Bill Gassaway

Many thanks to the PIL Hall of Fame for your consideration. I am humbled and excited to be part of this incredibly talented family of athletes and leaders.

A friend once joked that I must’ve been born in a stadium. I had natural talent and a huge interest in sports. But it really helped that my older brother Dave was the best athlete I knew as well as my roommate. I learned a lot from Dave, including the importance of good sportsmanship and humility. My sister Jane wasn’t bad either. Because we all shared this skill and passion, our parents got us involved in sports and other community and school activities at a very young age. It seemed like our family was always at the gym, a sports field, or the park across the street from our house.

It didn’t hurt that my dad was an excellent football, basketball and baseball coach and the athletic director for Madison H.S. for many years. Dad surrounded himself with a group of talented coaches who also happened to be incredible people. I’m a little bias, but we may have been the luckiest student athletes across the Portland metro area. Our mentors and coaching staff, including Gary Walls, Ole Johnson, Jim Flint, Dave Gasser, and Bill Wiitala, were all passionate about their jobs. But it was their compassion, character and talent that ultimately led to our success on the field. They really just wanted to make us better athletes and people.

I also was very fortunate to have talented and inspirational teammates, many of whom are Hall of Fame members today. Greg Moss, Marty Pinz, Jeff Erdman, Greg Hay, Bill Booth and Dave Hildahl – just to name a few.

Lastly, thank you to my parents, who unfortunately are no longer with us. I can’t remember a game where they weren’t there cheering us on. With limited means (AKA teachers’ salaries), my brother, sister and I were encouraged to explore athletics and many other opportunities. And it was our mother who taught us to be competitive. She never let us win, and I thank her for that.

‍