Barbara Bush's Miami University connection
Dave Clark
Eulogies of Barbara Pierce Bush, the wife of 41st president George H.W. Bush and mother of 43rd president George W. Bush, are a reminder that not only was she a big sports fan but her father, Marvin "Monk" Pierce, is a member of Miami University's Athletic Hall of Fame.
The father of the former first lady, who was 92 when she died at her Houston home Tuesday after a long struggle with congestive heart failure and pulmonary disease, was a 1916 graduate of Miami University who starred in football, basketball, baseball and tennis while in Oxford. He was inducted into Miami's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1972 along with Bo Schembechler and three others.
In 1913 Miami upset Denison in football, 19-0, and "Monk" Pierce accounted for all the points on four field goals, a touchdown and an extra-point placement. He also helped lead Miami to gridiron victories over Cincinnati in 1914 and 1915. In one baseball game against Oberlin, Pierce fanned 13 batters, hit three for five and stole a base. He was the first recipient of the M-Man of the Year award in 1968.
In addition, the Cincinnati Reds offered condolences via Twitter on Tuesday night to the Bush family following Barbara's passing. She threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Reds catcher Joe Oliver before Game 2 of the 1990 World Series against Oakland.