Jack Rushton, you made your presence felt at WPI in your first
few days on campus. In you first appearance on the football field
you snared an errant pass from the Coast Guard quaterback and
sprinted 35 yards to score the only touchdown of the game. The 6-3
victory marked the Institutes first defeat of the Cadets in five
years. Unfortunately, a knee injury, incurred during that same
season in a game against Massachuseets State College, would plague
you throughout your athletic career.
Your winning ways were not limited to the gridiron. On March 8,
1939, you stepped onto the hardwood at the University of Rhode
Island to fill the shoes of injured captain Al Raslavsky. You
poured in a game-high 23 points en route to a 64-61 upset. WPI
would go 13 and 3 that year, with those three losses coming by a
total of just three points.
Though you missed three games due to your knee injury, you
finished with 113 points-and many fond memories-as a starter on
that 1939 squad, the best basketball team WPI had known to that
time.
All told, you earned 10 letters in football, basketball, and
baseball. But you did more than play ball. You were the president
of your freshman class, were elected to Skull, and served on the
Tech Council. Despite these demands for your time, you did not
neglect your academics and continuously appeared on the honor
roll.
Jack Rushton, for your outstanding contributions to athletics at
WPI, the Institute is proud to welcome you to membership in the WPI
Athletic Hall of Fame.
