Dick Bruggeman: The Forgotten Ohio State Track & Field Legend
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Marion Elgin high school had only existed for three school years before they had their first legendary athlete graduate in 1965. Unbeknownst to them at the time, a future Olympian was roaming the halls going from class to class. Probably a more important title at the time, Dick Bruggeman was named co-prom king the spring of his senior year. The only problem him and fellow co-prom king Wayne Hastings had was whether they were going to run the mile relay at the distict championships or attend the dance which happening the same day.
Luckily for Marion Elgin, and this story, the teammates chose to compete at the track meet. They would go on to not just win the disctrict title, but also the regional and state championship. Their state title was the first for the newly formed rural high school. One that was previously four different school disctrict, one of which of which produced eleven track and field state champions.
As an individual, Dick Bruggeman finished fourth in the 120 yard high hurdles at the state meet. He finished behind Mike Thomas of Fairport Harding who was crowned the state champion. Larry Midlam of rival Marion Pleasant who would become an All-American at Michigan. And Miles Lowrey of Elmore would compete at Miami Ohio.
Also, he set four school records at Marion Elgin. He had both the high and low hurdles records, as well as, the mile relay and the 440yd dash records. His prowess on the track earned him an opportunity to compete at the next level. His choice, the Ohio State University.
Freshmen were not allowed to compete at the varsity level so 1966 was seen as a training year. In 1967 he was on the varsity squad and clocked season best times of 52.80 in the 440yd hurdles and a 49.10 split in the mile relay. He finished fourth in the 440yd hurdles at the Big Ten Championship and second at the All-Ohio meet. The man who came in first at All-Ohio? Mike Thomas, who defeated Bruggeman in the state championship hurdles in high school. Thomas was now Bruggeman’s teammate at Ohio State.
After a solid sophmore season it was clear Bruggeman was ready for a breakout 1968 season. Bruggeman got his first collegiate win in a tri-meet with Purdue and Illinois. The event he won? The indoor 600yd run. Not exactly what you would expect from a state qualifier in the high hurdles. However these middle distances proved to be Bruggeman’s best. That February he clocked a time of 49.7 in the 440yd dash. Just a week later he missed the school record in the 600yd by .04 of a second when he went 1:11.40. He would eventually run a 1:10.60 to set the school record.
That spring at the Ohio Relays, Bruggeman took down the meet record in the 440yd intermediate hurdles with a time of 52.40. He was now the top hurdler on the team. Even over teammate Mike Thomas. In early may Bruggeman would lower his time down to a 51.90 as he took first place in a tri-meet with arch rival Michigan and Purdue. The following week, a week before the Big Ten Championships, Bruggeman would set the Northwestern stadium record as he captured another hurdle victory.
The Big Ten track and field meet would be held at the University of Minnesota. Bruggeman would be the favorite coming in for the Buckeyes. He was Ohio State’s best hope to win an individual event. Bruggeman got out strong but so did Illinois’ John Sandeen. Coming down the home stretch, Bruggeman bursted over the last hurdle to catch up to and pass Sandeen to win the race by .1 of a second. Bruggeman would be joined by steeplechaser Mike Fischer as the only Buckeyes to win an outdoor title that season.
The next week at the All-Ohio meet Bruggeman soared to a meet record time of 52.8 seconds. Beating second place by 1.1. The man who finished in second? Miles Lowrey of Miami Ohio. Lowrey finished one spot ahead of Bruggeman at the state championship his senior year. Yet another competitor he has now out performed at the college level.
Bruggeman would compete at the NCAA championships but hit two hurdles which significantly hampered his time. He would be named Ohio State MVP, Most Improved and was the highest point scorer on the team.
The 1969 season saw Bruggeman be named team captain along with Marion Harding graduate Terry Green. Bruggeman had a solid indoor season but his outdoor season got off to a flying start.
Bruggeman opened up the first meet by winning the rare 330yd hurdles and by running a 47.10 second leg in the mile relay against Kentucky. The next race he set a meet record in the 440yd hurdles at the University Relays in Athens, Ohio with a time of 52.40. He followed that up with a win at the Ohio Relays and a runners-up finish at the famed Drake Relays.
At the Big Ten Championships Bruggeman equaled his lifetime best of 51.90 seconds. However, it was not enough to catch Wisconsin’s Pat Murphy who ran the race in 51.50 seconds. Bruggeman would turn around and anchor the mile relay team that would finish fourth but break the Ohio State school record in a time of 3:12.90.
Bruggeman would again finish the season as the high point scorer and team MVP.
Lucky for Bruggeman he still had one more season of indoor eligibilty left. He was named as captain once again for the 1970 indoor season. At his first meet he took the 600yd run out hard by running the first 220 yards in 22.70 seconds. Bruggeman got out hard to try and beat Olympian Kent Bernard. Bruggeman narrowly missed the win but still ran a time of 1:10.40 which was good enough to break his school record.
At the Ohio State Invitational Bruggeman would again break the school record while finishing runner-up. This time Bruggeman ran a blistering 1:09.70. Unfortunately the fast times but finishing runner-up would continue. At the Big Ten Championships Bruggeman would run an even faster time of 1:09.40 but finish runner-up to Michigan State’s Bill Wehrwein. He would break another indoor school record by running on the mile relay team which had a time of 3:15.40 to finish 3rd.
At the NCAA championships Bruggeman would earn All-American status by finishing fourth in 600yd run. Bruggeman would lose his eligibility at the end of March. He competed in three more outdoor meets to close out his Buckeye career. He won all three in the 440yd hurdles including the historic Florida Relays.
Bruggeman entered the Ohio Relays unattached and stormed to a 51.60 second time to break the meet and stadium record in the 440yd hurdles. He would then join the Ohio Track Club to continue his hurdling career at the “professional” amateur level.
He would finish out the 1970 season by running a personal best of 50.90 seconds and he would finish 5th at the USA championships.
Bruggeman competed not only across the country but across the world as one of the sports premier intermediate hurdlers. In 1972 he won the USA championship with a time of 50 seconds flat. This laid the groundwork for what would be one of the greatest 400m hurdle races ever up to that point. At the Olympic Trials Bruggeman flew to the fourth fastest time ever ran with a time of 48.60 seconds. What’s even crazier is that his time still wasn’t enough for first place. That went to Ralph Mann who ran a 48.40 to set the American record. Nontheless, Bruggeman punched his ticket to Munich and would officially become an Olympian and represent not only little Marion Elgin but also the entire country.
At the Munich games Bruggeman would finish 6th in his quaterfinal heat due to a hampering knee injury. Bruggeman would continue to compete in track and field through the 1976 season. He would race around the globe fueled only by his desire to compete and be the best he could possibly be. Towards the end of his career he would become outspoken about Olymic athlete funding and training practices in the United States as compared to other countries.
Bruggeman would be inducted into the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.
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