Mention the name Mike Heller to anyone familiar with Albright golf and you’re sure to get a positive response.

The question is “which one?” There have been two Mike Hellers who have been successful while wearing the red and white. Both studied accounting, both ranked in the top five in the Middle Atlantic Conference and both are considered two of the best golfers in Albright’s storied past.

On a beautiful spring morning Mike Heller ’72 and Mike Heller ‘08 took to the greens of the Berkshire Country Club in Reading, Pa.; the current home of the Albright golf team. It was the first time the two met on the links. Joining them on the course were Ray Mest ’62, Albright golf head coach, and Kevin Harrington ’09, senior captain of the 2008-2009 squad. Mest was an assistant coach during the elder Heller’s time at Albright and head coach during the time of the younger Heller’s team.

Heller ’08 stands at 6’3” tall and Heller ‘72 stands at 5’7” tall. Despite the differences in appearance, Heller ’72 says he is often confused as the younger Heller’s father. “People would come up to me and say, ‘I see your boy is playing at Albright.’ If he shot a score under 75 I would always reply, ‘yeah he sure is.’ Any score higher than that and I would tell the truth.”

Heller ’72 graduated from Reading Central Catholic High School and entered Albright as an accounting major. While at Albright he saw much success with the golf team culminating with a third place finish in the MAC tournament his senior year, just months after losing part of his thumb in a lawn mower accident at Berkshire Country Club. “I was mowing a green and the mower rolled over on me,” recounts Heller. “It turned out okay though as I lost my slice after that, made me play better.”

During the 1968-1972 seasons Albright defeated teams from West Chester University, Lafayette, The University of Pennsylvania and Temple University. While these were much larger schools they competed in the Middle Atlantic Conference until 1974 when the NCAA created their current three-division structure.

“Mike was a very good golfer while he was at Albright but he really came into his game after graduation,” says Mest. His list of accolades after graduation include two Berks County Amateur titles, three Berks County Matchplay titles, two Berks County Senior titles and Hawley Quier Memorial championships in 1978, 1979, 1983 and 1990. In 1985 he was on the Philadelphia team that won the Compher Cup, an annual match between the Philadelphia Golf Association and the New Jersey Golf Association. By coincidence this was the same year that Mike Heller ’08 was born; a fact that causes the elder Heller to wince.

After graduation Heller ’72 became a golf professional at Berkshire Country Club. With a few years of golfing under his belt he entered his father’s plumbing and heating business where he remained until 1990, when he went into business for himself in public accounting. Having recently joined the ranks of the semi-retired, he enjoys playing golf with his wife JoAnn, a professional at Golden Oaks. JoAnn, a high school classmate of LPGA Hall of Famer Betsy King, was director of King’s tournament for eight years.

Heller ’08 came to Albright in 2004, following in the footsteps of his brother Greg ‘05. Greg was entering his senior year and his final year on the golf team. Together they helped Albright to win the Commonwealth Conference Championship in 2005. “There was a stretch of seven years that I had a Heller on the team,” says Mest, referring to Greg and Mike,“and seven years the outstanding player award was won by a Heller.”

Heller’s success at Albright grew each year as he won the Muhlenberg Invitational, the Messiah Invitational and led Albright to its first Yocum Cup. The Yocum Cup is the annual tournament played between Albright and local rival Alvernia University. Heller led the team to wins over such powerhouses as Susquehanna, Moravian, York and Elizabethtown.

Heller ’08 won All Conference Honors his sophomore, junior and senior years. His career was capped off in April 27, 2008, when he won the individual Commonwealth Conference Championship; the first player in Albright’s history to capture that title.

- With a degree in accounting, finance and economics, Heller has spent the last year working for a golf course in Naples, Fla., but recently moved back home to Berwick, Pa.

As the two men left the golf course there was one burning question; who is the better golfer? It’s Mike Heller, of course.