Hall of Fame coach dead at 87
Former Ohio State football coach Earle Bruce has died at the age of 87, the university announced Friday.
The cause of death was not stated, but Bruce was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last August.
His daughters, Lynn, Michele, Aimee and Noel, released a statement Friday morning through the school: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Coach Earle Bruce, early this morning, Friday, April 20. He was a great man, a wonderful husband, father and grandfather, and a respected coach to many. Our family will miss him dearly, but we take solace in the belief that he is in a better place and reunited with his beloved wife, Jean. We thank you for your prayers and good wishes.”
Bruce succeeded his coach and mentor, Woody Hayes, in 1979 and led the Buckeyes to four Big Ten Conference championships.
Our thoughts are with the Bruce family as we remember the life of a great Buckeye and man, Coach Earle Bruce.https://t.co/RZKpCCyTU4 pic.twitter.com/fRyv06njYm
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 20, 2018
Bruce’s first college head coaching job was at the University of Tampa, where he went 10-2 in 1972, his only season there.
He went on to Iowa State, where he won 36 games and led the team to bowls in 1977 and 1978.
We lost a Cyclone legend today in Earle Bruce at the age of 87. #RIP #CyclONEnation
📄https://t.co/UCygxmSD31 pic.twitter.com/3mrReDCDQY
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) April 20, 2018
OSU fired Bruce before the last game of the 1987 season when the Buckeyes were 5-4-1. He was allowed to coach the team’s last game of the season, and Ohio State beat archrival Michigan in Ann Arbor 23-20.
Bruce coached the University of Northern Iowa in 1988, and then finished his career at Colorado State University. In his second season there, he led the Rams to the first bowl victory in school history.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003, the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000 and the OSU Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Current Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer paid tribute to Bruce on Friday.
“I’ve made it clear many times that, other than my father, Coach Bruce was the most influential man in my life,” said Meyer, whose first collegiate coaching job was as a graduate assistant for Bruce in 1986. “Every significant decision I’ve made growing up in this profession was with him involved in it. His wife [Jean] and he were the role models for Shelley and me. They did everything with class. He was not afraid to show how much he loved his family and cared for his family.”
Others honored the coach on Twitter.
#RIP #EarleBruce Coach Bruce gave me the opportunity to learn football fundamentals and spend time with one of college football's greatest coaches. As a student asst. I edited the days game film & studied it at night with Coach Bruce. I was honored to drive him to engagements. pic.twitter.com/Fe3CSMQIQQ
— Dan Shonka (@Ourlads_Shonka) April 20, 2018
What is your enduring image of Coach Earle Bruce? This is mine, because it shows his toughness, perseverance, competitiveness and joy, coaching the team and university he loved to victory over the opponent he both respected and loathed. pic.twitter.com/rPDu5WjrAI
— Bruce Hooley (@BHOOLZ) April 20, 2018
He was so awesome, so incredibly kind. Phenomenal coach.
— Tammy (@trekflowert) April 20, 2018
Bruce wasn’t the first in his family to battle Alzheimer’s. His father and two of his sisters died from the disease.
Because of that, Bruce and his late wife, Jean, worked diligently raising funds for Alzheimer’s research. More than $1 million has being raised for the Earle and Jean Bruce Alzheimer’s Research Fund in Neurology at Ohio State, according to the Wexner Medical Center.
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