Young Bussey

Ruey Young Bussey (October 4, 1917-January 7, 1945) was a professional American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Bussey was killed in action during World War II.

Ruey Young Bussey was the youngest child of Katie Lee (Katherine L. Hughes) Bussey and Thomas Wade Bussey. He and his 9 siblings were part of a colorful family with deep roots in rural East Texas (Timpson, Shelby County), which was home to the Busseys since 1864. An ancestor, George Bussey (born in Maryland in approximately 1735) served with General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Young's father, Tom, was a fine singer who called square dances and played the accordion and the fiddle. Young inherited the family's musical talents: singing and playing the accordion and the fiddle.

Looking for better financial opportunities in the oil business, the family moved to Humble, near Houston, Texas. After a loading dock crashed, Tom Bussey decided to look for opportunities in Houston. He worked odd jobs and then landed a supervisory position at a firm that manufactured train equipment. However, in 1928, Tom mysteriously disappeared from the family. When father Tom died in Timpson in March 1935, Katie Lee become the head of the household. Her older sons worked to help to support the family. Eventually, Young joined his brothers delivering milk. Lifting and carrying milk crates help him develop his muscular physique.

Young, as he was usually called, was born a non-conformist, but was loyal and affectionate with his family. As a twelve-year-old fifth grader, Young had become so coordinated that his teacher had to “rig” the softball teams during recess to try to keep Young from dominating the game. The neighborhood where the Bussey family resided at that time (on Jackson Street in mid-town Houston), was populated by hard-working hard-living families trying to survive the Depression.

Young was called the “Blonde Bomber from the Bayou.” He attracted the attention of local sports writers in Houston while attending San Jacinto High School, which was located in an affluent area of Houston. Young was in awe of the wealth of the typical student. However, Young was a Big Man on Campus from his arrival. Classmates included Walter Cronkite and Dr. Denton Cooley, who founded the Texas Heart Institute.

Young excelled in many sports: basketball (his favorite), football, baseball, boxing, wrestling, swimming, diving, water polo, and track. Young's skills and antics drew unequalled crowds to Houston high school games. At Louisiana State University, where he studied engineering, he continued to be an outstanding athlete but clashed with the coaching staff and administrators. A Chicago Bear teammate, Clyde ("Bullldog") Turner, said that "Coaching Young was nearly impossible."

Young was playing a professional football game on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. He decided to leave the NFL to join the navy in 1942. He attained the office of Lieutenant (junior grade) and was assigned to the Pacific Conflict. Young had the premonition that he would not survive the assignment to free the Philippine Islands from Japanese occupation. Katie Lee also thought that he would not return. He received several commendations for “courageous conduct.” He was hit by a shell, and he and a corpsman attempted to swim away but were never found. Young died attempting to save his crew. Because his body was not recovered, his mother never gave up hope that he would return.