100-year-old Patriots fan hasn’t missed a home game in 57 years

Three days after celebrating his 100th birthday, George F. Bush of Turners Falls did what he has done for more than five decades: he went to a Patriots game.

Bush turned 100 on Oct. 8. On Sunday, Oct. 11, he returned to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough for his 57th season as a Patriots season ticket holder. But this game came with something special: He went onto the field and meet team owner Robert Kraft and Kraft’s son Jonathan. The Patriots won against the Las Vegas Raiders 45-17.

Getting to the games has long been a family affair. Family friend Dave Bernard drives Bush from Western Massachusetts to Foxborough. Bush has not missed a home game in 57 years, according to a release.

Football is just one part of a lifetime spent around sports and young athletes. Bush taught history at Turners Falls High School for 30 years before retiring in 1982. He also coached high school athletes, started a Little League team, and spent two decades running the playground program at Unity Park, where the ballfields were later named after him in his honor.

In 2024, the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame inducted the 1942 Turners Falls High School baseball team, of which Bush is its last surviving member. He also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

At Bush’s birthday celebration earlier this month, former student Brian Lamore called him an inspiration, pointing to his determination to stay active and keep attending games, according to the release.

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.