According to recently updated Blugold baseball statistics, Gary Paulson owns the best career batting average in school history, a lofty .416 average. He also owns the best career on base percentage at .522 and has the second-best career slugging percentage at .627.
The White Bear Lake, Minnesota native had a stellar three-year Blugold career after transferring from the University of Minnesota. In 84 career games, he had 116 hits with 19 doubles, five triples and 10 home runs. He had an unbelievable 62 to 29 walks to strikeout ratio.
His senior season in 1985 produced some nationally-ranked totals. He hit .500 in 28 games with 17 extra base hits for an .854 slugging percentage. He struck out just four times in 96 at bats. Paulson ranked nationally in the final NAIA stats in hitting (5th), hits per game (7th) and runs per game (13th). The 5-9, 180-pound outfielder was the team MVP after earning All-Conference and NAIA All-District 14 honors.
Despite playing only three seasons, Paulson holds the school career records for steals (43) and walks (62).
Paulson, who graduated in 1985 with a degree in business administration, is currently the Director of Parts & Service for the St. Paul, Minnesota-based MacQueen Equipment Group, which offers refuse, sewer, street and snow equipment along with a hydro-excavating rental fleet. Paulson has had a 29-year career as a sales, marketing and management professional in the paper, packaging and mechanical construction industries.
The White Bear Mariner high school athlete of the year in 1981 after earning All-State honors in football and baseball and starting on the hockey team, Paulson was inducted into his high school Hall of Fame in 2003. Following his graduation from UWEC, he played for the Eau Claire Cavaliers, earning team MVP honors as the leading hitter in 1985.
Paulson has served multiple terms as President and Vice President of the White Bear Girls Fastpitch Softball Association, coaching traveling and elite traveling teams. He also coached a top level traveling basketball team for the White Bear Basketball Association. He has also coached high school football for New Life Academy.
Paulson has been active in his church including Feed My Starving Children and World Vision and is also sponsoring a child from Mozambique, Africa.
Paulson and his wife Sherry have two daughters: Lindsay, 22; and Kasey, 21.