Rudolph (Rudy) Bukich – (January 1948)

Rudy Bukich was born on September 15, 1930 in St. Louis, MO.  At RHS, he was on the football and basketball teams, a member of Student Council and vice-president of his senior class.  He earned a football scholarship to Iowa State University.  He then transferred to the University of Southern California.  In his senior year, Southern California went to the 1953 Rose Bowl.  After the starting quarterback (an All-American) was sidelined with injuries.  Rudy came in and conducted a drive, completing all but two of his passes that resulted in the only score for USC to defeat Wisconsin 7-0.  Rudy was selected as a Most Valuable Player in the game.

After his career there, he was inducted into the USC Trojan Hall of Fame and later into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.  Rudy was selected in the second round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.  He went on to play for the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Rudy’s greatest performances were during his second stint with the Bears.  He was a quarterback with the Bears when they won the 1963 NFL Championship Game.  (Bill Wade was the quarterback in the championship game).  Rudy had also replaced Bill Wade during week four against the Baltimore Colts after Wade completed just five of twenty-one passes.  Rudy took over the position for the remainder of the game, completing six of seven passes with a touchdown pass to Ronnie Bull, which was the deciding margin of victory for Chicago. In 1964, Rudy tied a record with thirteen consecutive completions and in 1965, he was the second leading passer in the NFL.

DOB: Sep 15, 1930 St. Louis, MO DOD: Feb 29, 2016 San Diego, CA Age 85