Gene Hughes

Gene Hughes graduated from Poly High in 1953. After graduating from UCR, he returned to his alma mater to teach Physical Education and coach Junior Varsity basketball. In 1965, when J.W. North High School opened its doors, Hughes became the Head Varsity Basketball coach. It would be his home for the next 31 years.

In the 17 years that Hughes was head basketball coach, the Huskies became a power to reckon with. From 1965 through 1981, his teams were 301-140. His team won their first team league championship in 1968 and he would go on to garner three more league titles wins in 1975, 1978 and 1979. His teams made the playoffs 10 times and the Huskies made it to back-to-back CIF Finals in 1978 and 1979.

Gene guided numerous players into the collegiate ranks and mentored a number of athletes who became coaches themselves. Among these are Riverside Sport Hall of Fame Inductee Mike Bartee, who succeeded Hughes at J.W. North and who has compiled 806 wins (146th nationally); Ray Johnson, coach of El Camino High who has the most victories in San Diego County history with 812 wins (138th nationally); and RCC Coach Phil Mathews, who has coached both high school and college for 45 years, including 2 State Junior College Championships, with 611 wins.

An avid player of the game himself, Gene was also J.W. North’s Varsity Boys Tennis Coach for 27 years and coached the girls team to 14 league titles. He was inducted into the J.W. North Hall of Fame in 2012 and placed on the Riverside Sports Wall of Distinction in 2017. There is currently a campaign to name the original gym after Coach Hughes. This movement isn’t just to celebrate wins, but to acknowledge the standard he set at J.W. North that is based on sportsmanship, integrity and compassion for all students.

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