12th Man Gridiron Club Receives $15,000 Donation

The 12^th Man Gridiron Club accepted a $15,000 donation from the Buccaneer Educational Foundation (BEF) at a recent Milford School District Board of Education meeting. The donation was presented by Board Vice-President and BEF president Matt Bucher to Jack Simon, president of the 12^th Man Gridiron Club. The donation was on behalf of a family who wished to remain uncredited and anonymous.

“I am here with my vice-president, Mike Tkach and you guys probably know both of us,” Simon said. “We both did a lot of time coaching here over the years and we are here to represent the 12^th Man Gridiron Club which sponsors the Milford High School football Hall of Fame which I am sure you guys are all aware of. I just want to give a special thanks to Harvey and Chris Kenton who are helping us out tonight with the donation which is going to go a long way for our organization. I would also like to thank Matt Bucher for being a facilitator here between us and making this possible.”

Simon was inducted into the 12^th Man Gridiron Club in 2017 and Tkach in 2022. They were joined by retired Representative Harvey Kenton, a 2009 inductee.

“Just a quick background. Mike and I started this 12^th Man Gridiron Club back in 2006,” Simon said. “We made some calls to different people, coaches in the state and we also talked to a few coaches in Pennsylvania because, at the time, there wasn’t a whole lot in Delaware as far as a 12^th Man support group. Through all the information we got, we decided how to start the club, and we ended up charging a fee to get into the club. With membership, you got a jacket, you got a hat and you were invited to the banquet. That gave us the startup money in 2008 which was the first year we inducted some of our players and coaches into the Hall of Fame.”

Simon explained that before the first home game, the 12^th Man Gridiron Club holds a banquet at the Milford High School cafeteria at 5 PM and they induct three or four individuals. Since 2008, they have inducted 50 players, coaches, boosters and two teams. The two teams were the 1974 basketball championship team and the 2008 state football championship team.

“We usually have about 75 people show up for this banquet,” Simon said. “We introduce the players, we talk a little bit about what they did, when they played for Milford High School. We also give them an individual table plaque shaped like a football that has their name on it, the years they played and the year that they were inducted. By the football field, each individual has their own plaque with their name, position they played and the years they played.”

Simon also pointed out that Kevin Eickman, sports reporter for Milford Times, writes articles about each inductee.

“He calls the individuals during the summer, gets their background, what they did, how it felt, what they are doing now, and puts a great article in the paper about each one.”

The 12^th Man Gridiron Club has nine board members who meet three times each year where they decide who will be inducted. One of the fundraisers for the organization is assisting at the Greenwood Fire Company chicken barbecue, arranged by Barry Fry, where the organization raises $800 to $900.

“What we really wanted to get out of this was honoring the past and kind of paying it forward,” Tkach said. “We just felt we needed to honor some of these individuals that contributed at so many different levels, not only through football but what they did in the classroom, going on to college and then maybe even coming back as well as what they are doing in society now. I think it was a nice little contribution that we wanted to pull things together and be able to honor these individuals and hopefully carry this on as long as we possibly can.”

Simon stated that one of the things the club hoped to do with the $15,000 donation was to create a scholarship fund. They planned to sit down as a board and go over some criteria for a small scholarship for a senior on the football team in the next few years. Bucher read a letter from the BEF regarding the donation.

“On behalf of the Board, Officers and Advisory Council of the Buccaneer Educational Foundation, we present the Milford High School 12^th Man Gridiron Club program this check for $15,000. These funds were donated by a family who wishes to remain uncredited and anonymous,” Bucher said. “BEF was instructed by the donor family’s agent to remit this amount to your organization, to support the continued efforts of the 12^th Man Gridiron Club in accomplishing its mission.”

Bucher continued.

“The Gridiron Club is, in my view, a key part of Milford’s long-standing community heritage and commitment to our public schools and its student athletes,” he read. “Through the Club’s initiatives, including its annual induction to the Milford Football Hall of Fame, the 12^th Man Gridiron Club fosters appreciation for those who came before, an d highlights role models and encouragement for the young men who take the field in the present and are part of this community’s future. I encourage our shared group of communities who care about Milford’s sports heritage, its student athletes and our future as a district to support our family of great local organizations like the 12^th Man Gridiron Club and thank its volunteers who make it possible.”