ART GILLIS - - A LIFE COMMITTED TO FASTBALL
“If I had any brains, I’d probably have been a good pitcher”
That was a summary judgment , or a self-portrait, shared by ART GILLIS when we chatted in the stands during the 2005 International Softball Congress World Tournament at
Had any brains, eh? Well, the 81-year-old Gillis can look back at his playing career with that sort of candor. But a closer look at his overall career in the sport of fastball surely shows no absence of grey matter. As a team organizer, manager, sponsor and as a constant student, analyst, and oh-so-accurate critic of the game, the brainpower of the personable Art Gillis stands out vividly. His commitment to the sport and his achievements in the sport have few peers.
Gillis, one of the true sages of the sport, will be inducted into the I.S.C. Hall of Fame in August, 2006, in
It was probably natural that Art Gillis would have the sport of fastball running through his veins. It wasn’t an accident that he was grew up next to a ball park in his native
And then there were the summers spent with his Grandma in
Gillis played football and basketball while in high school. And then came the years of World War II.
Gillis had turned to fastball and was developing as a pitcher. By 1942 he was playing in Air Force competition; hurling in such places as
Following the war, he returned to
As Gillis’ team prospered and emerged as a world-class powerhouse, he discovered the International Softball Congress and the worlds that it permitted him to conquer. In his own words, “I found out about the ISC 29 years ago. If I’d found out sooner, I’d have been broke sooner.”
As his team had strengthened, he had turned to the talent rich nation of
Walford led his team into the ISC World Tournament where he was an “All-World” pitching selection in 1978.
When Walford headed to
By that time Gillis had set his sights on yet another goal - - - a goal he was to achieve that same week - - - hosting the greatest spectacle in the world of fastball - - the ISC World Tourney!
He had bid to host the tourney earlier (in a 1978 venture) when, by his own admission, “I was not well prepared”. He had shocked the ISC chiefs that year with his offer that, “If you want to come to Saginaw, I’ll give you $45,000” Gillis assumed that the ISC wasn’t used to such a big dollar offer, and so the ’80 world tournament bid went to Tempe, Arizona.
Gillis wasn’t discouraged and in 1979 he was better prepared (and of course was destined to capture the world title during that same week) This time his offer was accepted as he offered 75% of the gate - - against a guarantee of that same $45K he had offered the previous year. Gillis believes that he was largely responsible for the ISC changing to fixed dollar bids rather that bids of a percentage of the gate.
And what a tournament Gillis was to host in 1981. Although his Bolters could not win a second world title in their home town, that tournament is regarded by many ISC regulars as one of the greatest in its storied run - - a tourney which saw Mark Smith and the Camarillo California Kings prevail and the all-time legend of a tourney game, the 34-inning masterpiece dual between Peter Finn and Pete Meredith recorded for posterity.
The Gillis-Herlihy partnership was to continue through 1982 making its share of ISC history.
But the story of Art Gillis wouldn’t be complete without the saga of how Art’s “little boy” absorbed all of the fastball adventures wrought by his talented Dad; absorbed all of the summers of having a parade of Kiwi hurlers living in his home as surrogate big brothers; absorbing all of the lessons (deliberate and casually picked up) from those amazing athletes - - and how Doug Gillis went on to become first one of the finest pitchers in the U.S. and later to become an entrepreneur of fastball schooling for athletes around the country. This author had the privilege of sitting in the stands in
So “Hats Off” to Art Gillis!! His dedication and commitment to the game is unmatched. Younger fans, unfortunately, may not always recognize the tall, thin gentleman with the crooked smile and the ready story to tell of some of the real “greats” of the game - - - and that title “great” is oh so appropriately applied to that legendary gentleman himself - - -Mr. ART GILLIS.
By: Gordon Wise - - - ISC Information Officer
June 30, 2006