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Dick Boushka

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Dick Boushka
Boushka in 1955.
Personal information
Born(1934-07-29)July 29, 1934
Springfield, Illinois, U.S.
DiedFebruary 19, 2019(2019-02-19) (aged 84)
Port St. Lucie, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolCampion
(Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin)
CollegeSaint Louis (1951–1955)
NBA draft1955: 3rd round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers
PositionForward
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1959 Chicago Team competition

Richard James Boushka (July 29, 1934 – February 19, 2019) was an American basketball player who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics. Born in Springfield, Illinois, Boushka played collegiately at Saint Louis University.

Boushka won a gold medal with the 1956 U.S. Olympic team. Stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, he won an AUA championship with the Air Force All Stars in 1957.[1] He was a member of the American team in the 1959 Pan American Games and was a standout player for the Wichita (Kansas) Vickers of the AAU. Boushka eventually became the president of team sponsor Vickers 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 as Jordair Jett, Anthony Bonner, and Larry Hughes.

Investments

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After parimutuel gambling was legalized in Kansas in 1986, Boushka approached RD Hubbard with the idea of a greyhound track. The Los 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] In Kansas 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]

Death

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Boushka died on February 19, 2019.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Salazar, Carlos (April 2, 1957). "Melbourne Trip Was Thrill—Boushka". The Albuquerque Tribune. p. 19. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Grundman, Adolph H. (2004). The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball: The AAU Tournament 1921-1968. U. of Nebraska Press. pp. 163, 212. Retrieved 23 September 2015. vickers petroleum.
  3. ^ "Dick Boushka". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  4. ^ Christine, Bill (February 19, 1991). "Hubbard Looks to Track's Future : Hollywood Park: He is working 15-hour days in his new role as president to get things ready for the April 24 opener". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  5. ^ "R.D. Hubbard". NTRA. 2010. Archived from the original on 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  6. ^ Stallings, Dianne (August 26, 2010). "A complicated life". Ruidoso News. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  7. ^ Dick Boushka's obituary
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