PHS seeks nominations after creating Hall of Fame
By: Justin Feil
In 1987, Lesley Bush was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame for winning the gold medal in the 10-meter platform at the 1964 Olympics. Earlier that year, she was also inducted into the Indiana University Hall of Fame, though she had never been able to compete for the school, which at the time did not sanction a women’s swimming and diving team.
At the time Bush won the gold medal, she was a junior in high school at Princeton High. But until this year, Bush hadn’t been considered for induction in that hall of fame because it didn’t exist.
All that could change as Bush is among the nominees for the first-ever PHS Athletic Hall of Fame class that will be introduced in October during the Homecoming weekend festivities.
"I thought it wouldn’t matter, but it does," Bush said. "As soon as they asked me, I thought, ‘I’ve always wanted them to do this.’ I’m a teacher at Grover Middle School and there’s a West Windsor Hall of Fame and I read about other hall of fames also, like Hopewell and PDS and Hun. It’s my hometown. It’s like grassroots. It’s just something many of us have been hoping for."
The Hall of Fame committee is currently seeking nominations from the public for its first class. Categories include athletes, coaches, teams and special or honorary contributors such as an athletic director or trainer. A one-page nomination form is available in the high school office, the athletics director’s office or by visiting the PHS website, www.prs.k12.nj.us or by calling the athletics director’s office at 609-806-4290.
Inductees will be chosen by the 10-person committee that consists of Marc Anderson, Frank Francisco, Bob James, Wendy Jolly, Joyce Jones, Shannon Koch, Jeff Lowe, Tom Murray, Norm Van Arsdalen and John Woodside.
"This is 75 years of athletic history," said Anderson, Hall of Fame committee chairman. "We’ve talked about how big should the first class be. We have to catch up a bit. This class will be bigger than most classes. And anyone who gets nominated and isn’t inducted this year will stay in the pool."
As many as 15 athletes could be inducted in the first PHS Hall of Fame class. For Bush, mention of the possibility was as big an honor as any was.
"I was very excited," said the 1965 PHS graduate. "I live within walking distance of the school. I ran to the school. There’s a soft sport in my heart for Princeton. I’ve lived here most of my life."
Before the Olympics, few around Princeton even knew that Bush was a diver. She began at the old Princeton YM as part of an interest group. She picked up platform diving only 10 weeks before the 1964 Olympics and was given little chance to do anything.
"I wasn’t supposed to make the team," Bush said. Once aboard, however, she went to Tokyo looking forward to the experience as much as the competition.
"I think that it was the most exciting experience for me," said Bush, who is now the diving coach for the West Windsor-Plainsboro North and South teams. "I was taking it all in. There was never a darker horse in diving.
"Afterward they asked me, what’s the greatest thing that’s happened to you after winning the gold medal. It wasn’t that though. It was being there, seeing all those people from around the world. This is the most competitive event and you see people trying to talk in sign language to each other."
Bush expected to return to Princeton and resume her junior year unnoticed. It didn’t happen. A parade released PHS early one day and the entire town turned out, and even the New Jersey governor’s wife, after her return.
"I didn’t want this," Bush said. "As it turned out, it was an amazing tribute. It was the kind of thing that Princeton didn’t honor their athletes with. It was really heartfelt. Nobody expected this (gold medal) to happen. Now, people 25 years older than me say they remember me."
But people 25 years younger may not. And that’s where the new PHS Hall of Fame comes in to play. It’s a long overdue tribute of its own to past standouts like Bush.
"One of the things that came up in the committee was we wanted to tie this to the kids in high school now so they can understand and know about the people we’re honoring now," Anderson said. "We want to find a way that the word gets to the kids. This is a school that is all about excellence, from the arts, music and academics."
Bringing some recognition to past students, coaches and administrators who were able to bring notoriety with to PHS with their athletic play only follows suit. It’s something that long-time PHS athletics supporters have been seeking for years.
"People who may not know of our athletic achievement will know now," said James, president of the Friends of Princeton Athletics. "We think it’s wonderful. It just ties in with the school being renovated, with the new athletic director and the new athletic fields. We have such a rich history of athletic success. We don’t want to lose that."

