Slats Gill
Encyclopedia
Amory Tingle "Slats" Gill (May 1, 1901 – April 5, 1966) was a men's basketball
and baseball
coach at Oregon State University
.
, the youngest of eight children. His father died when he was a child. His nickname "Slats" was given to him at age 12. Gill was swimming in a local pond one summer afternoon. Upon exiting the pond, a buddy joked with Gill about his scrawny frame with his ribs protruding, which he said looked like slats in a picket fence
. Gill was from then on known as Slats.
Gill attended Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) in Corvallis, Oregon
. While at OAC, he played baseball from 1919 to 1921 and basketball from 1922 to 1924. Gill was an All-America
n forward in 1924.
In the summer of 1928, OAC's current head coach Bob Hager was fired by then school president Jasper Kerr. Kerr did not look far for his new head coach. Even though Gill was only 27 years old and had just three years of coaching under his belt, Kerr hired him as the head basketball coach.
In his tenure, Oregon State won five Pacific Coast Conference titles, four Northern Division championships, and a pair of Final Four appearances (1949 and 1963). His teams won eight consecutive Far West Classic titles. Gill had 599 coaching victories with the Beavers.
Gill also coached the Beavers' baseball team from 1932 to 1937.
As past president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Slats coached in the 1964 NABC All-Star Game.
, a position he held until his death from a stroke in 1966.
Gill was elected a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
. Oregon State's basketball arena, Gill Coliseum
, is named for him.
Gill was the first OSU coach to have an African American player to play on the team. Norman Monroe was a walk on and was the first black basketball player to play at OSU and played for the team for half of the 1960-1961 season. The first recruited, scholarship black athlete to be named to the OSU basketball team arrived only in 1966, when Charlie White was named to the squad.
This policy of institutionalized racism
in OSU athletics would come to a head in another of the school's major sports when in 1968 OSU football player Fred Milton would clash with Head Coach Dee Andros
over grooming policy — a battle reduced to racial terms as a struggle of black athletes against white coaches and administrators. In the supercharged political climate of the decade, the so-called Milton Affair would lead to a protest march and a walk out of classes in sympathy and the mass departure of African-American athletes from the OSU football team. It would be several years until tensions abated and Oregon State sports could be called fully integrated.
Gill met his wife, Helen, on a blind date at OAC in the early 1920s. They were married in 1932. They raised two children, a son John, and a daughter Jane.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
coach at Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
.
Early life
Gill was born in Salem, OregonSalem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, the youngest of eight children. His father died when he was a child. His nickname "Slats" was given to him at age 12. Gill was swimming in a local pond one summer afternoon. Upon exiting the pond, a buddy joked with Gill about his scrawny frame with his ribs protruding, which he said looked like slats in a picket fence
Picket fence
A picket fence is a variety of fence that has been used mostly for domestic boundaries. Until the introduction of advertising on fences in the 1980s, a Cricket field was also usually surrounded by a picket fence, giving rise to the expression rattling the pickets for a ball hit firmly into the...
. Gill was from then on known as Slats.
Gill attended Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) in Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
. While at OAC, he played baseball from 1919 to 1921 and basketball from 1922 to 1924. Gill was an All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n forward in 1924.
Coaching career
Gill's first head coaching position was at a high school in Oakland, California. After one season there, he returned to Corvallis to be the head coach of the Rooks (the OSU freshman team). He spent two seasons in that capacity.In the summer of 1928, OAC's current head coach Bob Hager was fired by then school president Jasper Kerr. Kerr did not look far for his new head coach. Even though Gill was only 27 years old and had just three years of coaching under his belt, Kerr hired him as the head basketball coach.
In his tenure, Oregon State won five Pacific Coast Conference titles, four Northern Division championships, and a pair of Final Four appearances (1949 and 1963). His teams won eight consecutive Far West Classic titles. Gill had 599 coaching victories with the Beavers.
Gill also coached the Beavers' baseball team from 1932 to 1937.
As past president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Slats coached in the 1964 NABC All-Star Game.
Legacy
When he retired from coaching in 1964, Gill became the Oregon State athletic directorAthletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
, a position he held until his death from a stroke in 1966.
Gill was elected a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall...
. Oregon State's basketball arena, Gill Coliseum
Gill Coliseum
Gill Coliseum is a 10,400-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Opened in 1949, the arena is home to the Oregon State Beavers' basketball, wrestling, volleyball, and gymnastics teams. It is named after famed basketball coach Amory T...
, is named for him.
Gill was the first OSU coach to have an African American player to play on the team. Norman Monroe was a walk on and was the first black basketball player to play at OSU and played for the team for half of the 1960-1961 season. The first recruited, scholarship black athlete to be named to the OSU basketball team arrived only in 1966, when Charlie White was named to the squad.
This policy of institutionalized racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in OSU athletics would come to a head in another of the school's major sports when in 1968 OSU football player Fred Milton would clash with Head Coach Dee Andros
Dee Andros
Demosthenes Konstandies "Dee" Andrecopoulos was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator in the United States. He served as the head football coach at the University of Idaho from 1962 to 1964 and at Oregon State University from 1965 to 1975, compiling career...
over grooming policy — a battle reduced to racial terms as a struggle of black athletes against white coaches and administrators. In the supercharged political climate of the decade, the so-called Milton Affair would lead to a protest march and a walk out of classes in sympathy and the mass departure of African-American athletes from the OSU football team. It would be several years until tensions abated and Oregon State sports could be called fully integrated.
Personal life