Ripon College Days

Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: John Bailey

Media Credit: John Bailey

The last time that father faced son, the grandson was less than one year old. It was 18 years ago, when Gordie Gillespie led his St. Francis Saints to a split with his son Bob's Ripon Red Hawks at Francis Field in Joliet, Ill.

The most recent meeting was a little different. The grandson, Scott, now a first year at Ripon College, played second base for his father's Red Hawks who were swept by Gordie's Saints. March 29 marked an extremely rare occurrence when three generations of Gillespie's were all active participants on the same field.

82 year old Gordie Gillespie, whose 1,756 wins is an NCAA record, has accomplished the majority of those wins with two institutions. After retiring from St. Francis in 1995, Gordie was pressured into coming to Ripon to take over the Red Hawks in 1996. Gordie took the job and led them through the 2005 season while Bob took the backseat as an assistant.

During the stretch under Gordie, Ripon regained a great level of prestige. The team won 5 league titles and made the NCAA Div. III playoffs six times. Bob had the opportunity to learn from the best after he had spent the previous 16 seasons as the head coach. When St. Francis came back calling for Gordie in 2006, Bob was ready to continue the coaching style that had been so successful.

The first year that Bob led Ripon after Gordie's departure, the team finished with a 34-7 record, going undefeated in the Midwest Conference. The 2007 season continued that streak breaking the MWC record.

Since Ripon needed to fill their schedule last year after a number of games were cancelled, they scheduled the twin bill against the St. Francis Saints for April 25, 2007.

"They know how much Coach [Gordie] means to our program and that we play the way he taught us," says Bob. "Our success the last two years can be attributed to our style of play."

Many of last year's seniors were excited to get the chance to face their former coach, who had led them during their first two years. Unfortunately, the game against St. Francis was cancelled due to a violent storm that devastated northern Illinois. The games were put on the schedule again this year.

"It will be a great event for everyone who will be involved," says Scott. "It is too bad that it couldn't have been played last year as well, because currently on our team we have only one player [Mac Shumann] who actually played for my grandfather."

The unique situation was presented to family members who were in attendance, as Bob's side of the family primarily lives in the Joliet, Illinois area. The family has been cheering for the Saints for a long time as Gordie has ammassed over half of his wins in St. Francis.

"I am sure deep down Coach [Gordie] wants Scott to have a great day and Scott understands how special this day is. I know my brothers and sisters will be cheering for Scott every time he bats," says Bob. "My favorite days at Ripon were coaching with my dad. It probably will never get any better than this."

While both coaches spoke about what a win would mean for their program, they treasured the opportunity to get the chance to combine the great respect for both programs and the family reunion. The game was an exhibition of top notch class and prestige.

"The Ripon players and the Wisconsin teams were as good as it ever was," says Gordie. "Ripon played a big part of my 'senior life.' I loved the boys at Ripon, the school itself and my assistant coaches, Bob, Eric Cruise, and Jack Frank, who all made big contributions to the program."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools