Hall of Fame
A native of St. Louis, MO, but a product of Campion High in Wisconsin, Dick Boushka (pronounced BOO-shka) was named first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference three times (1953-55) during his SLU career. In his senior season, 1954-55, Boushka was a member of The Valley championship team that went 20-8 and advanced to the NIT Tournament. His postseason honors included consensus All-American and a third-consecutive Jesuit All-American.
Boushka, who had 1,440 career points, owned virtually every SLU scoring record when he completed his career. He departed with SLU records for most points in a game (38 in a thrilling win over Alabama during his junior year), most field goals in a game (15 vs. Alabama), most field goals in a season (1954-55) and top single-season scoring average (21.4 in ’53-54). He also left with the best career scoring average, 19.2 points per game.
Boushka was one of Saint Louis University’s brightest students. A portion of his tuition was paid by an academic scholarship he won.
Upon graduation, he earned a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with teammates Bill Russell and K.C. Jones. He also played for the Wichita Vickers in the National Industrial Basketball League from 1955 to 1960, winning all-league honors every year.
In ’57 as a member of the U.S. Air Force, he led the Air Force All-Star Team to the National AAU championship. In ’59, he led the Vickers to the same title. An AAU All-American in ’57 and ’59, he was named MVP in both years.
In 1963, at the age of 29, he was named president of Vickers Petroleum Corp. He received the Saint Louis University Merit Award in 1969, and he’s been inducted into the Helms Hall of Fame (1965), Olympic Hall of Fame (1986) and SLU Hall of Fame (a charter member). The National Association of Basketball Coaches named him to their Silver Anniversary team in 1980.
Boushka served as the ninth president of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 1987. He also chaired that organization’s Centennial Committee, which was responsible for coordinating activities to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the game of basketball. Boushka, who received a degree in geophysical engineering from Saint Louis University in 1955, and his wife, Joan, are the parents of five children.