Champion and Leader
(1945-present)
Angus Billy Scruggs will always
be the rock and the cornerstone of the Scottish
Masters Athletics.
What started as an idea between friends Dan
DeWelt, Bill Butler and Billy Scruggs was brought to
fruition by Angus Billy through years of care,
planning, and work.
And with the help of his understanding wife,
Linda.
After a talk with Greg
Bradshaw, the AD in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and despite
being a year or two past “half a hundred”, Billy
started practicing with home-made Scottish
implements.
After competing in a demonstration in
Glasgow, his first “real” competition was at Estes
Park, in 1997. He finished ninth in a field of ten.
Undaunted, and training now with Dan DeWelt, Billy
went on to wins in Tulsa, Loch Lomond, Sacramento,
McPherson and elsewhere. Sacramento was a favorite
competition because of Bill Butler-- friend and SMAI
co-founder. And it was where he won his MWC in 2001.
For ten years-- from Ft Smith,
Arkansas to California, to New Hampshire, Inverness,
Scotland and Denver, Colorado- - Billy grew the
organization from an idea into the world-class
Masters World Championships event that we enjoy
today. Through 2010, more than 400 different
athletes from 11 countries have competed in eight
states across America and in Scotland.
Dozens of competitions around the world have added a Masters class, and hundreds of older athletes— including women, whose cause Billy was among the first to embrace-- are now able to take the field in friendly competition with their contemporaries. They all owe Angus Billy a debt of gratitude for the opportunity that he helped create-- and for his immeasurable contribution to our sport.
Dana Axelson,Wayne Staggs,Mark Buchanan,Al
Stagner,Bill Scruggs