Hailing from Concord, Michigan, Bruce Merritt Waldo quickly became a presence in Louisiana College athletics in the early 1940s.
He was an All-Conference fullback as well as a standout in baseball and basketball. For a short time after graduating from LC, he played professional baseball with the Detroit Tigers organization.
Waldo played on the LC football team that defeated Mexico on New Year’s Day in 1941. He was also named to the All-Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference football team. A fine kicker, shifty runner, and fair passer, Waldo was a stand-out that season.
He was named to “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities” and was selected to the Alpha Chi Honorary Scholastic Society and the Athenian Literary Society. He graduated as the salutatorian of his class.
A career in sports administration awaited Waldo. He coordinated special projects for the Sun Belt Conference, where he researched trends in college basketball, rule changes and scouting game officials. He also served as a basketball, football, and baseball official in the Southeastern Conference.
He was a basketball and baseball arbiter in the Big Ten Conference and is respected nationally for his integrity and contributions to sports.
Waldo provided the funds for LC’s annual Townsend-Mallard Award in memory of Eugene Townsend and Joe Mallard, two of Waldo’s teammates. The award is given to a student athlete who exemplifies leadership and sportsmanship.
The Wildcat Athletic Association inducted Bruce Merritt Waldo into the Louisiana College Sports Hall of Fame on October 19, 2001.
