Bruce Bush
Inducted 2011
Hometown: Nederland
High School: Nederland High School
Best Known for: Football Coaching
One of the winningest coaches in state history, his innovative offensive genius, attention to detail, and motivational talents are legendary.
Bruce Bush has won 261 games at a number of schools, having spent 19 of 41 total seasons in South Texas. He went to the playoffs 11 of 12 seasons with Alice (1982-88) and Gregory-Portland (1989-95), including state finals appearances in 1989 and 1992. Then he took San Marcos to seven postseason trips in eight years, going 68-24 from 1997 to 2004.
His 1985 Alice team went 12-2 and the 1999 and 2000 San Marcos clubs won 11 games each. At G-P, Bush squads topped 10 wins four times, including 13 in 1992 when the Wildcats lost in the state semifinals.
In the Valley, the Slot-T wizard has led PSJA (1980-81), Donna (1995-96), and Pharr North (2008-11), winning 56 of 79 contests including 11 of 13 in 2009. He's been to the playoffs 24 seasons and has been named Coach of the Year numerous times with eight district titles.
He is a member of the Coastal Bend Coaches Hall of Fame, a respected mentor who has been a winner wherever he's coached. Bush was an All-District cornerback for Nederland High (1965) before launching a long and storied career in coaching. He was an assistant coach at Port Neches-Groves (1975) when that program copped the state Class 4A title and took over at the tiny town of Dimmitt in 1976 for his first head coaching job.