Al Bruno
Encyclopedia
Albert P. "Al" Bruno is a retired gridiron football
player, administrator, and coach who served as the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
from 1983–1990.
, Bruno attended the University of Kentucky
from 1948–1951. He played Offensive and Defensive End on Kentucky Wildcats football
team, played Forward for the Wildcats basketball team, and was a member of the track team.
In his senior season, Bruno caught 38 passes for 589 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named third-team All America by both AP and UPI. His single-season school record for receiving yards stood until 1964 and his single-season record for touchdown receptions held until 1998.
Bruno played nine games during the Wildcats 1948–49 championship winning
basketball season, averaging 2.2 points per game.
Bruno is one of only three Wildcats to have played for Hall of Fame coaches Bear Bryant
(Football) and Adolph Rupp
(Basketball).
in the third round of the 1951 NFL Draft
, but chose to play for the Toronto Argonauts
instead. He played two seasons for the Argonauts, one game for the Ottawa Rough Riders
, two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
, and three seasons with the London Lords
before a serious knee injury ended his playing career.
In 1966 he returned to Canada as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Rough Riders
. He left the Riders in 1968 and joined the coaching staff of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. When head coach Joe Restic
left to become head coach at Harvard
.
After 11 seasons as the Crimson's offensive coordinator, Bruno returned to Hamilton as Director of Player Personnel. In 1983, Bruno was named head coach after the firing of Bud Riley
. The Tiger-Cats finished the season 2–1–1 and Bruno was given the coaching job permanently. Under Bruno's guidance, the Tiger-Cats appeared in the Grey Cup
four times, winning one (1986
). He was placed on an indefinite leave of absence after suffering a mild heart attack during the 1987 season. Defensive Coordinator Ted Schmitz
served as interim head coach for six games before Bruno returned. Bruno was fired 12 games into the 1990 season. At the time of his firing the Tiger-Cats had a 4–8 record and were on a five-game losing streak.
After scouting for the BC Lions
and the Buffalo Bills
, Bruno was named the head coach of the New Mexico Rattlesnakes of the new Professional Spring Football League
. The PSFL folded before play began.
Bruno's final coaching job was at McMaster University
, where he served as head coach from 1994–1996.
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
player, administrator, and coach who served as the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
from 1983–1990.
Early life
A graduate of West Chester High School and The Perkiomen SchoolThe Perkiomen School
The Perkiomen School is an independent, co-educational, boarding and day college preparatory school located in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Perkiomen admits 6th-12th grade students and offers a year for postgraduate students. Founded by a descendant of a Schwenkfelder immigrant in 1875, The Perkiomen...
, Bruno attended the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
from 1948–1951. He played Offensive and Defensive End on Kentucky Wildcats football
Kentucky Wildcats football
The Kentucky Wildcats football team is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.-History:Paul "Bear" Bryant Era...
team, played Forward for the Wildcats basketball team, and was a member of the track team.
In his senior season, Bruno caught 38 passes for 589 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named third-team All America by both AP and UPI. His single-season school record for receiving yards stood until 1964 and his single-season record for touchdown receptions held until 1998.
Bruno played nine games during the Wildcats 1948–49 championship winning
1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1949, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Seattle, Washington...
basketball season, averaging 2.2 points per game.
Bruno is one of only three Wildcats to have played for Hall of Fame coaches Bear Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
(Football) and Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
(Basketball).
Playing career
Bruno was drafted by the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the third round of the 1951 NFL Draft
1951 NFL Draft
The 1951 National Football League Draft was held on January 18–January 19, 1951. The Baltimore Colts folded after the 1950 season. The NFL placed their players in the 1951 NFL draft.-Player selections:-Round one:...
, but chose to play for the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
instead. He played two seasons for the Argonauts, one game for the Ottawa Rough Riders
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
, two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
, and three seasons with the London Lords
London Lords
The London Lords were a Canadian football team of the 1950s and 1960s from London, Ontario. They played their home games at Labatt Park. They won the last Ontario Rugby Football Union Senior championship in 1960, and then continued to play ORFU Intermediate football until the league folded.-ORFU...
before a serious knee injury ended his playing career.
Coaching career
Bruno's coaching career began in 1958 a player-coach for the London Lords. After his playing career ended, he returned to Pennsylvania to teach coach football at his alma mater West Chester High School.In 1966 he returned to Canada as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Rough Riders
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
. He left the Riders in 1968 and joined the coaching staff of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. When head coach Joe Restic
Joe Restic
-External links:...
left to become head coach at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
After 11 seasons as the Crimson's offensive coordinator, Bruno returned to Hamilton as Director of Player Personnel. In 1983, Bruno was named head coach after the firing of Bud Riley
Bud Riley
Edward "Bud" Riley is an American former football coach with the Idaho Vandals, Oregon State Beavers, and in the Canadian Football League...
. The Tiger-Cats finished the season 2–1–1 and Bruno was given the coaching job permanently. Under Bruno's guidance, the Tiger-Cats appeared in the Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
four times, winning one (1986
74th Grey Cup
The 74th Grey Cup was the 1986 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Edmonton Eskimos...
). He was placed on an indefinite leave of absence after suffering a mild heart attack during the 1987 season. Defensive Coordinator Ted Schmitz
Ted Schmitz
Ted Schmitz is a gridiron football executive, coach, and broadcaster who currently serves as the Director of Player Personnel of the Indoor Football League's Bloomington Extreme....
served as interim head coach for six games before Bruno returned. Bruno was fired 12 games into the 1990 season. At the time of his firing the Tiger-Cats had a 4–8 record and were on a five-game losing streak.
After scouting for the BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
and the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Bruno was named the head coach of the New Mexico Rattlesnakes of the new Professional Spring Football League
Professional Spring Football League
The Professional Spring Football League was an outdoor football league slated to begin in 1992. The league had a preview show on SportsChannel America in late 1991/early 1992, laying out the ten teams that would play. The league was founded by Vincent Sette, a computer sales executive...
. The PSFL folded before play began.
Bruno's final coaching job was at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
, where he served as head coach from 1994–1996.
Coaching record
| Team | |Regular Season | HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1983 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .667 | 3rd in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in East Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1984 | 6 | 9 | 1 | .400 | 2nd in East Division | 2 | 1 | Lost Grey Cup | ||
| HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1985 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 1st in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost Grey Cup | ||
| HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1986 | 9 | 8 | 1 | .529 | 2nd in East Division | 2 | 1 | Won Grey Cup | ||
| HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1987 | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semifinal | ||
| HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1988 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semifinal | ||
| HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1989 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 1st in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost Grey Cup | ||
| HAM Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
1990 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .33 | 4th in East Division | 0 | 0 | Fired | ||
| Total | 56 | 55 | 3 | .505 | 1 Division Championship | 7 | 7 | 1 Grey Cup |