The former MSU football player and coach won’t turn 80 years old until Jan. 24, but this past weekend, old teammates, coaches, friends and family came together to celebrate the life of a Spartan who has done so much both on and off the field.

“Good to see a lot of your friends, and it’s good to see your family,” said Henry Bullough, who also is the father of former MSU linebackers Chuck and Shane Bullough. “That’s the amazing thing about it.”

Henry Bullough played at MSU from 1952-54 and coached for 11 years on the Spartan sidelines after a brief NFL career. He also coached in the NFL with multiple teams, including the Baltimore Colts, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions. He always will be remembered in NFL history for playing a role in the creation of the 3-4 defense.

Henry Bullough’s MSU career also was the beginning of three generations of Bulloughs playing at MSU, with the seventh joining the Spartans next season — football recruit Byron Bullough.

Shane Bullough, former MSU linebacker from 1983-86, was behind planning the surprise party and said outside of celebrating his father’s birthday, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to reunite some of the Spartan legends.

“It’s also a great opportunity to let people like George Perles and (football head) coach (Mark) Dantonio … and people from the athletic department, academic side, past players, it’s great to let all of them come back and say hello to my dad, but probably more than anything get back with each other,” said Shane Bullough, father of Max Bullough and current Spartan linebacker Riley Bullough. “A little bit of a reunion of sorts.”

One of the family members that appeared to be missing from Saturday’s event was Max Bullough, who has been in the news since the early morning of Dec. 26.

Dantonio announced during the early hours of Dec. 26 that the three-year starter and face of the ‘Spartan Dawgs’ wouldn’t travel with the team to MSU’s first Rose Bowl in 26 years after a violation of team rules.

Although rumors have swirled around and cycled through the message boards, the reasoning behind the suspension still remains unknown.

Based on Twitter posts, Max Bullough currently is in St. Petersburg, Fla., as he prepares for the upcoming East-West Shrine Game this Saturday. The game serves as an all-star game featuring some of the best college football talent looking to play at the next level in the NFL.

Max Bullough finished his MSU career with 299 tackles, eight sacks, four forced fumbles and three interceptions, also going out as part of the MSU winningest senior class of all-time.

Like his grandson Max, Henry Bullough also led his Spartans to a Rose Bowl during his playing days.

Henry Bullough started at guard on the 1954 team that beat UCLA 28-20, but it’s his off-the-field work that he is most proud of.

“The biggest thing that I’m probably most proudest of, (out of) all the victories and all that, is … the George Webster Scholarship Fund,” Henry Bullough said of the program that offers financial help to former MSU athletes who return to school to complete their degree. “Every one of those guys, I got them back, got them going to school, they all have their degrees now, and they all have a job. So you’re talking about 24 guys that are back now with a job out in the working world, making a living for them.”

Former MSU Marching Band member Greg Pell was in school when Henry Bullough was a coach and has recently gotten to know him through alumni functions.

In Pell’s mind, the football program wouldn’t be where it is today without Henry and the rest of the Bullough family.

“No family, and him in particular, has given more to Spartan football,” Pell said. “When you think of when he played in the 50s, when he coached in the 60s, and all of what he still is doing. He’s only 80 and he puts in a full day for Michigan State every day.”

Henry Bullough said on Saturday that the program is where it needs to be after beating Stanford 24-20 in the 2014 Rose Bowl.

He said the team needs to enjoy it while it’s here but at the same time needs to start preparing for next season.

“Everything is on top,” Henry Bullough said. “You got to enjoy why you can, but then you have to put it asleep pretty soon and start over again for next year. You got to learn how to handle that.”

MSU will return to the field on Aug. 30 when Football Championship Series foe Jacksonville State visits Spartan Stadium.

Although Max Bullough will be gone, Henry and the rest of the Bulloughs will still be able to cheer on two family members with the addition of Byron Bullough as the family tradition continues.