Harry Bushkar Jr. (April 9, 1925 – September 1, 2008) was three-sport star at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

(known then as Virginia Polytechnic Institute) in the 1940s, who went on to a short stint in minor league baseball. He was well known for officiating college and high school sporting events, and was commissioner of the western Virginia Football Officials Association. He was elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

Early life

Bushkar was born in Russia in a small town near Leningrad (now

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

). His family moved to the United States when he was a small child and he grew up in

Logan, West Virginia Logan is a city in Logan County, West Virginia, United States, along the Guyandotte River. The population was 1,438 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Logan County. History What is now Logan was initially called "Islands of the Guyandot" ...

College basketball career

In his first season at

Virginia Polytechnic Institute Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

(VPI) in 1942–43, Bushkar was promoted to varsity after the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

ruled that freshmen were eligible. A

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, he was named Virginia's college basketball player of the year by the

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(AP) in 1945 despite playing on a losing team. Bushkar ended his career by being named Virginia's Player of the Year and making the All-Southern Conference team in 1945–46. He was named to the AP all-state first team for the third straight season. He also made the Southern Conference All-Tournament Team. He was captain of the 1944, 1945 and 1946 Tech teams.

College baseball career

Bushkar played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

and pitched on occasion for the Gobblers. He showed great potential on defense as a smooth fielding shortstop. Offensively, he could hit for power.

College football career

Bushkar played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

on VPI's freshman team, and scored four

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s on the undefeated team. The school did not field a football team in the following two years. In June 1945, he graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in business administration. Enrolled at VPI as a post-graduate student in fall 1945, the fullback Bushkar was the lone non-freshman on the varsity team.

Baseball career

In March 1946, Bushkar withdrew from his post-graduate work and signed a baseball contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

to play with the

Norfolk Tars The Norfolk Tars were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1906 to 1955. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, they played in the Virginia League from 1906 to 1918 and from 1921 to 1928, in the Eastern League from 1931 to 1932 and in the ...

in the minor league Class B

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Teams The following teams were members of the Piedmon ...

. He did not play any games for the Tars. His first game was with the Class D

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

organization for the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

member

New River Rebels The New River Rebels were a minor league baseball team representing Narrows, Virginia and Pearisburg, Virginia. From 1946 to 1950, the New River Rebels were a member of the Class D level Appalachian League, winning league championships in 1946 an ...

. He played 116 games for the Rebels in 1946, and sported a .336 batting average, hit 13 home runs, and had a .518 slugging percentage for the league champions. In 1947, he moved to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

organization, and up to the Class C Hutchinson Cubs of the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

league. He hit 10 home runs to lead the team, and had a .283 batting average. His performance earned him a promotion to the Class B

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

in 1948, where he played for the

Springfield Cubs The Springfield Cubs, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, were a minor league baseball franchise that served as a farm team of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1953. The team was a member of the Class B New England Leagu ...

. In his final full season of minor league ball, he hit .235 with four home runs. He attempted a comeback in 1951 with the Roanoke Ro-Sox of the Class B

where he played only 19 games and hit his final professional home run while compiling a .192 average.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushkar, Harry 1925 births 2008 deaths New River Rebels players Springfield Cubs (Massachusetts) players Hutchinson Cubs players Roanoke Ro-Sox players Virginia Tech Hokies baseball players Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball players Virginia Tech Hokies football players