Bud Milke was on the bench as a head coach for 500-plus basketball games in his career, more than half at Mar Vista High and Castle Park, and rolled with the deathless prose of Grantland Rice:
“For when the One Great Scorer comes To write against your name, He marks—not that you won or lost—but how you played the game.”
Milke, who passed recently at near 90, was a standout in football and basketball at San Diego State and embarked on a five-decade run as coach at two South Bay high schools and as a coach and administrator at Southwestern College.
Milke retired in 1992 after holding numerous positions at Southwestern, including nine seasons as basketball coach, beginning in 1964-65.
His first coaching position was in 1953-54 at Mar Vista, where Milke’s teams, seldom with a player taller than his 6 feet, 4 inches, were 148-118 in 10 seasons, including five in which the Mariners finished second or higher in the Metropolitan League.
Milke moved to Castle Park High in 1963-64, stunning Metro League observers when the first-year Trojans posted a 23-7 record and won the league championship.
Milke’s son, George, Jr., a longtime figure in South Bay education circles, was a baseball star at Mater Dei, pitched at USC, and was named the outstanding player of the 1974 College World Series.
COACH GEORGE MILKE SR. WAS A GREAT-GREAT GUY! He was a good friend with my high school coach (Don Smith), and we played Mar Vista regularly during his Verdusco, Sanger and Poplis eras. My Dad (Clinton “Jo-Jo” Moss) spoke highly of him often. He and his son (George Jr) were a joy to frequently visit during the early years of my basketball and baseball officiating career. I can never recall a moment of anxiety while officiating any of their games. George Jr. was a splendid chip off the old block. His administrative duties, like his athletic and coaching career, have been of the highest degree. In closing, I must mention the tremendous impact George Jr. and his Fairbanks Alaska Goldpanner teammates (Bannister, Spence, Wittmeyer, Ellison, French and Robinson) had on my son (Parry), during the 1974 summer season. To the father and son Milke duo; thanks for the great memories!
Good stuff, Hubba Jubba.