bussey excelled at sports, such as football, baseball, boxing, wrestling, swimming, diving, water polo, track and his favorite, basketball. by age 12, he had become so coordinated that his teacher had to “rig” the softball teams during recess in an attempt to prevent him from dominating the game. as a teenager, bussey attended san jacinto high school, where his athletic skills and brash antics drew large crowds at games and attracted the attention of local sports writers. his classmates at san jacinto included walter cronkite and denton cooley.