Lowell Ziemann, Augsburg athlete, boys basketball coach and author, dies at 85

Lowell Ziemann, a two-sport standout at Augsburg who went on to coach two teams to the Minnesota boys basketball state tournament, died on May 24.

Ziemann, who lived in Gilbert, Ariz., was 85.

Ziemann, who played on the Fairmont (Minn.) High School basketball team that reached the state tournament in 1955, played baseball and basketball at Augsburg. In baseball, he was a starting pitcher who helped the Auggies earn the MIAC co-championship, with St. Thomas, in 1959.

After graduating from Augsburg, he began his coaching and teaching career at Paynesville, Minn., in 1960. After four seasons at Paynesville, he became the coach at Marshall, Minn. He led Marshall to the 1970 and 1974 state tournaments.

He retired from coaching in 1976 with a 226-116 record in 16 seasons.

Ziemann is a member of the Fairmont High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame.

After leaving teaching and coaching, he worked in the insurance industry and moved to Arizona in 1985. He authored at least a dozen collections of short stories under the pen name A.L. Shane.