Jerry Bush (1914-1976)
Teams coached: Toledo Rockets, Nebraska Cornhuskers
Toledo record: 127-58 (.686)
Nebraska record: 81-132 (.380)
Overall record: 208-190 (.523)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1954)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- MAC Regular Season Champion: 1 (1954)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1954-1963 | Nebraska |
1947-1954 | Toledo |
Jerry Bush Facts
- Gerard Leon Bush
- Born September 6, 1914
- Died October 27, 1976
- Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
- Alma Mater: St. John’s University (BA, 1938)
- Played basketball at St. John’s for head coaches James “Buck” Freeman and Joe Lapchick
- Went on to play professionally in the NBL (precursor to the NBA) and ABL for four different teams over ten seasons
- Played for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Wilmington Bombers, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and Toledo Jeeps
- Won 4x NBL championships as a player (1939, 1940, 1944, 1945) and 1x ABL championship (1942)
- Named All-NBL First Team in 1939 and Second Team in 1943, 1944 and 1945
- Played for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids, Wilmington Bombers, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and Toledo Jeeps
- Started his coaching career in 1947, taking over as head coach of the Toledo Rockets while still playing for the Jeeps
- Went 127-58 in seven seasons at Toledo, culminating in a MAC title and NCAA Tournament berth in 1954
- Inducted into the Toledo Athletics Hall of Fame (c/o 1986)
- Left Toledo for Nebraska in 1954, leading the Cornhuskers program for the next nine years
- Did not achieve the same level of success, going just 81-132 during that tenure and finishing below .500 every season
- Retired from coaching in 1963 with 208 total head coaching victories
- Died of an apparent heart attack at age 62; survived by his wife, Asta, and their three daughters, Bonnie, Karen and Jane
- Bush’s grandson is Fred Hoiberg, a former NBA player-turned-coach who is currently the head coach at Nebraska
Jerry Bush Coaching Tree
- Bob Nichols (Toledo)