Bobby Plump and Hoosiers Stars Turn Out to Help Fight Cancer

The star-studded evening held at Loogootee Methodist Church featured special guests and a silent auction. Speakers included Hoosiers and Rudy writer Angelo Pizzo, actor Brad Long, who played team captain Buddy in the film, Graham Honaker, and Indiana basketball legend Bobby Plump. 

“The reason we won the state, is because we had a leader.” Plump said, leading off the evening. “For cancer research you have to have leaders.” The 88-year-old Hoosier icon continued, “Here’s the thing about athletics – basketball in particular in my case - you have to have leaders. Our leader was Marvin Wood. Twenty-four years old, twenty-six when he won the state. If he would’ve told me to throw the ball in the stands, I would’ve thrown the ball in the stands. So you have to have leaders that bring together everybody as a team, and you work as a team instead of individuals. We didn’t have the best talent up and down our line, but we had the best team that played in the tournament, and that’s what historically it’s gonna be with cancer.”

In discussing being a part of the glory days of 1950s Indiana basketball, Plump couldn’t help but smile as he recalled the experience. He said it was “the most exciting thing in the world, because basketball was king. There was no football championship until the seventies – everybody paid attention to basketball.” 

Cancer survivor Steve Petit expressed what it was like to meet Plump after half a century of following the Milan story. “Oh, God. Made me cry. Made a grown man cry. I’m a survivor. I’m a cancer survivor – that’s how I lost this leg. That battle with cancer for me was a year of hard fighting and a lot of dedication. That would be the word. You gotta have a will. Same thing in sports, You gotta have a will and a desire to win, and without it, I don’t think you will.” 

Brad Long, who portrayed Buddy and is the real-life son of noted Hoosier Gary Long, talked about what he gained from his movie-making experience. “I think it shows off Indiana – small town values, you know. And my dad always used to tell me what a great time period it was to play in the fifties. You know, that was before my era. He said back then, the town closed down, and everybody went to the ball game. And I never really, totally understood what that meant. I played in front of some good crowds. I played at Center Grove High School, and we filled the gym, but it wasn’t just like, overflow where they had to call the Fire Marshall. So, I felt like my kind of experience with that was in the movie. We played in these little bitty gyms, held 800 people, and whenever we scored a basket, it was just deafening. And so I kind of got to relive his era.” 

He's now a father, salesman, and public speaker who, like Plump, is dedicated to using his fame to better future generations. “I tell them to prioritize their time. You probably need 8 hours’ sleep. I think our body needs that. You got 16 hours to be able to accomplish other things in your life. Whether it’s sports, or you’re in the band, if you’re on the debate team, you’re in a Bible study – so that allows you a lot of time to be able to do those things that you’re passionate about. And so I always feel like it’s a bad excuse if somebody says well, I don’t have the time. That’s the point of that time thing. We’ve got the time. You have to prioritize the time that you have.” 

Event director Doug Bradley, who guided this fundraiser from start to finish with his wife Becky, says she was the inspiration behind it all. “Becky went through cancer back in 2016. It was bad, but with Cancer Treatment Center of America up in north of Chicago, saved her life, along with some doctors around here that helped her a lot, too. So we wanted to pay it forward. We did a lot of work for the Travis Burkhart Foundation in Plainville, another fantastic group right here in southern Indiana.” 

Local MC and host Greg Bateman directed the conversation through the night and the audience gave the panel a standing ovation before picking up their auction items and enjoying a meet and greet signing in the gymnasium. When asked at the close of the evening what inspired him to write Hoosiers and Rudy, Pizzo’s intent was clear. He replied, “to really capture what I thought was the unique relationship between the people of Indiana and the sport of basketball. And the Rudy story was compelling to me because it was like a metaphor for trying to make it in the film business. It’s such a long shot. And if you let other people tell you your odds are like winning the lottery, then nobody will ever even try to make it.” 

 Like a corn field or a breaded tenderloin, Pizzo’s films have become part of Indiana culture. But it is the initiative of people like Doug and Becky Bradley and the MCCPS volunteers, combined with the commitment of Pizzo, Plump, Long, and Honaker to use their fame for a positive purpose, that is the truest measure of Hoosier values. 

To donate in the fight to conquer cancer, please visit www.mccpservices.org. 

If you would like to hear more amazing Hoosier stories, you can check out Greg Bateman’s YouTube channel, Getting to Know Your Indiana Neighbor.