The first inductee to be enshrined into the Millersville University Athletic Hall of Fame,
Sam Bigler excelled in the sport of weightlifting and earned national and international acclaim.
The Columbia, Pa. native, who began lifting weights at the age of 15, won numerous honors home and abroad.
Bigler was a four-time NCAA weightlifting champion and All-American (181-lb. class, 1970; 198-lb. class, 1971-72; and 242-lb. class, 1973). In the '73 NCAA's, he lifted 400 pounds in the clean and jerk and with his 295-pound performance in the snatch, amassed 695 points--both championship records. Teaming with Wayne Geltz and Dave Brown, Sam led the Marauders to a second place team finish in '73. Bigler was twice named as outstanding collegiate lifter (1972 and 1973), holding four national records in three weight classes.
Later that year, the five-time Pennsylvania state champion won the AAU Championships' 198-lb. division title with a record 413-lb. lift in the clean and jerk and 308 pounds in the snatch.
Bigler competed for the U.S.A. team in several prestigious international events in '73. He earned a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Brazil, and finished third at the Pan American Weightlifting Championships in Mexico City. He also participated in the World Weightlifting Championships in Havana, Cuba.
Sam made history in 1976 when he became the first--and only--Millersville student-athlete to qualify and participate in Olympic competition. In addition, he was the first Lancaster Countian to win a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team since the legendary Barney Ewell won three medals in the 1948 Games in London. At the Games of the XXI Olympiad in Montreal, Canada, Bigler finished in a tie for 10th place, lifting 307.5 kilograms (676.5 pounds) in the 182-lb. snatch, clean and jerk.
After he received his bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1973 and a master's degree at Millersville in 1976, Sam served as a strength and conditioning adviser at the University from 1976 to 1980, and he also held membership on the athlete's advisory board for the United States Olympic Committee.
In his professional endeavors, Bigler is a reading specialist at the Stevens State School of Technology in Lancaster and he is also a real estate entrepreneur.
The inaugural MU Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony on October 27, 1995 was just the beginning of a memorable weekend for Sam because the following day, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
