Gillespie was tower of strenght for Dunbar Twp.
Bill Gillespie was a tower of strength on the line of scrimmage for Dunbar Township High School football squads in the 1940’s.
Gillespie started every game for the Mules in a high school career that spanned 1942 to 1945. The 1942 squad only recorded two victories. In 1943 the Mules posted a record of 8-1, the only loss coming against Uniontown 14-0. The 1943 campaign included a memorable 7-0 win over arch-rival Connellsville. That was the first win for the Mules against the Cokers since 1929. In 1944 playing a Class A schedule the Mules finished 3-4-2. In Gillespie’s final grid season in 1945, the Mules posted a record of 6-2-1.
“We were competitive and we had some really good athletes during my years at Dunbar,” Gillespie recalled. “We had good players like tackle Tom Hustosky, end Frank Borsodi and running back Charles “Manny” May. We had Willie Wright, Ray Skonezny, Stan McLaughlin and Sammy Guariglia. We had some talent at Dunbar.
Gillespie played guard and also handled the punting during his final two seasons at Dunbar, he had a real knack for blocking punts. Gillespie blocked a punt against Uniontown in a scoreless tie on Sept. 14, 1945. In Dunbar’s big win over previously undefeated Hurst High School, Gillespie blocked two punts and recovered them for touchdowns in Dunbar’s 19-6 win.
“I think it was a combination of things that led to the blocked punts,” Gillespie said. “I liked to do a lot of faking with my head and shoulders, I was pretty good at that. I was lucky to come up with some big plays like that.”
Gillespie has a great deal of respect for his former head coach at Dunbar, Armand Niccolai.
“He was the greatest,” Gillespie stated. “He had a way with his comments, I just loved him. He would come down and block with us. He got his point across, he had a way about him. He was kind and good and just a good guy. He had the respect of the team.”
The 5-foot-11, 176-pound Gillespie benefited from Niccolai’s teaching on the football field.
“He was great with blocking technique,” Gillespie remembered. “It was so good. He did a lot of good things with me.”
The honors piled up for Gillespie during his junior and senior campaigns. He was unanimously chosen All-County and All-WPIAL as a guard. He was team captain as a senior.
“I didn’t think about the honors,” Gillespie said. “I was happy that I had the honors, but I just enjoyed playing, that’s what I liked.”
Gillespie played a little basketball, but says football was his sport.
Schools came knocking on Gillespie’s door offering football scholarships when he graduated in 1946. In the end Notre Dame was his choice.
“I had a lot of offers, but Notre Dame was the main one,” Gillespie recalled. “I liked Notre Dame and Mr. Oppermann was the one who approached me and set it up with the Fighting Irish.”
A few days after Gillespie left to take part in spring practice at Notre Dame. John Whoric, the sports editor of the Connellsville Daily Courier, wrote this about Gillespie. “Gillespie was one of the greatest guards of all-time in the Leisenring No. 1 school’s history and he established a brilliant record in four years of high school athletic competition. In addition to being a sensational defensive and offensive player in the line, he was also a punter and placement kicker for Armand Niccolai’s Mules.”
Things didn’t go as planned for Gillespie at Notre Dame. He played with the “B” team as a freshman.
Working with the varsity at the start of his sophomore year, he had a promising career cut short when he suffered his third concussion, necessitating his retirement from football.
“I had some real concussion problems and that was bad,” Gillespie lamented. “I had three and at that point nothing bad had happened physically. I had an uncle that was a psychiatrist in New York City and he felt along with the doctors that it was good for me to stop playing at that point. It was a big disappointment. When you put your heart in something you enjoy, it’s tough. I really missed playing.”
After his sophomore year, Gillespie enrolled at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., where he served as trainer and aided coach Jack Stoeber.
“Someone wanted me to go on to school after that,” Gillespie said. “I thought I might do some football coaching at some point.”
After graduating from Thiel, Gillespie entered the service and served in Korea. He returned from the service in 1953. He worked at National Tube Works in McKeesport until he accepted a position as assistant football coach and English instructor at Rochester High School. He later became a guidance counselor and remained in education until his retirement in 1984.
Gillespie, 84, resides in Lake Park, Fla., with his second wife Pauline. They have been married 24 years.
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NOTE: George Von Benko will be selling and signing copies of Memory Lane and Memory Lane Vol 2 at the German-Masontown Public Library on Wednesday November 14, from 1 to 3 p.m.
George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” columns appear in the Tuesday editions of HeraldStandard.com. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.