Anyone who has played for, or taught by, Coach Gordie Gillespie will know this to be true.
I was fortunate to have played two sports – baseball and basketball – for four seasons each, and then was his assistant coach/athletic administrator for five years. During those critical years, I witnessed the epitome of leadership. I tried to emulate him when I coached and directed educational programs in various roles.
I tried – good God I tried – but never came close to matching Coach Gillespie’s Standards of Conduct in any of my professional roles.
Likewise, no one else did … if that’s any consolation. My observation of coaches/leaders at whatever level was that their shortcomings were just a matter of degree different. How close were they to Gordie’s standards? Some were at 70%, others were at 25%. None ever matched.
I saw his standards not only in his coaching but also in his education administrator and leadership roles. I think that this is important. He was not only the coach you saw in the athletic arena, but he was also an outstanding higher education leader.
Gillespie Standards of Conduct
The following characteristics are subjective, my observations of Gordie as I saw them, heard him, and worked with him. Other former players would have other perspectives that are equally credible.
Respectful
Number one, Gordie had a high degree of respect for himself and for others. He neither spoke down to anyone nor despairingly about another. He dealt with opponents as worthy and credible. He didn’t tolerate name calling or insulting the opponent. That behavior was bush league. He believed in acting 1st class although we didn’t travel 1stclass. Respecting opponents was a way of respecting ourselves. We should be better than that.
He showed his respect to each person he ever talked with. He was most intent on the other person by listening, empathizing, and caring.
Progressive
Gordie was progressive. Over the years, I saw him become better through his studying and analyzing the different sports and the different athletes. He adjusted, adapted, and changed as he grew as a leader. Although he never played the sport, he learned football and became one of the greatest high school and college coaches. My direct observation of baseball coaching Gordie was that he improved every year and that he wasn’t fearful of change and innovation.
Common Good
Gordie became an unswerving mentor for all coaches, whether they be opponents or not. He understood that the purpose of coaching was not an end in itself…it was not about the coach, it’s about the players. How does the coach help the player become better? Better player, better person, better citizen?
At coaching clinics, Gordie freely distributed his coaching notes, ideas, and wisdom. He felt that his role was to help other coaches become better and promote the sport, support the coaches, and guide young people to be the best they can be.
Justice
Gordie had a great respect for treating people fairly and equitably. He positioned players in the best possible way to strengthen the team by getting people into the right position, playing to their strengths, and minimizing their weak areas. The players on the end of the bench were treated the same as the starters. When he migrated to the College of St. Francis, he immediately started a women’s basketball program, and he became their first coach. He was a fierce proponent of women’s sports.
In another regard, Gordie was outspoken at injustice. Again, I witnessed Gordie at his most passionate moments, as in the times that he was put in jail for protesting. The jail times I refer to are the few occasions when he was tossed from the games for protesting a call that was all too obviously incorrect. I can cite two examples when that happened. (I can further relate to this because I, too, was ejected for an injustice during a Joliet Jr. College basketball game.)
Integrity
The integrity of a person’s name is sacrosanct. Once you tarnish your name, the damage can seldom be repaired completely. That was Gordie’s philosophy. If you lie about little things, how far away are the bigger things?
A primary reason that Gordie left Lewis University in 1976 was that he felt that the upper administration was dishonest, that money was being misused. Gordie couldn’t tolerate what was happening at his home institution.
Humility
“It’s not about you, coach! It’s about the kids!” This was Gordie at his finest moment. He shamed those leaders who think only about themselves, their accomplishments, their awards. If that is the way the coach/leader views his/her role, then find another job where you work by yourself.
Gordie’s coaching records are unmatched. But he would always point out to admirers, “I may have had a record number of wins, I also had a record number of losses.” He would always be the first to laugh at himself.
In Sum
Was Gordie conservative or progressive? He was both. Was he Democrat or Republican? He never, ever indicated either.
I do know that he was a Christian in the best sense of the word. He had the utmost regard and adoration for Jesus Christ and tried to live as He professed. I feel that Gordie best represented some of the greatest qualities a human being can have. Was he a perfect human being? Of course not, but Gordie was among the best that I ever have known and because I was aware of his self-admitted shortcomings, I could relate to him much more easily.
Braidwood Beginnings 