WIlliam F. "Bud" Wilkinson (1992) - Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame

WIlliam F. "Bud" Wilkinson

Induction:
1992
Class:
1936

Sports: Football, Track and Field
A three-year letterman in football and track and field "Bud" Wilkinson caught a 23-yard pass to score the first touchdown in the first Orange Bowl game, a 26-0 Bison victory over Miami on January 1, 1935. Earlier in that 1934 season, the fleet-footed Wilkinson caught a 56-yard pass to set up Bucknell's first TD in a 13-7 win over Penn State and had scoring catches of 7 and 50 yards in a 13-7 victory over Washington & Jefferson. A native of Riverside, N.J., where he was better known for his high school exploits in track and field, Wilkinson captained the 1936 Bison team in that sport, was the first Bucknell sprinter to break 10 seconds for the 100-yards dash, was on a mile relay team that won two races at the Penn Relays, and once won the 100, 220 and 440-yard dashes and was second in the shot put and javelin in a single dual meet. Wilkinson, who played on Bucknell football teams that had a combined 20-7-2 record, turned down an opportunity to play with the Boston Redskins in 1936, the year before the team was moved to Washington and won the NFL championship. He retired in 1975 following a successful career with the DuPont Company.
(Bucknell Hall of Fame Class of 1992).