William Lucas Lush (November 10, 1873 – August 28, 1951) was an American baseball player and college athletics coach and administrator. He played seven seasons of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

from 1895 to 1904, including three with the Washington Senators. He later worked as a college athletics coach (mostly baseball and basketball) at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, St. John's University, the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...

and

Trinity College, Hartford Trinity College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coed ...

. He also held athletic director positions at Fordham and the Naval Academy. In the 1930s, he coached athletic teams at

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

prison in

Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...

Early years

Lush was born at

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

in 1873. His father, Charles H. Lush, was a Massachusetts native who worked in a sewing machine factory. At the time of the

1880 United States Census The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census.Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

with the Washington Senators (1895–1897),

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

(1901–1902),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1903), and

Cleveland Naps The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

(1904). He appeared in 489 major league games, including 461 as an outfielder. He had a career batting average of .249 and an on-base percentage of .360 (fueled by 291 walks in 2,096 plate appearances). Lush led the American League with 34 sacrifice hits for the Tigers in 1903. His .379 on-base percentage for the Tigers in 1903 was fourth best in the American League, and his 70 bases on balls was second best in the league. Lush was among the league leaders in walks four times. Lush was also a good fielder in the outfield. In 1902, Lush had 24 assists as the Beaneaters' center fielder, and a range factor of 2.37 (0.44 points higher than the league average). For the Tigers in 1903, Lush had a range factor of 2.42 (0.50 points higher than the league average).

Athletic coach

After his playing career ended, Lush became a coach of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

. He held coaching positions at

, the

, St. John's College in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, the

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Lush began work as Yale's baseball coach in 1905, with

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

serving as the team's advisory coach. In his first year, Lush led Yale to its first baseball championship in six years. Lush played for and managed the

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

minor league franchise in 1905 and 1906. One of his players in 1906 was

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

member

Eddie Collins Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr. (May 2, 1887 – March 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cocky", was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from to for the Philadelphia Athlet ...

. In February 1906, Yale engaged him for a term of three years. He remained in charge of the Yale baseball team in 1906 and 1907, but he was replaced by Tad Jones in 1908. Yale decided not to retain Lush when the school decided to cease using professional coaches. As Lush had another year remaining on his contract, Yale paid him in full for his services. After separating from Yale, Lush coached the basketball team at the

in the 1908–09 season. In February 1909, he was rehired as Yale's baseball coach. He remained the baseball coach at Yale through the 1911 season. He was dropped as Yale's baseball coach in August 1911. In 1912, Lush was hired as the manager of the Montreal professional baseball team. In 1914, Lush coached the baseball team at Columbia. In the middle of the 1915 season, Lush took over as the coach of the baseball team at

. The team compiled an 8–2 record under Lush. In September 1915, he was hired as the physical director at Fordham. He assumed responsibility to oversee all branches of athletics at the school, including full responsibility for the baseball and track teams and assistant coaching duties with the football and crew programs. His contract stipulated, however, that he was allowed to coach that New York University basketball team in the winter of 1915–16. As permitted by his Fordham contract, Lush began coaching the NYU basketball team in November 1915. In July 1916, Lush purchased a fifty percent interest in the baseball club at

. He announced at the time that he would serve as the team's manager. In November 1916, he was hired by the Naval Athletic Association to coach the baseball and basketball teams at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Lush's 1918–19 basketball team finished the season with a 16–0 record and was retroactively named the 1918–19 national champion by the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. In May 1922, Lush resigned his position at the Naval Academy. The press reported there was mutual dissatisfaction between Lush and the Navy Athletic Association. After leaving the Naval Academy, Lush coached the baseball and basketball teams at St. John's College in Maryland. By 1923, he had been placed in charge of athletics at St. John's. He was the basketball coach at St. John's through the 1926–27 season. In October 1931, he was appointed as the head basketball coach at the University of Baltimore.

Family and later life

Lush was married in approximately 1897 to Mary E. Lush (born September 1872), a fellow Connecticut native. They had five children, Mary (born c. 1900), Elizabeth (born c. 1901), William L., Jr. (born c. 1902), Frances A. (born c. 1904), Edward J. (born c. 1906).Census entry for William L. Lush, age 36, born in Connecticut. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Year: 1910; Census Place: New Haven Ward 4, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll: T624_139; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0388; Image: 114; FHL Number: 1374152. At the time of the 1900 United States Census, Lush was living in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

with his wife, Mary, and their daughter, Mary. His occupation was listed as a baseball player.Census entry for William Lush, born Aug. 1873 in Connecticut. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Year: 1900; Census Place: New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll: T623_145; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 355. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Lush was living in New Haven and employed as a baseball coach. In a draft registration card completed by Lush at the time of World War I, Lush indicated that his permanent residence was in New Haven, though he was employed as an athletic coach at the U.S. Naval Academy in

. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Lush listed his residence as New Haven and his occupation as the "physical director" for the Naval Academy. His household at that time consisted of his wife, Mary, and four children, Elizabeth, William, Frances and Edward.Census entry for William L. Lush, age 46, born in Connecticut. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Year: 1920;Census Place: Orange, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll: T625_190; Page: 24B; Enumeration District: 415; Image: 495. At the time of the

1930 United States Census The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during ...

, Lash was living in New Haven with his wife, Mary. His occupation was listed as a cigar maker in a cigar factory.Census entry for William and Mary Lasch ic Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Year: 1930; Census Place: New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll: 275; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 18; Image: 317.0. In the 1930s, Lush moved to

, where he coached athletic teams and assisted in the medical department at

prison. He later operated a tea room and guest house in Ossining. In August 1951, Lush died at a convalescent home in

Hawthorne, New York Hawthorne is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 4,586 at the 2010 census. History The village was originally known as Hammond's Mill ...

at age 77. He was survived by his second wife, Lillian Goodwin Lush, and six children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lush, Billy 1873 births 1951 deaths Basketball coaches from Connecticut Boston Beaneaters players Bridgeport Victors players Cleveland Naps players Columbia Lions baseball coaches Derby Lushers players Detroit Tigers players Fordham Rams baseball coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Montreal Royals managers Navy Midshipmen baseball coaches Navy Midshipmen men's basketball coaches New Haven Blues players NYU Violets men's basketball coaches People from Hawthorne, New York Baseball players from Westchester County, New York Rochester Bronchos players Rochester Browns players Baseball players from Bridgeport, Connecticut Springfield Maroons players Springfield Ponies players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Toronto Canucks players Yale Bulldogs baseball coaches Yale Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Washington Senators (1891–1899) players 19th-century baseball players Plattsburgh (baseball) players Crisfield Crabbers players