with no errors and was a strong batter with a .270 average. He was named to the All-Conference baseball team for his efforts.
Off the playing field, Mr. Dierenfield was a good singer in the Glee Club, acted in several plays at Macalester, and was a member of the Athenian Society.
Mr. Dierenfield graduated from Macalester in 1917 with a degree in history. He spent 43 years as a minister in three large Presbyterian churches. His last church, at which he served for 26 years, was in Waterloo, Iowa, and was the state's largest Presbyterian Church with 2,600 members. Mr. Dierenfield was a moderator of the Iowa Synod-Presbyterian Church, member of the Board of Trustees for four colleges and two seminaries, and he was also president of the Waterloo Rotary Club. He also received several honorary degrees, one of which was a Doctorate of Divinity from Macalester.
Mr. Dierenfield died in 1962. His son Richard is chair and professor in the Education Department at Macalester.
