COLUMBUS, Ohio — He was recruited by Wes Fesler, he succeeded Woody Hayes and he mentored Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel. Earle Bruce was fired by Ohio State 31 years ago in an exit so ugly he sued the school for $7 million. Friday, he died at age 87 as the heart of the Ohio State football program, a connector across generations for the team that binds together this state. Only someone both as tenacious and as soft as Bruce, as stubborn and as loyal, as funny and as wise, could have gone from such anger over his departure to such enduring love for the football team he was part of as a player, assistant, coach and, for the last decades of his life, Tough Guy Emeritus. Two coaches as different as Meyer and Tressel both loved him as nearly a father figure. “I’ve made it clear many times that, other than…
Continue Reading: Earle Bruce connected Ohio State football through generations as the heart of the Buckeyes: Doug Lesmerises
