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2004 Inductee Milt Bruckner
 Milt
Bruckner set a standard of achievement in all sports he
participated in, and he has the distinction of being
Bellevue’s first-ever state champion in any sport.
A Bellevue Gazette article on July 7, 1949, summed it up
this way about Bruckner: “Milt, who is undoubtedly the
greatest athlete to be graduated from Bellevue High School,
was All-Ohio in track placing first in the half-mile
(one-tenth of a second off the state record) at 1:59.6. He
was Bellevue’s first individual state champion in track. He
was first team All-Ohio in football as an offensive end and
All-Ohio third team in basketball.”
Bruckner was awarded 14 letters during his high school
career, including three in football, three in basketball and
one minor letter in basketball, four in track, and one in
baseball in 1947. He also won two all-sports letters which
were major letters awarded for two years participation in
three sports. Bruckner added three trophies after being
named MVP in football, basketball and track.
After being crowned state champion in Columbus, Bruckner
joined three other runners and formed a mile relay team and
entered the Dayton A.C. Ohio A.A.U. Conference following the
state meet in 1949. The team won the event and earned a
trophy. The team flipped pennies and Bruckner won ownership
of the trophy and the penny since he was the only one coming
up with heads on the first flip.
If that wasn’t enough for any athlete to cram into four
years of high school, Bruckner added 23 medals from his
freshman year to his senior year. This included
participation in Bellevue Inter-Class, DeVillbis Relays,
Northern Ohio League meets, Miami University Relays, Ashland
Relays, and the Mansfield Relays.
The 23 medals won by Bruckner included four gold footballs,
gold basketballs, gold baseballs, and track emblems. The
baseballs were for his two years of play with the Junior
Legion Championship team in 1946 and 1947.
His track honors also included fourth place in the half mile
at Dayton, with three college men from Ohio State taking the
top three places; first place in the 880 at the OSU track
meet; first place in the mile relay in 1947; first place in
the mile relay in 1948; first place in the half mile in
1949; and first place in the mile in 1949 at the Mansfield
Relays.
Also, he was second in the mile relay in 1948 at the
Mansfield event; first in the 1 947 mile relay at Port
Clinton and first in the medley relay at the same meet;
first in the mile and mile relay at the 1948 Fremont Invite;
first in the mile relay and the half-mile in 1949 in
Fremont; first in the mile relay in Newark in 1949; first in
the DeVillbis mile relay in 1949; and first in the 880 in
1949 at the prestigious Miami University Relays with a time
of 1:59.6.
His four basketball medals were for the Redmen being crowned
NOL champions in 1947 and 1948, and for being runners-up in
the Sandusky District Tournaments in 1948 and 1949.
Kenny Sampson, BHS track coach, had high praise for Bruckner,
saying, “Without a doubt, Milt is the greatest competitive
athlete to come under my guidance.” |
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