Rich Petersson was the co-recipient of the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association's 2016 Jim Dimick Retired Coach Award. Petersson accepted the award at the MSHSBCA's annual Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis on October 29, 2016.

According to the banquet's booklet, "Rich was the baseball coach for 14 years at Proctor High School from 1977 to 1990. His career record was 131-110 and he is the winningest baseball coach in school history. His teams won three Lake Superior Conference titles [1977, 1980, 1981]. Rich's teams from 1979 to 1982 won 22 conference games in a row. He had five sub-region championships. They were Region 7AA runner-up in 1978, 1982, and 1984. Many of his players went on to play college baseball. Rich also coached the girls' basketball team in Proctor for 25 seasons, playing in two state tournaments. In 2008, he was inducted into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame."

Petersson shared the Dimick Award honor with C. Leroy Erickson, who coached at Buffalo High School for 16 years before retiring in 2008. The award is named for Jim Dimick, who coached at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., from 1967 to 1994. Dimick compiled a record of 589 wins and 259 losses (a .694 winning percentage) with 14 conference championships and 13 NCAA Regional Tournament berths in 27 years.

The MSHSBCA's Section 7AA Representative, Rails pitching coach Anthony Bush, nominated Petersson for the award. Among the attendees at the banquet were Bush, Rails head coach Kyle Wojtysiak, two of Petersson's former players: Nik Peterson and Mike Woods, PHS graduate Juliana Hulstrom, and Petersson's sister and niece.

Proctor American Legion Post 106, Proctor Teachers Union Education Minnesota, Proctor Rails Baseball, Proctor 1981 Baseball Team, Rails Baseball '89, and Proctor Public Schools each contributed an advertisement in the banquet booklet to congratulate Petersson.

(Photo courtesy of MSHSBCA)