Feb 11, 2018 7 min read

What Don DiNardo noticed about Jeffrey Hrutkay was the athletic talent and character of his young sophomore quarterback.

What he did not know until more than 45 years later is that Hrutkay had played only one year of competitive football before he became the Bentworth High School football team’s starting quarterback late in the 1972 season.

“I knew he was a very special kid,” said DiNardo, then the Bearcats’ head coach. “He was so bright, very quiet, but very talented.”

Bright, quiet and talented.

People use those same words today in describing retired Colonel Hrutkay, U.S. Army, and Dr. Hrutkay, noted orthopedic surgeon who works for Kaiser Permanente in Colorado and is the Chief of Orthopedics at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, Colo.

“As it turned out, Jeff is a special person,” DiNardo said. “When it came down to go to college, it was between Colgate and West Point. He took it all in stride. I told him, ‘If you want to play football, go to Colgate. If you want to be set for life, go to West Point.'”

After having not seen or spoken to each other since they were together at Bentworth, DiNardo and Hrutkay spent two hours together last year.

It was a reunion that put a smile on both of their faces and warmed their hearts.

“Jeff had written me some letters when he was at West Point and at other times,” DiNardo said. “I think he talked more in those two hours than he had in the years we were together at Bentworth. He hasn’t changed. He’s just so quiet and laid back.”

Hrutkay said seeing DiNardo this past summer was special.

“It was a nice reunion,” he said. “That’s the first I saw him since high school. We had a good time just talking.”

Hrutkay, who played golf and baseball for the Bearcats for one season each, was a standout quarterback in 1973 and 1974.

Bentworth finished second to Jeferson-Morgan in the Tri-County South Conference both seasons. The Rockets won WPIAL championships both years.

The Bearcats, however, played the Rockets. In 1973, Jefferson-Morgan managed an 8-3 victory over Bentworth. The next season, the Rockets rallied in the rain and mud for a 7-6 victory.

But the Bearcats did Jeff-Morgan a huge favor in the 1973 season. The Rockets and rival Carmichaels played to a tie that year. But Bentworth paved the way for Jefferson-Morgan to win the conference by knocking off the Mikes and Hrutkay spurred the victory.

It helped justify a move DiNardo made late in the 1972 season by inserting Hrutkay as the starting quarterback.

“We weren’t going anywhere by the latter part of the ’72 season,” DiNardo said. “Jeff was a sophomore and we had a senior starting. I decided to go with Jeff. I made a decision to change quarterbacks. I was criticized for it. But I think it ended up being the right move.

“In that Carmichaels game, we were down 6-0 and John Menhart, who is the superintendent there now, went about 40 yards for a touchdown for them.

“In the second half, we ran one play on this particular drive, belly-option left. It was one play with three possibilities. Jeff would either hand the ball to the fullback, keep it himself or sometimes he would pitch it. He could throw the ball but we weren’t much of a throwing team. Jeff was perfect for that offense and was just that type of kid to make things happen. We won the game, 7-6. It was classic Jeff.”

Tom Forte, the starting center for Bentworth in 1974, said Hrutkay was in control of each situation and a calming in-fluence for his teammates.

“He was steady and never got flustered,” Forte said. “You hear people talk about having the quarterback mentality. Jeff had that mentality. He handled himself and the position perfectly.

“Jeff was always in control and had control of the huddle. He understood the offense, the plays and where everyone needed to be. And he controlled the quarterback sneaks. He just gave me the tap. I knew what he wanted and away we’d go.”

Hrutkay admits that he learned most of his football on the sandlots in the Bentleyville area. And while he liked athletics, playing organized sports was put off until ninth grade.

“I enjoyed athletics,” Hrutkay said. “We lived in the country, rural area. I can’t say I came from a sports-minded family. But I did play a lot of sandlot sports growing up.

“Even in my younger days, I could throw the football. I had a decent arm and I enjoyed the position. I did well enough that I had the opportunity to play in high school.”

Hrutkay also played golf. He was a caddie at Nemacolin Country Club and at Chippewa Golf Club.

“We got to play those two courses,” he added. “It was fun and I liked it. I certainly don’t consider myself a good golfer.”

Hrutkay played freshman football at West Point before deciding his education was more important than football. So he walked away from the sport he hadn’t played formally until 9th grade.

But he did have a big moment left in the game.

“I lost a little interest after that freshman season,” Hrutkay said. “I gave it up.

“I did coach the (Army) company team and helped take the team to the Brigade championship. It was part of my football experience that I was able to lead a team to a championship.”

Hrutkay focused on his studies but did play rugby at West Point and throughout his time in medical school.

He spent one year as an engineer but got his prerequisites in order to attend medical school and applied to various institutions and considered the Pitt before settling on attending Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.

“I had to make a decision whether I wanted to start within the military or attend a civilian school,” Hrutkay said. “I never lost the desire to attend medical school. I had that interest in high school.”

Hrutkay was part of a West Point group that marched in President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1976.

He also completed a semester exchange program at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs as a junior student at West Point.

“That was my first exposure to Colorado and initiated a desire to eventually settle (there),” he added.

Hrutkay lives in Lafayette with his wife, Veronica, who is a Millvale native, and a Colonel Nurse in the Army.

He has two sons, Kyle, 30, and Corey, 28. Kyle is a nuclear engineer with the Navy and Corey is an environmental engineer, living in Colorado.

Hrutkay spent 16 years as an Army orthopedist – in Germany and also in Fort Carson and Colorado Springs in Colorado. He spent time in Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, which closed years ago, and in Croatia during the Bosnian War in 1992.

Prior to his retirement from the Army in 2003, Hrutkay did tours in Iraq and Kuwait.

“I was kid from a small town, I think the first from the school to go to an academy. I spent 24 years in the military and it flew by. I saw the world. It was a great experience. I’m glad for what I have.”

Hrutkay continues to golf, he actually resides on a golf course, skis “a lot” and relishes his trips back to the area – “about three times a year” – he said.

“Those were good years, growing up where I did and the schools I attended,” Hrutkay said. “It was a small town that instilled good values and I made close, lasting friendships.”