Gordie Gillespie (April 14, 1926 – February 28, 2015) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, football and basketball coach. He was a head baseball coach for 58 years at

Lewis University Lewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university in Romeoville, Illinois, United States. The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students. Lewis offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, 22 graduate pr ...

, Ripon College, and the University of St. Francis. With a career coaching record of 1,893–952–2, Gillespie had the most wins of any coach in

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

history until being passed by

Augie Garrido August Edmun "Augie" Garrido Jr. (February 6, 1939 – March 15, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and coach in NCAA Division I college baseball, best known for his stints with the Cal State Fullerton Titans and Texas Longhorns. ...

of Texas in 2014. He had held that record since 1993 when he passed the prior record set by USC's

Rod Dedeaux Raoul Martial "Rod" Dedeaux (February 17, 1914 – January 5, 2006) was an American college baseball coach who compiled what is widely recognized as among the greatest records of any coach in the sport's amateur history. Dedeaux was the head bas ...

. He won his 1,800th game in April 2009 at age 82. He was also inducted into the

College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

in 2009.

Playing career

Gillespie graduated from Kelvyn Park High School in

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, and enrolled at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

. He played basketball at DePaul under coach

Ray Meyer Raymond Joseph Meyer (December 18, 1913 – March 17, 2006) was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record. Meye ...

and toured with the College All-Stars when they played the Harlem Globetrotters.

Coaching career

At age 26, Gillespie began his head coaching career at

in 1953. He was the head coach at Lewis from 1953 to 1976 and compiled a record there of 634 wins and 241 losses. His Lewis teams won three straight NAIA World Series championships in 1974,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. His Lewis baseball teams also finished among the top five teams nationally in 1962 (3rd), 1963 (5th), 1966 (2nd), 1971 (3rd), and 1972 (5th). Gillespie also coached the Lewis Flyers basketball team from 1950 to 1965. Gillespie was the head baseball coach at Ripon College in Wisconsin for 10 years from 1996 to 2005. In 10 years at Ripon, he led the Ripon Red Hawks to a record of 239 wins and 130 losses. His Ripon teams advanced to the NCAA III playoffs six of his last seven years and won five league titles. Gillespie served as the baseball coach at St. Francis from 1977 to 1995 and again from 2006 to 2010. During his first stint at St. Francis, he led his team to the World Series on eight occasions. His

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

team won the National Championship, winning 38 of their final 39 games. His team finished in 5th place in 1978, 3rd place in 1985, 2nd place in 1989, 3rd place in 1990 and 5th place in 1995. Gillespie also served as the head coach of the women's basketball team at St. Francis from 1976 to 1993. Gillespie has also had a successful career as a football coach. He was the head football coach at

Joliet Catholic High School Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet Catholic or JCA) is a coed Catholic high school in Joliet, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. One of the oldest Catholic high schools in the Chicago area, Joliet Catholic is perhaps be ...

for 27 years and compiled a record there of 222 wins 54 losses and 6 ties. His Joliet football teams won five Illinois Class 5A state championships in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981. In 1991, Gillespie was selected by the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' as the head coach of the newspaper's All-Time Illinois High School Football Team. Gillespie also started the football program at St. Francis University in 1986. In 1998, Gillespie was named the NAIA "Coach of the Century" by Collegiate Baseball Magazine. Asked about retirement in 2006, Gillespie said, "God will retire me. He'll tell me when it's time." Gillespie passed the St. Francis coaching reins to his assistant coach, Brian Michalak, for 2012. He died on February 28, 2015.

References

External links

St. Francis baseball profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Gordie 1926 births 2015 deaths American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees College men's basketball head coaches in the United States DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players High school baseball coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Illinois Lewis Flyers baseball coaches Lewis Flyers men's basketball coaches Ripon Red Hawks baseball coaches St. Francis Fighting Saints athletic directors St. Francis Fighting Saints baseball coaches St. Francis Fighting Saints football coaches Sportspeople from Chicago Basketball players from Chicago

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links