Rushing excelled as coach with firm but gentle style
By Iliana Limon
Tribune Reporter

Jack Rushing knew it was a big favor, but he had to ask anyway.

The Albuquerque High School football coach had a student who had the talent to become a star.

But the athlete wore a pair of borrowed, battered, ill-fitting shoes that were hampering his future because he couldn't afford a new pair.

"He knew I had spent a long time saving up for a new pair of shoes, and it just happened to be enough money to buy this boy some shoes of his own," Rushing's wife, Theda, said. "He told such a good story, I had to give him the money.

"And sure enough, a few years later that boy did become an All-American."

The generosity mixed with an unbreakable work ethic made Rushing an icon in New Mexico sports as he picked up eight state titles in two sports during his 29-year coaching career.

The kindhearted-but-strict Rushing died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 88.

Rushing, a Hanna, Okla., native, is survived by his wife, two children, numerous grandchildren and a slew of former athletes he coached.

Searching for the right words to articulate what Rushing meant to them, several of his former students who figured they were tough enough to weather the loss fought back tears while speaking about him.

"He was a tremendous teacher, and he'd find a remarkable way to get to you," said Jim Hulsman, a renowned former Albuquerque High School basketball coach who played football for Rushing and considered him one of his mentors.

The roots of Rushing's coaching style blended strict leadership with a nurturing touch and were born in his difficult childhood, Theda Rushing said.

Jack Rushing's mother died when he was 7. His father died seven years later.

At 14, Jack Rushing was turned away from the Oklahoma orphanage that took in his younger brothers. Determined to get through school, he lived for brief periods with relatives and family friends.

"He did odd jobs and whatever was needed to earn his room and board," Theda Rushing said. "One year, he just missed school altogether because the uncle he was staying with lived too far away from the school to walk, and there were no bus lines nearby."

Struggling to get by, Jack Rushing did whatever was necessary to improve his lot.

"I think that loneliness made family really important to him," she said. "And it made him extremely close to the boys he coached. He really reached out to them."

Jack Rushing eventually attended an American Indian junior college in Oklahoma, where he played football. At school, Jack Rushing met Theda's brother, who introduced the couple.

They lost touch when she returned to work in Albuquerque but met up again when he came to play football for the University of New Mexico.

"I saw him and felt obliged to invite him to a dinner we had every Sunday at the Indian school I was teaching at," Theda Rushing said. "I guess we fell in love after that, because Jack kept coming back every Sunday, regardless of whether I invited him or not."

Life seemed to smile at Jack Rushing after he moved to Albuquerque.

He became a star tackle on the Lobos football team, leading the team to its first postseason appearance in the 1939 Sun Bowl.

Jack Rushing also was proud of being the first American Indian to earn all-Border Conference honors in 1938 and 1939.

He earned a bachelor's degree in history and physical education in 1939.

Jack Rushing's performance was strong enough to convince the Brooklyn Dodgers, a team in what became the National Football League, to offer him a spot on their roster.

Rushing rejected the offer, instead teaching briefly in Santa Fe before heading off to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

"It really wasn't a very tough choice for him," Theda Rushing said. "He knew either going to the Navy or continuing in football would take him away from his family. If he had to choose between the two, he always loved the Navy. I left it up to him, and he chose the Navy."

He saw combat in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters before transferring to the Naval Reserve.

Jack Rushing resumed teaching in Santa Fe, but he missed Albuquerque.

The couple returned to the city when Rushing landed an assistant coaching job at Albuquerque High School, working under future New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame coaches Pete McDavid and F.M. Wilson.

"Oh, I tell you he was good," Hulsman said of Rushing. "McDavid was the leader, and Rushing was the driver. Rushing worked hard and demanded perfection. He didn't accept any excuses and just wanted the job done right. But at the same time, he was very fair in all his dealings with student-athletes and other coaches."

Jack Rushing developed his leadership skills and eventually became one of three head coaches at Albuquerque High School.

"He often said in choosing his career in sports, he hoped everyone else was as lucky as he was in choosing the right profession," Theda Rushing said.

As head football coach, Jack Rushing set a demanding tone, but always cared for his players.

Theda Rushing, who attended nearly every game of her husband's career with their two children, recalls taking players to doctors to set broken bones after night games, then driving the boys home late at night.

"I'll always remember when we went to play in the southern part of the state, and employees at a restaurant refused to serve us because we had a few black players," said George Friberg, who played football for Rushing at Albuquerque High and later became a Lobos football player. "When coach heard that, he told us all to go outside because if one of us couldn't eat, none of us were going to eat.

"The manager chased after us as coach marched about 40 football players down the street and begged us to come back. Then they tried to negotiate where we would sit, but coach refused to let them separate any of us.

"He said we were a team, and we would eat together or we would not eat all.

"He was a real gentleman and inspiration to all of us."

Many of the athletes are eager to tell this type of story about their former coach.

While working his boys hard in football practice, Jack Rushing always felt bad for the runts on the sidelines.

The younger boys hadn't developed enough to survive on the hostile gridiron.

"One day he came home and said he thought it might be good to start a wrestling program to help those boys because they needed something to do," Theda Rushing said. "He didn't know much about wrestling, but he said he'd find out more if I thought it was a good idea.

"I said I thought it would be good, so he got the clearance and started the state wrestling program."

The basic skills Jack Rushing preached that drew on his military background applied to every sport he coached.

"He was one of a select group of people who became sort of multicoaches, taking on any sport that needed to be coached," Hulsman said. "Baseball, football, wrestling, tennis. You name it, he coached it. A lot of guys did that during Rushing's era, but he was the one who won so many state titles. He excelled at everything he did. He set the bar for everyone else who followed him."

Hulsman laughs at anyone who would ever consider his recent accomplishments as one of the state's most successful basketball coaches as matching his old mentor.

"He was one of my biggest influences as a coach," Hulsman said. "You have to learn these skills from someone, and I learned them from him. And I, in turn, tried to pass them on when I was a coach."

After retiring from Highland High School, Jack Rushing continued to keep a close eye on Albuquerque athletics. In later life, he enjoyed traveling with his wife in their motor home, ballroom dancing and playing bridge.

As the years passed, his health deteriorated. He suffered numerous ailments, and ultimately succumbed to the cancer.

"If any of his former athletes lived remotely near him, coach would always find a way to get in touch with us," Friberg said. "As he got older and his health started to deteriorate, the roles changed. We began to check in on him and kept tabs on how he was doing. He meant so much to a lot of people around here, and we wanted to make sure he knew it."

Friends and family alike are convinced Jack Rushing's legacy will remain strong as one of the greatest influences on New Mexico sports during the past 70 years.

"I'm trying to imagine what it'd be like if he were coaching in a ball game today, but I just can't," said J.D. Kailer, a former Albuquerque Journal sports editor who covered Jack Rushing. "However, I can say this much, he was one of the finest coaches in the history of Albuquerque Public Schools."

The Following is from The [Eufala, Oklahoma] Indian Journal.
THE INDIAN JOURNAL, Thursday, December 11, 2003, page 9
 

JACK RUSHING was born April 14, 1915 in Hanna, OK to B Frank Rushing, MD and Leda Huls Rushing and died Nov 26, 2003 in Alberquergue, NM.  Services were Dec 3 at French Mortuary followed by burial at Fairview Memorial Park.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Theda Douglas; daughter, Bettie Rushing of Albuquerque; son, Jack Douglas Rushing and wife Barbara of Audobon, PA; grandson, Jack Douglas Rushing Jr and wife Carol of Rockville, MD; four nephews, Mac Harris of Las Cruces, NM, Mark Rushing of Dallas, TX, Robert Rushing of Mesa, AZ and Dr Joe K Thomas of Poteau, OK.

He was preceded in death by his mother when he was six years old and his father when he was 14; two sisters and three brothers.

Note: 1920 Census data lists a son Jack's age as B. F. Rushing son of B. F. Rushing. According to Jack's wife Theda, Jacks Mother didn't like the B.F. and his name was changed to Jack at a young age, Jack's father is known as B. Frank in the later records and the obit' for Jack. Jacks son Jack Douglas Rushing was the publisher and compiler of the Rushing Past newsletter that ran for about 14 years through the 1970's.