Then & Now: Bus Whitehead

Then & Now: Bus Whitehead

Compiled By Dave Brandon

(Photo Courtesy Nebraska High School Sports Hall Of

Fame)

Nebraska

basketball Hall of Famer Milton "Bus" Whitehead played

for the Huskers from 1948-1950, and was a two time

first-team All-Big Seven pick. In recognition of his

efforts in helping to lead Nebraska to league titles in

both 1949 and 1950, Whitehead is recognized as the

captain of NU's all-time basketball team.

Whitehead recently joined HHC for the latest Sunday

edition of "Then & Now."

HHC: First off, thanks a lot for taking the time

to join us. Should we refer to you as Milton, or Bus?

BW: Bus Whitehead would be great, and I’m happy

to join you.

HHC: We’re happy to have you, Bus. Before we

talk more about you and the teams you played on,

describe to us the kind of coach and man Harry Good was,

since virtually none of our readers know about him.

BW: Well, he was a fellow that started coaching

at Indiana University when Branch McCracken had to go

into the service, and they promised him (McCracken) his

job when he came back. So, he was at Indiana awhile, and

in 1946, when McCracken came back, they replaced Harry

Good and obeyed their promise. So, Harry Good became the

head coach at UNL in 1946-1947.

Harry

was a good basketball coach; he believed in an awful lot

of practice and repetition for his players, and thought

that the more you played with the basketball, the more

you’d get out of it. Sometimes, we’d have three

practices per day, and he was very disciplined in

regards to training. For instance, we were not allowed

to ever drink milk, put ice in our water, or eat

peanuts, stuff like that. He believed in having us be in

good shape with lots of discipline, and having us ready

to go out there on game nights.

HHC: Very interesting, we didn’t know that he

came from Indiana. What about Bus Whitehead; what kind

of player was he?

BW: I was 6’9” and played center, but was not

extremely strong or too much of a jumper. However, I

could run well, as I loved to run the floor with the

other guys. I think I was a better than average shooter,

and I took an awful lot of pride in my defense. I really

took a lot of pride in not letting the other centers

score.

HHC: What was it like playing in the

Coliseum in those early years?

BW: In those days, the Coliseum was the

best floor in the conference, even after Colorado joined

to make it the Big Seven in 1947-1948. The Fire Marshall

never liked to say it held over 9,000, but we generally

always filled the place. It was between 9,000 and 10,000

fans at any game, and they were sitting anywhere they

could find space.

HHC: Who were some of your teammates?

BW: Actually, I had some excellent teammates.

The thing was, when I started in 1945, the War had just

gotten over. So, in ‘46 and ‘47, all these veterans came

back, and as a result, I was always playing with

teammates that were three to five years older than me.

These fellows were mature men, and a lot of them had

just gotten out of the service and gone back to school;

they were very serious on the court and in their

studies. In fact, everybody on our team graduated; we

didn’t have anyone that didn’t.

As far

as some of my teammates, there was a 6’6” forward, who

was extremely rugged and strong, and his name was Joel

Malecek. Anton Lawry played on my teams, as did the

baseball player Bob Cerv. Bob Gates and Joe Brown were

two others, and Harry Good brought with him a player

from Indiana named Claude Retherford. Claude was very

fast, a good shooter, and a very flamboyant player who

took great pride in winning games.

Henry

Cech was also a good player, so my senior year, we had

six very good guards, four tough forwards, and Bob

Pierce and I alternating at center. Our strengths as a

team were rebounding and defense.

HHC: Your first season at Nebraska was in

1947-1948, and you guys finished 11-13 in the first year

of the Big Seven. Talk about what style of play was like

back then in the Big Seven, as far as what types of

offenses and defenses teams ran?

BW: It was mostly all single-post in those days.

Phog Allen was the coach at KU, and he was very

successful that year. Bruce Drake was also successful at

Oklahoma, as was Jack Gardner at Kansas State. Actually,

the Big Seven was a VERY strong conference overall, as

KU won national title in 1952, and in 1951, K-State was

second. Kansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas State were the

teams to beat back then.

HHC: In 1948-1949, you guys finished 16-10 and

in a first place tie in the Big Seven. It was Nebraska's

first winning season in twelve years, you enjoyed

All-Big Seven honors, and your team played in the NCAA

District Game. What do you remember?

BW: I guess that it started out as another

typical year for Nebraska, where we were winning our

fair share of non-conference games. But, we got into the

conference and I think we won our first three or four,

and it gave us a ton of confidence. We said, “Hey, we

can shoot for something better.” So, we tried to step

our game up and play better, and ended up tying with OU.

Then, we had a playoff with them in Kansas City to see

who would go to the NCAA’s, and we beat Oklahoma there.

While we lost to Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State),

who in those days had Hank Iba as their coach, we had a

great year. Oklahoma A & M actually went on to finish

second in the nation.

HHC: In 1949-1950, you guys tied for your second

straight Big Seven title, and you earned your second

consecutive All-Big Seven award. Describe what stands

out from that season?

BW: Well, once again, we got off to a good

start, and we ended up tying with KU and K-State for the

conference title. However, they didn’t have a playoff

game that year since it was a three-way tie, so they

just awarded the title to KU, who went on to the NCAA’s.

But, we had a good year that season, so I couldn’t

complain.

HHC: At the time your career ended, you held

nine scoring records at Nebraska, and were the first

Husker to ever play in the East-West All-Star game at

New York's Madison Square Garden. Talk about what that

meant to you personally?

BW: It was quite an honor. You know, back

in those days, it was quite the privilege to get to play

in that game; Heck, I even got to guard Bob Couzy.

The

thing that made that game so special was that you were

playing with the 23 best seniors in the United States,

so it was an honor that I enjoyed. I remember that they

really took good care of us, as we ate good places, got

to see plays on Broadway, and just had an unforgettable

week. I played for the west, and we were fortunate

enough to beat the east there at Madison Square Garden.

HHC: What are your favorite memories of

your times at Nebraska?

BW: I guess my favorite times were those

with my teammates. I was very fortunate to have some

awfully good human beings as my teammates. We all got

along real well, and enjoyed each other’s company, which

was especially important back in those days, since

travel was much different. In fact, we never did get to

take an airplane anyplace that we played. We went either

by car, bus, or train.

My

sophomore year, we went out and played in San Francisco,

and it was a three-day trip by train out there, and

three days back. We did play a game in Fort Collins

against Colorado State in-between, as well as another

stop, but you know, living together all those days in

the train, and you sit in those depots, and it’s a lot

of time together. So, I think those would have been some

long days had I not enjoyed my teammates so much.

HHC: Whatever happened to coach Harry Good

upon leaving Nebraska in 1954? Did you guys stay in

touch after your career was over?

BW: He stayed in Lincoln after he finished

coaching basketball in 1954. He became the golf coach

for any number of years, and he stayed here until his

health failed him. At that time, he had a daughter who

lived in Minneapolis, so he and his wife Pam moved up

there, and unfortunately his wife died ahead of him,

with him passing on up there in Minneapolis as well.

HHC: Tell us how you launched Whitehead

Oil Company, and what did basketball teach you about

running your very successful business?

BW: When I got out of school, I went to

work for Phillips in the sales department, and I was a

salesman for them for nine years. At the time, I lived

in Lincoln and Hastings, and I always wanted to be a

distributor. But anyway, I had an opportunity to buy out

the Phillips operation in Lincoln in 1959, and that’s

when I started Whitehead Oil Company, which I sold to my

son in 1989.

I think

athletics are good for you, and taught me any number of

things. For one, they teach you to be humble, because I

don’t care how good you think you are, there is always

somebody who will beat you. Also, they teach you

discipline, because if you want to do the job, you’d

better do it right and be prepared.

HHC: And what is Bus Whitehead up to these

days?

BW: I have a company called Whitehead Inc.,

which still has a couple convenience stores that I look

after. Then, I have real estate and some other

investments, and I’m fortunate that my son let’s me

still have an office, right where it’s always been.

(Laughs) So, I get to come down everyday and get away

from the wife and give her some space.

But you

know, its fun, and even though I’m retired and not real

active, there is always something to work on.

HHC: If we set you up an e-mail account at

[email protected] would you be willing to

take e-mails from the fans?

BW: Sure, that would be great. I’ll have to have

someone help me check that, so bear with me, but I’d

love to hear from the fans.

HHC: (Laughs) Awesome. Thanks a lot for

your time, Bus. It's been an honor talking with you.

BW: Thanks a lot for having me. I look forward

to navigating my way around your site as often as I can.<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">