Joseph Seivold, Jr., a legendary lacrosse player who was dubbed the “60-Minute Midfielder” and inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1979, died of complications from dementia July 17 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida. He was 85.
“Joe was just a terrific player. He never came out of the game because he was busy breaking records all the time,” said Bill Tanton, former USA Lacrosse Magazine columnist and longtime sports editor for the Baltimore Evening Sun.
Seivold’s outstanding lacrosse career began as a student at Friends School in Baltimore where he made All-Maryland as a midfielder in 1953 and 1954. In his senior year, he was a member of the Maryland Scholastic Association championship team. At Friends, he was also quarterback for the football team and played basketball.
“No doubt, Joe was a great athlete and back then, Friends had top teams,” Tanton said.
After graduating from Friends in 1954, Seivold attended Washington (Md.) College, where he earned All-America lacrosse honors for four straight years and broke several scoring records, including a record setting 10-goal game as a senior in 1958.
Seivold finished with 167 career goals and 60 assists. In 1957, he was selected to be a member of the Laurie Cox Division All-Star Team and in 1958, he played for the South in the North-South All-Star Game.
Seivold earned the moniker of “60-Minute Midfielder” during his days at Washington College for often playing the full 60 minutes of every game. He also played basketball and soccer and ran track in college.
After graduating college in 1958, Seivold continued playing for 13 years for the Mount Washington Lacrosse Club, and from 1974 to 1976, he coached the club and claimed two championships. In 1974, Seivold coached the victorious South team in the Club All-Star Game.
"Joe was a respectful man of tremendous humility and passion for the game as both a player and a coach," said Skip Lichtfuss, a fellow member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame who played under Seivold's leadership at Mount Washington. "Joe was a fierce competitor who was widely regarded as the last of the 60-minute midfielders.”
From 1961 to 1975, Seivold served as the lacrosse coach at Park School in Baltimore, and in 1967, he was a member of the U.S. Team which won the Lally Cup in Toronto, Canada.
Even in retirement, Seivold stayed closely connected to the sport he loved.
“He followed our lacrosse careers at Gilman and Carolina,” said his son, Joseph W. Seivold, also a standout lacrosse player who joined his father in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2020. “He also followed his grandchildren’s lacrosse careers.”
Seivold is survived by another son, Gary; a brother, Alfred, and a sister, Alice; as well as grandchildren and a great-grandson. Sarah, his wife of 52 years, died in 2010.
A celebration of life gathering and reunion of family and friends will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at Seivold’s longtime home in Parkton, Md. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to jdseivold@gmail.com.
