Inducted in 1960, Earle Brucker was the catcher for the San Diego High School team that won the mythical National Championship in 1921, hailed as the city’s first national title of any kind. He hit a home run to lead the 10-0 victory over Cleveland West Tech before 13,000 fans at Balboa Stadium.
He went on to stay twenty-seven years in professional baseball, including 241 games for Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics in 1937-1940, when he hit .290. In 1941-1948, he was the Athletics’ pitching coach, and for five more years he coached with the Cincinnati Red and the St. Louis Browns.