Hall of Fame
Jude Milbert excelled at many things in his four years at Coe. He was particularly good at one thing shutting down opposing teams' offenses. Milbert, who prepped at Dyersville, was a four-year player for both the baseball and football teams at Coe. When he wasn't making tackles and defending passes from his cornerback position on the football field, he was hurling fastballs and change-ups by opposing hitters on the pitcher's mound. Milbert compiled an 11-5 pitching record during his junior and senior years on the baseball diamond and his 98 strikeouts were second-best on the team. In his last two seasons under Head Coach Rick Hartzell, Milbert was named to the all-Midwest Conference team and was named to the all-District V team in his senior year. Hartzell remembers Milbert as "a great athlete who matured far beyond his years." "He did things right and was a great leader on campus," Hartzell said. "He loved to play and he loved to have fun." Fellow 2003 Hall of Fame inductee Steve Schnoebelen added, "It's very special to be inducted with Jude - — a great talent, teammate and friend. As teammates and pitchers, we drove each other to perform at our best, and helped each other to become better pitchers. I certainly would not have performed as well without Jude's support and confidence." On the gridiron, Milbert was named Kohawk of the Week numerous times by Head Coach Wayne Phillips. He's particularly remembered for his 44-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 43-7 victory over Knox College. It was the first and only touchdown of his career. Following that game, Phillips said, "Milbert right now is as good a defensive halfback as I've had at Coe." That's saying something when you consider that Phillips was in his seventh year at Coe. Milbert returned to Dyersville after college and became the manager at Milbert Financial Service, where he has served for over 20 years. During that time, he has made an appearance on "the big screen" when he became one of four people selected from Dyersville to appear in the movie "Field of Dreams". Milbert returned to baseball following his college career as a member of the Dyersville semi-pro team. After 20 years he was inducted into the Dubuque County Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Tonight, for his outstanding contributions to Coe College athletics, we are privileged to welcome Jude Milbert to the Athletic Hall of Fame.
