V. 7 N. 44 JIM BUSH R.I.P.

Jim Bush passed away today.  Wikipedia listed his biography as follows:

Jim Bush (born September 15, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a National Track and Field Hall of Fame^[1] track and field coach. He is known primarily for his coaching tenure at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1965 to 1984. During that time, his teams won five NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships (1966, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978 (tied with UTEP) and he coached as many as 30 Olympians.

A 1947 graduate of Fullerton Union High School and a 1951 graduate of the University of California, Bush coached for 53 years at; Bakersfield College and Occidental College before arriving at UCLA.^[2] He continued coaching at crosstown rival University of Southern California and other individual athletes after leaving UCLA. He also was a speed advisor to Los Angeles professional teams including the Dodgers, Kings, Lakers and Raiders.^[3] His work with Raiders and their star Marcus Allen earned him a Super Bowl ring. He also has a World Series ring with the LA Dodgers baseball team and an NBA championship ring with the LA Lakers basketball team. He narrowly missed a National Hockey League ring with the LA Kings when they placed second place.

Among the athletes he coached in that time were Wayne Collett, Benny Brown, Greg Foster, Willie Banks, John Brenner and Quincy Watts. He famously kicked then world record holder Dwight Stones off of his team when Stones wanted to limit his participation to three meets.^[3] He was the head coach of the United States team at the 1979 Pan American Games.

He was elected into the TAC (now called the USATF) National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1987.^[1] He is also a member of the Fullerton High School, Kern County, Bakersfield College, Occidental College,^[4] UCLA, Mt. SAC Relays and the United States Track Coaches Association Halls of Fame^[5] (an organization he was previously president of). The Southern California Association USATF Championship meet is named in his honor,.^[2] as is the championship award for the 110 metre hurdles at that meet.

Fate played a hand in UCLA track coach Jim Bush winning NCAA titles

September 06, 2012|By Chris Foster  L.A. Times

How did the Titanic almost keep UCLAfrom having the most national championships in college sports?

Ask Jim Bush, former Bruins track and field coach.

Bush, a member of the National Track Hall of Fame, said that his grandmother was left on the dock in England when the Titanic sailed.

“She had her luggage stolen on the dock, so she couldn’t go,” said Bush, who will turn 86 on Sept. 15. “My mom was just a little girl then.”

Bush’s grandfather had already emigrated to the United States. He was working for Hills Bros. Coffee when he sent for his wife and daughter.

Bush was born in 1926, 14 years after the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank.

“My grandmother and mom would have had tickets on the lower part of the ship, where everyone died,” Bush said. “The first time I heard that story was the day I started believing in God.”

Bush spent 20 years as the Bruins’ coach and helped develop some of the top track and field athletes in the United States, sending 21 athletes to the Olympics.

His teams also won five NCAA titles.

As a member of USATF Hall of Fame he is remembered thusly:

Jim Bush

Inducted: 1987, coach

Born: September 15, 1926 - Cleveland, Ohio

Career Highlights

• Bush's UCLA teams won five NCAA championships

One of the most successful college track and field coaches in history, Jim Bush coached some of the world's top athletes during his 20-year tenure at UCLA. As coach of the Bruins, he produced five NCAA championship teams, 21 Olympic team members and a glittering 152 victories and only 21 losses in dual meet competition (an 87.9 winning percentage). In addition, his UCLA teams won seven Pacific-10 Conference titles and were undefeated in 10 dual meet seasons. Highly regarded by his peers, he was twice selected as "Coach of the Year" by the U.S. Track Coaches Association, serving as president of that group in 1972-73. The author of several coaching books, he was the head U.S. track coach at the 1979 Pan American Games. While at the University of California, Bush competed in the 400-yard dash and the high hurdles. His collegiate coaching career started at Fullerton Junior College in 1960. After three seasons at Occidental College from 1962 to 1965, he became head coach at UCLA. After leaving UCLA in 1984, Bush served as a consultant in various track and running-related activities.

Education
high school: Fullerton (Fullerton, California), 1947
undergraduate: California (Berkeley, California), 1951

Occupations

Coach

Knew Him well. He used to send all of his UCLA men to the Striders for the AAU Meet and then when they graduated.

He always had great young men like John Smith, Wayne Collette, Len Van Hofweggan, Dick Railsback, Jonathon Vaugh, Ron Copeland and many more! --- who came our way.

John Bork Jr.

Mike Solomon sent us this article on Jim Bush from the L.A. Times.

Jim Bush