Former Western coach Gary Filbert dies
Cody Thorn
St. Joseph News-Press
Larry Holley was walking to his car to prepare for a trip from his home in Liberty, Mo., to Columbia to visit his friend Gary Filbert.
Before the William Jewell basketball coach could trek across Interstate 70, Holley received a phone call from the Filbert family that Gary had lost his battle with cancer.
Filbert, 80, died Thursday morning at his home in Columbia, Mo. Funeral arrangements are pending.“He was a special, special man,” Holley said.Filbert was born and raised in St. Joseph and was standout athlete at Benton High School. He played for the University of Missouri Tigers basketball team, became the first-ever men’s basketball coach at Missouri Western and later returned to Missouri to assist legendary coach Norm Stewart on the Tigers’ bench. After his coaching career ended, Filbert served as the assistant athletic director at Missouri before he formed the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and became executive director for the Missouri Show-Me Games. Filbert’s career coaching record between Missouri Western and Mexico High School was 470-244. The basketball court at Mexico was renamed Gary Filbert Court during a ceremony in January and will host the the inaugural Gary Filbert Classic starting in 2012. Filbert coached 14 years in the high school ranks. His impact in the high school game still resonates today. “He had tremendous impact because of his passion for the game,” Central boys basketball coach Neal Hook said. “He started the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. He felt like basketball needed to be promoted throughout the state, not only in high school coaches, but college coaches.” Hook, current president of the MBCA, recalls hearing stories of Filbert’s playing days at Benton growing up. Hook’s father, Gene, was a few grades behind Filbert at Benton. Hook also recalls going with his dad to watch the Griffons play basketball under Filbert during the 1970s. “When I got into coaching, I wanted to get to know more about him,” Hook said. “He had a tremendous impact on the game of basketball, not only in St. Joseph, but across the state. “He was a visionary. He had a passion for not only sports, but kids. He made sure kids had the opportunity to participate, play and have some things he was able to have. He definitely went out of his way to make sure those opportunities were available.” Through the MBCA, the organization holds all-star games throughout the state in May, awards academic all-state honors and selects the Mr. and Ms. Show-Me Basketball Awards. Last year, the organization started awarding the Gary Filbert Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to thenamesake.That was just one of many honors along the way for Filbert. He is a member of multiple hall of fames, including this past December being named a Missouri Sports Legend in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mo. “Gary is a man I’ll never forget,” Holley said. “He changed my life for the better. He introduced me to my wife, and when she died (in 2006), he spoke at her funeral. His first year at Missouri Western was my first year at Central Methodist. I never beat Gary; we lost to him both times we played him when he was at Western.” The two worked at each other’s basketball camps and remained close friends over the years, which included weekly phone calls. Filbert was diagnosed with a brain tumor last spring, which became inoperable. “I talked to him a week ago Sunday,” Holley said. “We had a good visit. He seemed very sharp and was in good spirits. I went to Houston Thursday for the Final Four and got back Tuesday and was ready to go see him. He was a friend to everyone. A lot of people call him Mr. Basketball.“... It is a sad day for the Filbert family and all those who knew and loved him. He was a great man. I miss him already.” Current Western coach Tom Smith recalled his most memorable moment with Filbert. During a trip to the men’s basketball Final Four in New York, Smith, Filbert and Holley took a walk around Central Park. They told stories of their recently completed seasons, and the talk eventually meandered to Filbert’s time at Western.“By the time we realized it, we walked around the park,” Smith said. “We later realized it was about five miles in one direction and five miles in the other.
“(Filbert) is a real historic figure in the game of basketball in the state of Missouri.”Cody Thorn can be reached at cody.thorn@newspressnow.com
To read a story about Gary Filbert from December, click here.