Wendell Anderson played for the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1954, and won a silver medal in the 1956 Olympics, but his greatest fame came outside of sports. After the Olympics, Anderson entered the US Army where he served as an infantry officer in 1956-57, before entering the University of Minnesota Law School, from which he received an LL.B. in 1960. From then until 1970 he had a busy law practice in Minnesota, but he also became active in politics. In 1962 he was elected to the Minnesota Senate, and served until 1970. On 3 November 1970, Anderson was elected governor of Minnesota by a comfortable margin. He was re-elected governor in 1974 in a landslide victory. While in office, he expressed his concern for the environment and the family farmer by his support for new laws. He also signed into law several bills concerning judicial reform, and bills reforming existing laws on alcohol and drug use.
With the election of Walter Mondale as US Vice-President in 1976, Governor Anderson resigned to replace Mondale in the United States Senate. He served in the Senate until 29 December 1978, when he returned to the practice of law in Minnesota. Anderson had appointed himself to Mondale’s Senate seat, which angered the Minnesota populace, led to his defeat at the polls in 1978, and ended his political career. He attempted a comeback in 1984 but did not come close in Democratic primaries for governor. Anderson later practiced law briefly and had several business ventures.
United States