Gordie Gillespie
Gordon A. Gillespie
- Born April 14, 1926 in Chicago, IL USA
- Died February 28, 2015 in Joliet, IL USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Coaching in the "minor leagues" of college baseball, Gordie Gillespie quietly set the record for wins by a college baseball coach. He was eventually passed by Augie Garrido and Mike Martin, and stands 3rd all time as of 2017. Gillespie coached for 59 years, 5 more than Tony Rossi and Bob DeFelice, the only other coaches to go over 50 years.
Coach Gillespie began his career as a head coach in baseball in 1953 at Lewis College. He coached at Lewis for 24 years, where he won 634 games and 3 NAIA titles. He then moved on to the former College of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. In 19 years at St. Francis, Gillespie won 804 more games and another national title. He served as athletic director at St. Francis from 1986 to 1995. Not to be outdone, Gillespie moved on to Ripon College in Wisconsin. He stayed ten seasons and made six playoff appearances.
In 2005, Gillespie announced he was returning to the University of St. Francis for the 2006 season. He had 1,893 career victories when he retired at the end of the 2011 season.
In addition to his baseball victories, Gillespie coached football at Joliet Catholic Academy for 27 years. He won 222 games and five state titles at JCA. He was the high school coach of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger of the motion picture Rudy. He has also coached men's and women's basketball at the collegiate level.
Gillespie's son Bob Gillespie was head coach at Ripon College from 1980 to 2012, except for the 10 years when Gordie was the coach.
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