Hall of Fame
Paul “Bud” Koehler lettered in three sports at Shippensburg and was co-captain of the football team his senior year.
Koehler enrolled at Shippensburg in September of 1941. He lettered for the football team as a tackle for the Red Raiders that season. Shippensburg went 6-2 for the year and allowed the opposition to score only 19 points, an average of 2.4 points per game. Shippensburg registered five shutouts.
World War II interrupted Koehler’s academic career at Shippensburg. During the summer of 1942 he joined the Marine Corps. He saw a lot of action in the Pacific with the 22nd Marine Regiment. Following the war he returned to Shippensburg but was unable to participate in sports because he was still recovering for wounds received in combat. He was awarded the Purple Heart and was on 80 percent disability.
Despite the physical problems Koehler went out for athletics his junior and senior years and lettered in football, track and one year in basketball. He again played tackle on the football team and competed in the shot put, discus and javelin in track.
The 1947 grid team compiled a 5-2-1 record and Koehler was a starter. The following season he was elected co-captain along with Charlie Shields. The Red Raiders went 5-3 but were nearly undefeated. Two of the losses were by only one touchdown and another by 12 points. Koehler received honorable mention in the balloting for the All-Pennsylvania Conference team. In those years only one team was selected to represent all 14 schools. Currently there is an all-conference team for both the Eastern and Western divisions.
Koehler was also active on campus as President of the Future Teachers and Secondary Education Club, Vice President of the Class of 1949, Vice President of Phi Sigma Chi and Vice President of the Varsity Club. He also was a member of the President’s Council for three years and an officer on the Debating Team.
Following graduation Koehler returned to New Jersey to begin a career in education that spanned 40 years. He taught and was assistant football coach at Woodbury High School from 1949 to 1953. He then was head coach at Swedsboro High School from 1954 to 1960. His most recent head coaching position was at St. James High School in Penns Grove from 1983 until 1986. He coach St. James to the Tri-County Conference championship in 1985. He also served as an assistant coach at Pennsville High School. Koehler was recently elected to the New Jersey Interscholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
