Campus sports legend Lou Bush
dead at 88

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

Lou Bush during his heyday on the gridiron (PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES, DU BOIS LIBRARY)

ou Bush, '34, the Turners Falls native whose exploits in three sports made him a campus legend and propelled Massachusetts State College to the national spotlight in 1931, died Sept. 16 at Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. He was 88.
The school's first All-American in football, the 5-foot, 6-inch, 145-pound Bush was also known for his prowess on the basketball court and the baseball diamond—achievements that led to his induction as a charter member of the campus's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969.

     After graduating from Turners Falls High School and Vermont Academy, where he led the basketball, football and baseball teams to undefeated seasons, he enrolled at Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1931, the same year the school was renamed Massachusetts State.

     As a freshman halfback in 1931, he led the country with 20 touchdowns and scored 127 points, good enough for second in the nation.

     The high point of that season was a matchup against Wagner, where Bush scored five touchdowns, leading the MSC squad to a 77-0 victory, the most lopsided win in campus history. A year later, Bush repeated his feat, scoring five touchdowns in a game versus Cooper Union.

     His football career was cut short when he suffered an early season injury during his senior year. But his 45 career touchdowns—39 over the 1931 and '32 seasons—are still a campus record.

     Bush was equally at home on the basketball court, leading the team in scoring during each of his three years on the squad. In 1933-34, he led MSC to its only undefeated season.

     He also excelled as a shortstop on the baseball team, hitting .417 during his junior year and earning the nickname "The Mighty Mite."

     And if all of that wasn't enough, he took time out in his senior year to make a one-time appearance in the 100-yard dash during a track meet. True to form, he not only won the race, he tied the school record.

     After graduating in 1934, Bush became an assistant football coach at MSC while studying for his master's degree in Education. In 1937, he worked as a physical education teacher at Deerfield High School, where he coached the football, baseball and basketball teams.

     Upon completing his studies, Bush went on to play seven seasons of minor league baseball, first with the Boston Braves organization and later with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he advanced to the Triple A level.

     An ROTC graduate at MSC, Bush served as a tank commander in Africa and Europe during World War II. He left the Army as a captain and later served in the Army Reserve as a major.

     In 1945 in Florence, Italy, he coached a 5th Army football team to a 20-victory over the 12th Air Force in a contest dubbed the "Spaghetti Bowl."

     Following the war, Bush became a chemistry teacher at Greenfield High School, where he taught for 27 years until his retirement in 1972. While teaching, he also coached baseball and basketball as well as American Legion and Little League teams. He also coached baseball at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, where the scoreboard was dedicated to him in 1998.

     A resident of Greenfield for 59 years, he was the director of the town's recreation program for 25 years. He was also civil defense director for 10 years.

     Bush served as president of the Massachusetts Football Officials Association and was an honorary life member of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials. In 1972, he was awarded the Harold "Kid" Gore award for outstanding contributions to basketball in Western Massachusetts.

     His first wife, Helen (Wisnewski) Bush, died in 1964.

     He leaves his wife, Alodia "Alice" M. (Modzelewski) Jaworski Bush; two sons, three daughters, two brothers, a sister, three stepdaughters, a stepbrother and stepsister, 15 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and five step-grandchildren.

     Memorial contributions may be made to the Louis J. Bush Science Scholarship Fund, c/o Greenfield Savings Bank, 400 Main. St., Greenfield 01301 or the Sacred Heart Church Renovation Fund, 75 Prospect St., Greenfield 01301.