Hall of Fame
With intensity, considerable success and class, Chuck Gismondi was a model of baseball coaching consistency at California University for nearly a quarter of a century.
A 1960 graduate of North Union High School, Gismondi received his bachelor’s degree in 1964 from Cal U and his master’s degree from West Virginia University in 1968.
Even before his extraordinary Cal U coaching career began, Gismondi returned to his alma mater in 1969 and began teaching in the speech pathology department, which is now the communication disorders department. The popular associate professor retired after a 33-year teaching career from Cal U in January 2002.
In 1973, Gismondi became Cal’s assistant head baseball coach and served under Head Coach Mitch Bailey, also a Cal U Hall of Fame inductee, for seven years.
Following Bailey’s retirement from coaching following Cal’s 1979 PSAC championship season, Gismondi became the Vulcans’ head coach in 1980 and guided Cal U baseball for 17 seasons through 1996.
His final career mark was 393-295-7 with 14 winning seasons, six post-season appearances, five PSAC Final Four showings, three PSAC-West titles, three state runner-up finishes, and one NCAA Tournament appearance. Gismondi’s last nine Vulcan teams all produced winning records and 13 of his 17 Vulcan teams won 20 or more games. His final nine teams all achieved winning seasons and Gismondi’s 393 career wins are the most in school history. An instant coaching success, Gismondi needed just 154 games to reach his first 100 career victories.
“When Wayne Miller called me last October and told me I was going in the Hall of Fame you could have knocked me over with a feather,” said Gismondi. “This means so much to me, and I am at a loss for words on how to describe the feeling. The university means so much to me, and I have been fortunate enough to have received several honors in the past. This takes the cake though.”
Gismondi’s 1981, 1983, and 1990 teams were all state finalists while his 1985 and 1994 teams also advanced to the PSAC Final Four. Gismondi’s final squad tied for second in the PSAC-West and lost a one-game playoff for another PSAC Final Four appearance. Gismondi’s 1982 team went 27-6 overall and that squad’s .818 winning percentage and 15-game win streak are still school records heading into the 2003 season. Gismondi-coached Cal U teams also still own six individual single-season batting records and five individual single-season pitching records.
Like all great coaches, Gismondi remembers the tough losses more than the many victories and championships.
“I don’t like to be negative, but the thing that sticks out was losing in the final of the 1990 PSAC championship to Indiana,” Gismondi said. “We were in the winners’ bracket and needed just one win on the final day but lost twice. The first loss was a one-run game and we had our chances. I would rather beat Indiana than beat the Yankees.”
On the winning side, Gismondi has better, if not more vivid, memories of a playoff win at Slippery Rock in 1981.
“We were down to our last out in the final inning, and I brought Troy Smith to pinch hit,” Gismondi said. “He swung and missed the first pitch by two feet. The second pitch felt like slow motion after he hit it. I still remember their catcher and centerfielder falling over as the ball soared into the trees.”
Coinciding with the stellar team play during the Gismondi years were countless exceptional individual performances. Eight Vulcans advanced to professional baseball under Gismondi, including All-American southpaw Rick Krivda, a 2000 U.S. Olympic gold medalist.
Gismondi’s No. 29 jersey was officially retired by Cal U President Dr. Angelo Armenti, Jr. during part of the 1996 Alumni Weekend activities.
“When I started teaching in 1969, I replaced Herschel who started what was then called the speech and hearing department,” Gismondi said. “He was really a pioneer, and that was a special day. I was a baseball coach here for 24 years but a teacher for 33 years. My colleagues from both the communication disorders department and the athletic program’s support staff are special people, and I have a lot great memories.”
“Giz” is one of four men to serve as the Vulcan head baseball coach since 1950, along with Andy Sepsi (1950-59), Bailey (1960-79), and current Cal U seventh-year head coach Mike Conte, who served as a graduate assistant under Gismondi.
“It’s kind of scary that only four guys have coached the baseball team here since 1950, but that shows how special our baseball program is,” Gismondi said. Mike taking over as coach helped me retire with a good feeling. I knew Mike would not let the program slide. He is a good man, a friend, and does a good job. The California baseball program has been consistently successful for a long time, and I am proud to have been involved.”
Though he retired from teaching a year-and-a-half ago, Gismondi is still an active part of the Cal U community as well as a strong supporter of this area’s rich baseball tradition.
A distinguished emeritus faculty member, Gismondi still participates in the annual Bitonti Memorial Scholarship awards presentation/luncheon conducted by the communication disorders department each spring. Constantly loyal and grateful to his alma mater, Gismondi also established an endowed $10,000 scholarship to the Vulcan baseball program last spring. He remains a recognizable figure at many Cal U sporting and cultural events.
“If I live to be 190, I will always be a supporter of California University,” said Gismondi. “The university has educated me, enabled me to live and raise a family, as well as the opportunity to teach and coach. I owe this place a lot.”
Gismondi and his wife, Barbara, reside in nearby Elco and are the parents of three grown children—Jennifer, Maria, and Tony.
