 Boushka in 1955. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1934-07-29)July 29, 1934 Springfield, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | February 19, 2019(2019-02-19) (aged 84) Port St. Lucie, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 209 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Campion (Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Saint Louis (1951–1955) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1955: 3rd round, 20th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by theMinneapolis Lakers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Stats atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Richard James Boushka (July 29, 1934 – February 19, 2019) was an Americanbasketball player who competed in the1956 Summer Olympics. Born inSpringfield, Illinois, Boushka played collegiately atSaint Louis University.
Boushka won a gold medal with the1956 U.S. Olympic team. Stationed atKirtland Air Force Base, he won anAUA championship with the Air Force All Stars in 1957.[1] He was a member of the American team in the1959 Pan American Games and was a standout player for theWichita (Kansas) Vickers of theAAU. Boushka eventually became the president of team sponsorVickers Petroleum.[2][3] Boushka was named to the Saint Louis Billikens All Century Team. He was on the team with other Saint Louis players such asJordair Jett,Anthony Bonner, andLarry Hughes.
Afterparimutuel gambling was legalized in Kansas in 1986, Boushka approachedRD Hubbard with the idea of agreyhound track. TheLos Angeles Times wrote that they planned on building a "combined horse-dog complex, and now Kansas has a $70-million facility [named The Woodlands], the two tracks sharing a joint parking lot." According to Hubbard, "if we didn't do what we did, the greyhounds and the horses would have wound up competing against one another in the same market. It was a better idea getting the two industries to work together."[4] InKansas City, they funded the construction and opening of The Woodlands racing park in 1989.[5] Built to serve as both a greyhound track and later as a horse racing track, the venue was the first legal gambling outlet in the area since the 1930s, and in its second year attendance peaked at 1.7 million attendees.[6]
Boushka died on February 19, 2019.[7]
vickers petroleum.
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