New Ulm HALL OF FAME Member

Kenneth (Ken) Brueske

Non-Player (Manager)

Selected 1990

Lifetime Baseball Batting Stats Page

          No other New Ulm manager has served longer or with more success than Ken Brueske. He guided the Millers for six years, the Brewers for one season, and the Kaiserhoff for seven years. All of these teams were New Ulm's top team in the years in which he coached them. In 14 seasons, Brueske took each New Ulm team to the state amateur tournament: twice with the Millers and once each with the Brewers and the Kaiserhoff. His Kaiserhoff team in 1980 won it all. His teams went to the state tournament two more times while he was serving as the third base coach, which he did after he had retired as manager.

          Brueske's career total of 235 wins and his career winning percentage of .695 are unequalled in New Ulm history.

          Nine times Brueske's teams won 70 percent or more of their games. The 1980 Kaiserhoff had a .857 winning percentage with a 30-5 record. Only twice did his teams finish below .500: his first season with the Millers in 1963 and the 1979 season before the Kaiserhoff won the state title in 1980.

          Ken had also served as third base coach for managers Les Bode and Ron Schmidt when their teams posted winning seasons.

          Brueske's teams won eight seasons titles, seven league playoff titles, two regional championships, and one state title.

          Brueske also coached the New Ulm Legion baseball team, played amateur ball himself, and was a member of the 1951 state Aquatennial midget champions. As a player, Ken had a lifetime batting average of .305 and a season-high total of 15 RBIs in 1962.