Sports Memories by Tom Jones

 

In the local sports world, he was only known by one name, Gilby. Davis “Dave” Gilbertson was a great friend of mine who passed away 10 days ago. This week I would like to share some of my memories of Gilby and some memories of people he touched in his 79 years.

In his obituary, it noted he was a basketball, football and track coach. He was a long-time coach with the Albert Lea High School basketball program and was also a coach in the Albert Lea Elks traveling basketball program, where we became friends.

I would often invite him to practices of the youth teams I coached and he would always accept the invitations. When I was coaching girls’ B-squad basketball in Alden-Conger 13 years ago, I found out we were going up against a team that ran a 2-2-1 full court press. A quick call and get-together with Dave allowed me to draw out on the bus how to break the press on the way to the game. By the time we arrived, we were more than ready and came away with the win.

This past summer I invited Gilby to come to a Sunday night 14U softball practice at Morin Park to help with the team I was coaching, and there he was, working with my pitcher and catcher just a few minutes into practice. The next night he was right behind the backstop as a fan at Snyder Fields, watching the two he had worked with the night before. This dedication, knowledge and passion is one of many reasons he was elected to the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame in 2016.

For many years Dave was part of the sports broadcasts with me on KATE Radio. He always brought along a radio and would get us scoring updates of teams around the country during the games. He kept a notebook of the station’s call letters and numbers on the dial. He loved getting us scores from the Canadian Football League and obscure schools from around the country. He also made a special mix with a bottle of Diet Pepsi, which he would put peanuts in and consume during games — definitely a habit I did not pick up. We did not need a GPS to get to the games. He knew every back road to get us there the quickest.

We once had a referee pass away during a Tigers football game many years ago at Hammer Field. While school officials were trying to figure out if the game should continue, Gilby ran home and came back in football officiating clothes. He was always willing to help out.

When my wife and I got married 20 years ago, we did a wedding registry that included an NBA beach towel — not your typical wedding gift. Dave told us after the wedding he tried hard to find that item, but it was sold out.

While living at St. John’s before he passed away, he apparently did not have good radio reception and wanted me to being him a transistor radio to listen to the Tigers football games. Before one of the Tigers home games this fall, my wife gave him ours, and he told me how much he enjoyed keeping up with the team.

As I have written, he touched so many people in his life and I have reached out to a few for their memories.

Jason Bakke of Lakeville: I coached with Gilby from 1996 to 2001. I came into the program as a young go-getter, wet behind the ears, first-time coach who thought he knew it all. When my assistant left for another job at mid-season, Gilby’s name quickly surfaced as a big supporter of Albert Lea athletics and he graciously stepped into the role. When Gilby stepped in, he quickly evolved into my mentor. His vast experience, especially his knowledge of climate and culture, helped us grow together. Gilby grounded me and helped me understand the importance of creating relationships first. He was very detail-orientated, especially when it came to showing respect. I remember the kids leaving the floor during pre-game warm ups to go to the locker room for a last minute pep-talk before the game started. The kids just left the basketballs on the floor. They were everywhere. Gilby quickly said, “We will clean up after ourselves, rack the balls, and show the game, fans and officials respect the Albert Lea way.”

Mike Petersen of Albert Lea: I have many special memories of him, but my favorite is how his coaching served as a perfect example on how to be a true team player. A team player is someone who cares more about the growth, development and success of the group rather than worrying about special accolades or attention for themselves. Coach Gilbertson was always there to serve the programs and players as best as he could, and in any way he

could. He understood people, and the complex dynamics between a coach and his or her players. He knew when to be tough, he knew when to lighten things up and he never cared if the credit came his way.

Kat Ladwig of St. Paul: When I was in high school, Gilby would show up to our varsity softball practices to offer up tips, assist in running drills and crack some signature dry humor jokes with players and coaches. During one practice, Gilby offered to toss some pitches from the mound for extra batting practice. Things were going smoothly until I took the plate and wanted to hit from the left side for placement practice. Gilby suggested I bat from the right side to work on my power swing (that really didn’t exist). He said, “Just swing through the ball, Ladwig, no need to

get fancy with it,” or something to that effect. Sure enough, for once I waited on the ball and instead of pulling it, cranked it right up the middle for a line drive straight to Gilby’s shin. He hopped around on the mound for a minute while I apologized repeatedly. Gilby muttered a few choice words under his breath before assuring me he was OK and that he “should have been more prepared for a hit up the middle, and yes, that’s what he meant by swinging through the ball.” I was completely mortified, but in true Gilby fashion he was quick to shrug it off and it turned into an inside joke we shared for a long time about that one time I swung hard. I know my former teammates would agree that we always appreciated the time he took to show up to softball practice and games to coach and cheer; his presence didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. Albert Lea lost a loyal coach and sports fan last week. Thanks for everything, Gilby; you’ll be dearly missed.

Mark Stalker of Kenosha, Wisconsin: He used to join my dad, Ed, and Gus (Jim Gustafson) and others for pick-up hoops, and sometimes young guys like me got to jump in to even up teams. Constant laughter, really!

My last visit with Dave was about a month ago when we watched college football together in his room at St. John’s. As I left we exchanged the firmest handshake, one that I will never forget. Our last talks were on the phone, including at halftime of the Tigers football victory over Austin.

Thanks for everyone you touched as a teacher, coach and member of our community. Our town and our sports community has lost a great friend.