Four pictures were added to the Denison High School Distinguished Alumni gallery in the Fine Arts Center lobby in December.

The photos of Gordon Locke, Dr. James Christensen, Bernie Saggau and Brandon Scherff joined those of Clarence D. Chamberlin, Donna (Mullenger) Reed and Dr. James Hanson, which were the first three photos to be displayed in the gallery.

The Denison High School Distinguished Alumni gallery is a project of the Denison Alumni Association. The criteria to be included in the gallery is to be a Denison High School graduate who is known nationwide in a positive light.

Gordon Locke, 1898-1969, a 1917 graduate, was a two-time all-American football player from the University of Iowa. He was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1958 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1960. In 1989, University of Iowa fans selected an all-time Hawkeyes football team for the 100th anniversary celebration of Iowa football; Locke was selected to the defensive backfield. Additionally, in 1999, Sports Illustrated selected Locke as the 20th greatest sports figure in the history of Iowa.

According to the information from the University of Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, Locke was a second team all-American selection in 1921 and a consensus first team all-American selection in 1922. He was a first team all-Big Ten fullback in 1921 and 1922, set a Big Ten scoring record in 1922, was awarded a conference medal for excellence in scholarship and athletics in 1923, was captain of the 1922 football team, was a member of the undefeated conference championship teams in 1921 and 1922, and a was member of the National Football Hall of Fame and Helms Foundation Hall of Fame.

According to his obituary published in the Denison Bulletin, Locke went on to become an attorney and practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1926-1939. In 1939 he moved to Washington, D.C. where he served as attorney in the Interstate Commerce Commission’s (ICC) bureau of motor carriers; he became assistant chief counsel for the ICC in 1943.

Locke was enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War I and was an Army Air Corps major in the African theater during World War II.

Dr. James Christensen, 1937-2016, a 1955 graduate, was president and host of “The Heaven & Home Hour” for 38 years. The program is a Christian-centered radio show that is broadcast daily on WGS radio.

He served on the board of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) from 1987 through 2004 and was the president of the Western Chapter of NRB.

According to his obituary, he was primarily raised by his grandparents on a farm in Denison.

He lettered in multiple sports, including baseball, and played minor league baseball for the Red Sox.

He lived in La Crescenta, California, for 25 years where he was a radio minister and acting interim pastor for a number of churches and a senior pastor at San Gabriel Union Church.

He earned the following degrees: bachelor of arts from the University of La Verne, California; Bachelor of Arts in Ministry from Berean Christian College and Seminary; Master of Arts from Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary; Doctor of Divinity from Berean Christian College and Seminary; Doctor of Ministry from California Graduate School of Theology; Doctor of Philosophy California Graduate School of Theology; teacher’s diploma from Evangelical Teacher Training Association; and Fellow at California Graduate School of Theology.

Christensen was also an honorary member and chaplain for the 8th Armored Division, liaison to graduate students at Talbot Theological Seminary and guest speaker at many camps and evangelical events and schools. He taught young men seeking to become ministers in Singapore for the Asia Evangelistic Fellowship and led tours to the Holy Land and visited more than 35 countries around the world.

Bernie Saggau, born in 1928, a 1946 graduate, served as executive secretary of the Iowa High School Athletic Association for 38 years.

His narrative on the Distinguished Alumni gallery says, “His impact on the landscape of Iowa high school activities is far reaching: establishing a football playoff system and basketball classification, fostering the nation’s largest state wrestling and track meets, opening doors for soccer programs, and creating the Iowa Hall of Pride.

The Iowa Hall of Pride transitioned to a digital format in 2022 with the launch of the IHSAA online program, Achieve.

Saggau was inducted into the Officials Hall of Fame in 1977.

His biography on his speaker’s web page lists the following jobs and honors: high school and college basketball and football referee for more than 30 years, past president of the National Federation of State High School Associations, chairperson for the National Basketball Rules Committee for eight years, served on the Football Rules Committee for 25 years, was appointed to the United States Olympic House of Delegates Committee, recipient of the National High School Coaches Distinguished Award, and recipient of the Award of Merit from the National High School Athletic Directors Association.

In 1989 the IHSAA established The Bernie Saggau Award, which honors an outstanding citizen athlete in every one of the high schools in Iowa.

In 2016 he was named as the 222nd member of the Des Moines Sunday Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

He served as the supervisor of Big Eight basketball officials for seven years, beginning in 1982. Before that he was a Big Eight basketball official for 17 years.

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Brandon Scherff, born 1991, a 2010 graduate, is an offensive guard for the National Football League Jacksonville Jaguars after playing for the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders) for seven seasons from 2015 to 2021. He was drafted by Washington as the fifth pick in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft.

He was named All-Pro by the Associate Press in 2020.

Scherff was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

In 2021 he was named to the NFL’s list of the top 100 players.

Scherff played football at the University of Iowa. He was redshirted in 2010 and played from 2011 to 2014.

According to his bio on the University of Iowa Hawkeyes web page, Scherff started all 26 games in his final two seasons at left tackle and had 36 career starts. He started the first seven games of the 2012 season before an injury prevented him from playing in the remainder of the season’s games. He was one of five seniors named to the 2014 Leadership Group and was a member of the Leadership Group for four consecutive years.

In 2014 he won the Outland Trophy, was a unanimous consensus all-America, was named the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Big Ten Conference and was a first team all-America selection by the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, and a number of other media organizations. He was named first team All-Big Ten for the second straight season and was one of 12 semifinalists for the 2014 Rotary Lombardi Award.

Previous Distinguished Alumni honorees

Clarence D. Chamberlin, 1895-1976, 1912 graduate, was an American aviation pioneer. He was the second man to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. He was joined on the flight by the first transcontinental passenger.

Donna (Mullenger) Reed, 1921-1986, 1938 graduate, was an American film and television actress and producer. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her role as Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life. In 1953 she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She starred in The Donna Reed Show on television from 1958-1966.

Dr. James Hanson, born in 1941, a 1959 graduate, is best known for his research in climatology. From 1981-2013 he was the head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, a part of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. As of 2014, Hansen directs the Program on Climate Science Awareness and Solutions at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

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