2013 scholarship winners Green, Perry following Gilbertson’s lead

    Morgan Green and Tanner Perry are taking pages right from their old coach’s playbook. The two Snohomish High graduates have been named 2013 recipients of the Keith Gilbertson Sr. Memorial Scholarship, and both intend to use the money– $1,000 per year for up to four years of college — to help pursue teaching careers in hopes of impacting others …

Keith Gilbertson Sr. inducted into WIAA Hall of Fame

Keith Gilbertson Sr. took his place among the greats of  Washington high school athletics on Wednesday with his posthumous induction into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame. Honored for 61 years of service as a coach at Snohomish High School, including the last 31 as an unpaid volunteer  assistant in football  and basketball prior to his death in …

Gilb with Curt Marsh

Curt Marsh credits Gilbertson with showing him how to get the most from his talents

The following is a Keith Gilbertson Sr. remembrance written by Curt Marsh, the former Snohomish High football star and 1977 SHS grad who went on to play for the Oakland/L.A. Raiders as a first-round NFL draft pick out of the University of Washington.  God gave me the raw physical tools to be successful in athletics. Coach Armstrong, Coach Don James and Coach …

Word play on Gilby and Grantland Rice

A recent blog posting by Snohomish writer Keith Olson likens the coaching legacy of Keith Gilbertson Sr. to the themes portrayed in the classic 1914 sports poem “Alumnus Football” by Grantland Rice.  Gilby was the Panthers backfield coach when Olson played football at Snohomish High in the late 1960s. Check out A Life Well Played on Olson’s blog at  RansomMan.com.

Armstrong Golf Tournament draws biggest field ever

The seventh-annual Armstrong Memorial Golf Tournament drew its biggest field ever, with 123 golfers taking part in the Aug. 17 event at Snohomish Public Golf Course to help secure the continued presence of the Coach Armstrong Memorial Scholarship at Snohomish and Glacier Peak high schools. Armstrong, who died in 1999, compiled a legendary career at Snohomish High, where he was …

Gilbertson bust near completion

Coach is at the foundry for final casting, and fans are fired up to see the bronze bust commissioned by family and friends to honor the memory of longtime Snohomish High School coach Keith Gilbertson Sr. Gilbertson, who died in 2011 at the age of 83, spent 61 years as an inspirational teacher, coach, and role model at his alma …

Gravelle, Caldwell earn first Gilby scholarships

It’s hard to think the old coach would be anything but pleased with the selection of Carolyn Gravelle and Darian Caldwell as the first recipients of the Keith Gilbertson Sr. Memorial Scholarship at Snohomish High School. The two 2012 SHS graduates, both stellar scholars and athletes coached by Gilbertson before his death in 2011, share lofty aspirations as they independently …

Classic views of Keith Gilbertson Sr. in the regional sports press

Several splendid newspaper articles have focused on Keith Gilbertson Sr. over the final decade of his 61-year coaching career at Snohomish. Coach Gilbertson died in February of 2011 at age 83, ending a legendary career at his high school alma mater. Among the best reads readily assessible on the Internet are a pair of Daily Herald articles written by sports …

‘All for You’ is Panthers’ slogan for 2011 football season

It’s two days before the Snohomish Panthers will open their first football season in 47 years without assistant coach Keith Gilbertson Sr. somewhere on the sideline, and the slogan adopted by this year’s senior players is, “All for You.” It’s not entirely about Gilby, who died in February at age 83 after coaching at Snohomish High School for 61 continuous …

Gilb with Fenney brothers and Emmil

Gilbertson’s SHS football legacy: 389 wins and a lifetime of support

  A desire to coach his own three sons – none of whom fit the runner’s mold — brought Keith Gilbertson Sr. back to Snohomish High football in 1964 as a member of Dick Armstrong’s staff in Armstrong’s second season as head coach of the Panthers. Gilbertson remained with Armstrong for 31 seasons, helping the Panthers win 17 league or …

Blast from the past: Gilbertson fired as football coach

It’s hard to believe these days, but Snohomish coaching icon Keith Gilbertson Sr. was once fired from an SHS coaching job. It happened more than 50 years ago, but the firing and Gilby’s comeback underscore the mettle of a young coach who would go on to earn near-unanimous community and national respect as a mentor, motivator and role model. Fresh …

Another hall pass for Coach Gilbertson

The honors continue for Coach Keith Gilbertson Sr. Despite his many years working in the background as an assistant coach at Snohomish High School, Gilby hardly went unrecognized for his professional excellence. His name appears in no fewer than five halls of fame, the latest being his posthumous inclusion in June among the second group set for induction into the newly …

Gilbertson a difference-maker for Panthers, even in his 80s

Never think that Keith Gilbertson Sr. was merely an iconic figure trotted out to provide inspiration to would-be Panthers. Even in his 80s, Gilbertson made significant contributions to the Snohomish High athletic programs he helped coach. Yes, age took a physical toll on him, and he shouldered less of the workload on game nights in recent years. In 2010, he …

"Inspirational" Gilby Won 10 Letters in Four Sports at SHS

While never a pro talent, Keith Gilbertson still has to rank among the best athletes ever produced at Snohomish High School. Among the few four-year letter winners in SHS history, Gilby earned his first “S” as a ninth-grade tennis player in the spring of 1942, advancing to the district singles final, which would remain the high point of his tennis …

Computer Brain

  Gilby remembrance from Dick Rodland, former SHS teammate and longtime teaching and coaching colleague, excerpted from a 1993 letter in support of Keith Gilbertson’s nomination to the Snohomish High School Hall of Fame: In 1944, no one talked about using computers to determine the tendencies of an opposing football team. They didn’t have one? Wrong! The Snohomish Panthers did. …