Earle Bruce (actor)
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Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player and coach. He served as the head coach at the
University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...
(1972),
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
(1973–1978),
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
(1979–1987), the
University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
(1988), and
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
(1989–1992), compiling a career
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
record of 154–90–2. At Ohio State, Bruce succeeded the legendary
Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951 ...
and won four
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
titles. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
as a coach in 2002. Bruce returned to coaching in 2001 to helm the
Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa) ...
of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
for a season and also later guided the
Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fold ...
.


As a player and player/coach

Earle played for the Campers of
Allegany High School Allegany High School is a public high school in the Allegany County, Maryland, city of Cumberland, United States. Allegany High is part of Allegany County Public Schools. Allegany High School was built as Allegany County High School in 1887, h ...
in
Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its s ...
. Bruce was recruited as a fullback at the Ohio State University by head coach
Wes Fesler Wesley Eugene Fesler (June 29, 1908 – July 30, 1989) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and basketball. He was a three-sport athlete at Ohio State University and a consensus first-team selection to ...
. He played on the OSU freshman team in 1950, but before he could join the varsity team in 1951 he suffered a torn
meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...
, ending his football playing career. Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes asked Bruce to join the coaching staff, which he did until his graduation in 1953. He was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity while attending Ohio State.


Coaching career

Bruce accumulated a collegiate coaching record of 154–90–2 with five different universities. Preceding that, Bruce was one of the most successful
high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
coaches in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
history, accumulating a record of 82–12–3 in 10 seasons of
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
ing positions with three Ohio high schools. He led four different college teams to
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
s, where he had a 7–5 record.


High school coaching

Upon graduating from Ohio State, Bruce accepted a position as an assistant coach at Mansfield High School in
Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The city ...
. In 1956, Bruce accepted his first head coaching position, at Salem High School in
Salem, Ohio Salem is the largest city in Columbiana County, Ohio, with a small district in southern Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 11,915. It is the principal city of the Salem micropolitan area in Northeast Ohio. It is 18 m ...
. Over the next four seasons, he led the Quakers to a record of 28–9. From 1960 until 1963, Bruce coached the Blue Streaks at
Sandusky High School Sandusky High School (SHS) is a secondary school in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Sandusky City School District, and one of two high schools in the city of Sandusky; the other high school is St Mary Central Cat ...
,
Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...
. He compiled a record at Sandusky of 34–3–3.
Massillon High School Washington High School, commonly referred to as Massillon High School or Massillon Washington High School, is a 9th to 12th grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District in the city of Massillon, Ohio, United States. The scho ...
then hired Bruce as head coach, where his teams went undefeated in 1964 and 1965. Though the Massillon Tigers have gained national fame for their football teams over the years, Bruce remains the only undefeated head football coach in Massillon High School history.


College coaching

On the strength of his success at Massillon, Bruce returned to Ohio State in 1966 as a position coach for the
offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
and later
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
s. After five seasons the
University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...
brought Bruce on as head coach in 1972. During what would be his only season, Tampa went 10–2, including a win in the Tangerine Bowl. Bruce moved into the head coaching position at
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
following his success at Tampa. Iowa State experienced some success in six seasons with Bruce as head coach, including the third and fourth bowl appearances in school history. He is the only coach in modern times to leave Iowa State with a winning record. In 2000, Iowa State inducted Bruce into their school hall of fame, named the Louis Menze Hall of Fame.


Ohio State

After Woody Hayes was fired from Ohio State, Bruce was offered that head coaching position. Bruce was Ohio State's head coach from 1979 to 1987. In Bruce's first year, Ohio State went undefeated in the regular season and played in the Rose Bowl, losing the game—and at least a share of the national championship—by a single point. The Buckeyes would win at least nine games in each of Bruce's first eight years, including a 10-win season in 1986. They also won or shared three more Big Ten titles (outright in 1984, shared in 1981 and 1986). However, they would only appear in one more Rose Bowl (after the 1984 season–Ohio State's last Rose Bowl appearance until after the 1996 season) and would only tally one more top ten finish (in 1986). This rankled a fan base used to contending for a national title every year. In 1987, Ohio State was sent reeling when star receiver
Cris Carter Graduel Christopher Darin Carter (born November 25, 1965) is an American former American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990 ...
was kicked off the team for signing with an agent. Without Carter, the school's all-time leader in receptions, the Buckeyes appeared to be a rudderless team. They lost to Indiana for the first time in 38 years, with Bruce calling the loss “the darkest day in Ohio State football”, and never recovered. Ultimately, the Buckeyes suffered their first non-winning record in Big Ten play since 1966, and only their sixth non-winning conference record since the end of World War II. Bruce was fired on November 16, just prior to the last game of the season—against Michigan—but was allowed to finish out the year. Athletic director
Rick Bay Richard M. Bay (born 1941 or 1942) is a former American football player, Wrestling, wrestler, college athletics administrator, Major League Baseball executive. He was a football player and wrestler at the University of Michigan from 1961 to 1965. ...
resigned rather than carry out the order to fire Bruce. School president
Edward H. Jennings Edward Harrington Jennings (February 18, 1937 – August 10, 2019) was a professor in finance and University President at University of Wyoming and The Ohio State University. Career Jennings holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management fro ...
would not say what the reason was for Bruce's dismissal, while Bruce noted his displeasure with the firing, saying "I don’t particularly care for the president. I don’t care for some members of the Board of Trustees, but I have no selection in that. I guess the best way to explain it is, they’re not my kind of guys, that’s all, my kind of people. Probably, that’s why I’m fired, because I’m not their kind.” Bruce was able to defeat Michigan at
Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
, assuring them of a .500 conference record. After the game,
Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...
told Bruce, "I always mind losing to Ohio State but I didn't mind so much today." Bruce filed a lawsuit against Ohio State after being fired. 12 days after his firing, Bruce won an out-of-court settlement for $471,000, with both Bruce and Jennings writing apology statements and agreeing not to make detrimental comments or alter the deal.


After Ohio State

Bruce was the leading candidate to replace
Bob Valesente Bob Valesente (born July 19, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at Ithaca College and spent more than 35 years as a football coach. He was the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks football team from 19 ...
as head coach of the
Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...
after the 1987 season, but due to a contract dispute, KU did not hire him. KU instead hired
Glen Mason Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is a former American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a re ...
out of Kent State. Bruce took over the head coaching position at the
University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
for one year, and then finished his intercollegiate coaching career at
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
. In his second season, he led the Rams to a winning record and a victory over Oregon in the
Freedom Bowl The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994. The bowl frequently invited a team from the Western Athletic Conference to compete against an at-large opp ...
, their first bowl appearance since 1948 and their first bowl victory ever. However, this did not last, and the Rams would only win a total of eight games in the next two years. Bruce was fired after the 1992 season for, among other things, verbally and physically abusing his players and discouraging players from taking classes that conflicted with football practice. In his final season at Fort Collins, he coached the Rams to a 17-14 victory over
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
. Five years earlier, his final Ohio State team played
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
to a 13-13 tie in Tiger Stadium in a nationally televised game. After Colorado State, he moved on to the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
, where he coached the Cleveland Thunderbolts in 1994 and the
St. Louis Stampede The St. Louis Stampede were a professional arena football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was a member of the Pacific Division (AFL), Central Division of the American Conference, in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Stampede compet ...
in 1995 and 1996 before retiring.


Return to coaching and later life

In 2003, Bruce came out of retirement to coach the final ten games for the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's
Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa) ...
, guiding them to a 7–3 record. In 2004, Bruce returned to Ohio to become the head coach for the
Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fold ...
, who were moving from Buffalo to
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
that year. He retired to a front office position after coaching the Destroyers to a 6–10 record in 2004, and was replaced as head coach by
Chris Spielman Charles Christopher Spielman (born October 11, 1965) is a former American football player and is a special assistant to the owner and CEO for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played linebacker at Ohio State University, w ...
, who played for Bruce at
Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
. Bruce finished with a 19–25 record over four seasons in the AFL. Thereafter, Bruce worked as an Ohio State football analyst for
WTVN WTVN (610 AM) – branded as "News Radio 610 WTVN" – is a commercial talk radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves the Columbus metro area. The WTVN studios area located in Downtown Columbus, and it ...
610AM in Columbus as well an analyst for
ONN {{Table Oghamletters Onn is the Irish name of the seventeenth letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚑ, meaning "ash-tree", which is related to Welsh ''onn(en)'', from the root was *''ōs-, *osen'' 'ash'. Its phonetic value is The letter's Bríatharo ...
on their OSU programming. On October 1, 2016, Bruce was honored during the Rutgers-Ohio State halftime and dotted the "i" during
Script Ohio Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of hand ...
. In his private life, Bruce was married with four children. It was revealed, on August 25, 2017, that Bruce was in the early stages of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
. His death from complications of that disease was announced by his family on April 20, 2018.


Head coaching record


College


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Earle 1931 births 2018 deaths American football running backs Cleveland Thunderbolts coaches Colorado State Rams football coaches Columbus Destroyers coaches Iowa Barnstormers coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Northern Iowa Panthers football coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football players Tampa Spartans football coaches High school football coaches in Ohio College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Cumberland, Maryland St. Louis Stampede coaches Coaches of American football from Maryland Players of American football from Maryland