Andrew Burcky has b
een both a coach and a legend. He was not “a” coach but “the” coach. Burcky out lasted, out lived, out story-told all college coaches in the Midwest.
Out of the cornfields of Illinois, from a place called Tiskilwa, he came to Bluffton at the end of World War I to be one of the craftiest baseball players in Bluffton’s history. One reads in the Ista of how this boy wonder, “Ziggy had the opposing batter eating out of his hands” or, even in defeat, “Ziggy pitched a stellar game but his support went fishing.”
He was from 1922 on through the 20s, 30s and 40s a one man athletic department. He coached football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, women’s basketball, taught all the physical education courses, served as trainer, was equipment manager and purchasing agent, directed the crews lining the field, handled publicity, arranged schedules, drove one of the cars loaded with players to away games and comforted the afflicted – all this without benefit of box to bench telephones, game films and assistant coaches.
There have been 
lean year and great years, like the 1924 basketball season with a 7-1 record in conference play and the first championship; the 1932 football season with the first championship; and one cannot forget about the great football team of 1936.
The addition to Founders Hall is named in Burcky’s honor. Coach Burcky’s wit and gift for story telling has endeared him to generations of Bluffton students. In the highly competitive world of intercollegiate sports he has embodied in his 44 years career at Bluffton the qualities of fairness, respect and integrity – every bit of him being professional.
An art major, Abe spent 10 years as a health and physical education teacher and an assistant and head basketball coach at four high schools in northeast Ohio. He compiled a 134-51 record before leaving education.
Al Beitler, Greenbelt, Md., was a member of the Bluffton baseball team from 1973-76. Beitler was a pitcher who also compiled what remains the second highest Bluffton batting average in a season, going 17-for-34 (.500) at the plate in 1976. Beitler earned first-team All-Hoosier-Buckeye Conference honors and was named to the NAIA All-District Team.
rved as president of the Varsity B Club.
fton captain recalled his greatest thrill as “racing down the court and throwing in a hook shot from the corner at the last second that gave the Beavers a one-point win over previously undefeated Defiance.”
She received her bachelor’s degree in 1968 with a major in elementary education and, in 1987, earned a master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University.
Smucker assisted in recruiting Elbert Dubenion to Bluffton. He said that is more memorable than his personal accomplishments, since Dubenion went on to become the most honored athlete in Bluffton history and a pro football player.
from Bluffton in 1956 with a music major and a physical education minor. He is recognized for his accomplishments in football, in which he earned All-Mid-Ohio League honors, and in track. 
r High School.
education, he was Bluffton’s leader in career assists (306) and among the top 10 in career scoring (1,192 points). He now ranks third in assists and 14th in scoring, as well as second in career steals (155). He is the only player in Bluffton history with at least 1,000 points, 300 assists and 150 steals.
) Bareiter was a four-year letter winner in volleyball, basketball and softball, and earned the Kathryn Little Award as the outstanding senior female athlete in 1983.
the time of his graduation in 1989, Hemmert held 24 school records. His career totals that still rank among the best in Bluffton football history include: 5,614 yards of total offense (fourth), 4,951 passing yards (fourth), 290 completions (fifth), a .522 completion percentage (seventh), 39 touchdown passes (second) and a pass efficiency rating of 141.1 (second).
Gilbert was a powerful attacker for Coach Kim Fischer’s volleyball teams from 1979-82, but was exceptional at all positions on the court. In her senior season, she was named first-team All-NAIA District 22 after leading Bluffton to the 1982 district championship and a 25-7 record. She led the team in kills (53), aces (13), serve reception percentage (.804) and digs (195) that season and was a team leader in almost every statistic throughout her four-year career.
00 points in four straight seasons. Gilbert twice led her team in assists and free throw percentage, and she is one of only a handful of juniors to serve as a Bluffton captain.
r’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University in 1952, was an educator for 36 years, eventually becoming principal of Midview High School.
duated in 1970, he had been named to the NAIA all-district baseball team twice and the all-district basketball team once. He finished college with eight athletic letters and received the A.C. Burcky Award as Bluffton’s outstanding senior male athlete.
l other colleges, but nowhere did I feel that the people in the campus environment were as interested in other people as at Bluffton,” he said.
Joining head football coach Carlin Carpenter’s staff as a strength and conditioning coach in 1988 in a voluntary capacity, Denny Phillips ’79 was promoted to assistant coach the following year. He dedicated 25 years to Beavers football and completed his final season in 2013 as the defensive backs coach. He also served as the special teams coordinator.
duated and became a United States citizen. He went to New York and attended the Master Institute of Roerich Museum–The School of United Artists, and was a student in the life class in the department of sculpture of the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design.
d a teacher, trustee and deacon. Tice has also belonged to the National and Pennsylvania State Education associations.
l education and recreation major at Bluffton who also holds a master’s degree from Marshall University—with a physical education major—and a principal’s certificate from Temple University.
at Bluffton, Elbert Dubenion, gained 4,734 yards rushing and averages 9.4 yards a carry. In 1960 he joined the Buffalo Bills for the first season of the American Football League. In his eight year career he caught 294 passes for 5,294 yards and 35 touchdowns. In one stretch, from 1961 to 1964, he caught passes in 42 consecutive games. A sportswriter wrote that he was “the most popular man on the team.”
is also the story of the injured Dubenion, sitting on the bench with Bluffton trailing. At halftime Dubenion asked Coach Ken Mast whether he could suit up. He went in for one play, scored the winning touchdown and returned to the bench, his day’s work done.
is senior class.
orr was a two-sport athlete at Bluffton. Knorr played football all four years and was named honorable mention all-conference in 1955. He was co-captain in 1956, when Bluffton won a conference title with Knorr starting at both fullback and defensive end. He also played baseball for the Beavers and was a two-year letter winner.
in opponents’ batting average (.216) and shutouts (tied, with nine); third in wins (38), strikeouts (365) and complete games (finishing all 64 games she started); and fourth in earned run average (
2.47). Also second on the fielding percentage list (.991) and a .286 hitter during her four years, Baker was named first-team all-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in both 1999 and 2000; Most Valuable Player of the 1999 HCAC tournament, won by Bluffton; and conference MVP during the Beavers’ second-place season in 2000.
State University.
A graduate of Shaker Heights High School near Cleveland, where he lettered in football and basketball and was an all-league standout, Collier was urged to attend Bluffton by another Shaker Heights student, Henry Freeman. He became a four-year football letter winner at Bluffton, earning Hoosier-Buckeye Collegiate Conference and NAIA District 22 honors twice. He also was an honorable mention All-American, played in