ST. CLOUD — St. Cloud State University Hall of Fame pitcher and quarterback Greg Thayer died on Friday, Dec. 12, at the CentraCare — St. Cloud Hospital.
Memorial services for Thayer will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, at Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Sauk Rapids. Thayer, 76, lived in Sauk Rapids.
Thayer, a 1968
High School graduate, played football and baseball for three years at
before signing a professional baseball contract with the San Francisco Giants in 1971. He ended up playing professional baseball for the next 10 years and made it to the majors with the Minnesota Twins in 1978.
A photo of St. Cloud Tech quarterback Greg Thayer, who started for the Tigers in the 1967 season. This image was taken from a September 1967 edition of the St. Cloud Daily Times.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
In a feature on the 1967 Tech football team that was published on Dec. 4, 2024, on St. Cloud LIVE, Thayer said playing on that team was his second favorite sports memory, outside of making his debut for the Twins. Thayer graduated from St. Cloud State with a degree in marketing in 1976.
“It’s right up there with pro ball,” Thayer said. “Getting introduced at a big league stadium, that’s a thrill of a lifetime. I waited my whole life to get to that level. But that whole senior year was special. We were ranked in basketball the entire year, too. It was all about playing with my buddies — the camaraderie. We played really good teams and played as good of a schedule as you could find.”
Following his playing career, he contributed to the Sauk Rapids sports community as a baseball coach for many years.
According to
Thayer is survived by his son and daughter, Andy (RaeAnne) Thayer of Golden Valley; Stephanie (Paul) Schlangen of Sauk Rapids; grandsons, Frederick and Walter Schlangen; and brother, Jeff (Kathy) Thayer of Spring Lake Park.
He is preceded in death by his parents and wife Christine.
The 1967 St. Cloud Tech football team was captained by (from left to right) Greg Thayer, Kevin Hamm and Bruce Hentges. This image was taken from Tech’s 1968 yearbook. The Tigers finished 8-1 that season and ranked No. 3 in the state.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
Andy Rennecke is sports editor for St. Cloud LIVE. He focuses on writing in-depth high school and college features for the St. Cloud metro area (including Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Joseph) and for the ROCORI, Albany, Foley and Holdingford School Districts. Send him story ideas or feedback at andy@stcloudlive.com.