His given name was Milton S. Dupree.

But in another era that began more than 50 years ago and is still locked firmly in the minds of those who remember him so well, he was known as "Long Gone," "the Hurryin' Hurricane" and "Dashing Dupe."

The late Bap Manzini, one of Pennsylvania's legendary and most successful coaches, called Dupree "one of the best football players I ever coached."

"He could do everything," Manzini said at the time of Dupree's death on Monday, Feb. 3, 1986. "He could run, he could catch passes, and he was a good blocker. He was one of those kids you dream about having in your backfield."

Dupree was one of the sparks of Manzini's undefeated 1959 Bellmar High School football team. That group of Hurricanes posted a 10-0-0 record but missed the WPIAL Class A championship game because they fell short in the Gardner Point System that determined playoff teams. They boasted some of the best athletes to ever wear the Black and Gold.

Joe Lopez of Belle Vernon was a junior halfback on the '59 team and saw considerable action in Manzini's patented rushing attack.

"Milt was in class by himself, a unique athlete who was so talented," Lopez said of his teammate, who packed 180 solid pounds on his six-foot frame. "You knew something was going to happen when he got his hands on the ball ... he had an innate ability to find daylight and then take off. We had great linemen in front of us, guys who blocked well and opened holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through."

Lopez, who later enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a basketball coach at Donora and Carroll junior high schools, also recalled Dupree as "humble and grateful."

"Every time Milt would break off one of his long touchdown runs, he would come back in the huddle and thank the rest of us for the blocks that we made to help spring him free," Lopez said. "He was such a great runner with natural instincts that he didn't really need too many blocks to get open. But he always thanked us anyhow. That's how Milt was -- classy at all times. It was a privilege to play in the same backfield with him."

Sports Editor John Bunardzya of The Charleroi Mail dubbed Dupree as "Long Gone" during his sophomore season in 1958. Clair Brown, Bunardzya's counterpart at The Monessen Daily Independent, offered the "Dashing Dupe" moniker.

By any name, however, Dupree offered a strong preview of what was ahead during his first season with the Bellmar varsity in 1957.

He was only a freshman but saw enough playing time to earn a letter and give Manzini and BHS fans hopes for the future.

Dupree didn't disappoint anyone as he rambled for touchdown runs of 55, 69, 25, 24, 23, 43, 51, 45, 39 and 49 yards and returned a kickoff 77 yards for another six-pointer.

"Anytime Dupree gets the ball, it's a good bet he's going to be long gone ... toward the end zone," Bunardzya wrote in The Charleroi Mail.

Tom Quintier of Belle Vernon, a longtime Bellmar fan, kept a close account of the games.

Quintier's ledger had Dupree's points coming this way against: Perryopolis, 12; Gateway, six; Penn Joint, 12; Rostraver; six, California, six; South Union, six; Dunbar, 18; Scottdale, six.

Quintier also noted that Dupree scored against every opponent except North Union, which shut out the Hurricanes.

There was no question about Dupree's status in the scoring race in 1959, his final season at Bellmar. He was only a junior but would not be eligible the following year because of his age. Dupree went out in memorable fashion in the season finale by scoring five touchdowns as the Hurricanes rolled to a 50-7 win over Scottdale to culminate the unbeaten-untied (10-0-0) campaign.

"I can still see Dupe running up and down that field," Manzini recalled at the time of Dupree's death. "He really went out in a blaze of glory. They couldn't lay a hand on him that night."

Dupree's scoring binge, which came on TD runs of 27, 1, 20, 77 and 2 yards, gave him 124 points (19 touchdowns and 10 extra points) for the season and the individual scoring titles in Fayette and Westmoreland counties. He finished second in the WPIAL to Rick Leeson, the burly fullback from Scott Township who scored 151 points and who later starred at Pitt.

Dupree also topped all Mon Valley scorers in a season that showcased some outstanding running backs. Bob Johnson of Monongahela, for instance, won the Big 6 scoring title with 114 points, and Mickey Bitsko of Charleroi also finished among the best in the WPIAL with 80. Dupree finished his Bellmar career with more than 200 points.

Official statistics are not available from Dupree's three-year stint at Bellmar, but it is believed that he rushed for over 2,000 yards. Manzini said he was sure Dupree had a thousand or more in the 1959 season.

"No question about it, he went well over 1,000 yards that year," Lopez said. "And that was rather amazing because he usually didn't play the whole game. The only time he went the distance was against Rostraver and Gateway and those were our toughest games. Bap usually pulled him in the third period and a couple of times after the first half. Who knows what he would have done if he had played four quarters every game!"

Lopez also recalled that Dupree played basketball at Bellmar during his sophomore year.

"Milt was a good ball handler and probably could have developed into a good shooter if he had stayed with (basketball)," Lopez said. "But football was his passion, he concentrated on that and ... well, you saw the results."

Dupree, who gained All-WPIAL and other post-season honors in 1959, graduated from Bellmar in 1961 and continued his education and playing career at Pratt Junior College in Kansas. He became a starter in his second year at Pratt but left school at the end of the season and returned home.

Dupree's legacy wasn't limited to athletics.

His wife of 18 years, Phyllis Cunningham Dupree, a 1964 graduate of Monessen High School, emphasized that point by recalling that her husband served in the U.S. Army from 1964 to 1968. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, the elite modular infantry division, and served two tours of duty in Vietnam.

"He was very proud of his service to our country," Phyllis Dupree said. "And we remain proud of him."

Milton, the son of the late Milton S. and Rebecca Wilson Dupree of Arnold City, and Phyllis had one son, Erik Dupree, who graduated from Monessen High School a few months after his father died in 1986. Erik is perpetuating his father's military service with more than 20 years in the Air Force and is now stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.

Dupree took his athletic talents to area softball fields in the 1970s and played for some of the area's better teams including the Monessen-based Bar 20 and OKAY-Lodge teams in the Monessen Slo-Pitch League.

He also worked many years at Combustion Engineering in East Monongahela.

A resident of Monessen for 16 years, Dupree was only 44 when he died.

His athletic achievements were recognized in 2000 when he was among the first 32 men inducted into the Belle Vernon Area Football Hall of Fame. That honor was only part of the legacy Dupree wrote in his all too short but successful life.

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