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 …

Gilbertson among nine new members going into WIAA Hall of Fame

Keith Gilbertson Sr. has been selected for induction into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame. It’s a posthumous honor for the Snohomish High coaching icon, who died in 2011 after spending 61 years as a coach, teacher, mentor and role model at his alma mater, including the last 30 as an unpaid volunteer assistant coach in football and …

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 …

Huskies envision big things from Gilby Scholarship winner Carolyn Gravelle

Carolyn Gravelle, one of the first recipients of the Keith Gilbertson Sr. Memorial Scholarship at Snohomish High School,  has made a quick impression as a freshman walk-on hammer and weight thrower for the University of Washington track team. The 2012 SHS co-valedictorian received an academic scholarship from Washington and was also one of the first two recipients of the Gilby …

Snohomish High School pays homage to ‘Greatest Panther Ever’

SNOHOMISH – Tom Cable gazed long and hard at the bronze bust of Keith Gilbertson Sr. before finally saying, “That’s my Coach.” The Seattle Seahawks coach and former Snohomish High football great joined the Gilbertson family and several hundred Panther fans,  including a host of other former SHS athletes back at their alma mater on Friday night Jan. 18, 2013, …

Even in drivers education, Coach Gilbertson found new ways to motivate students

Mr. Gilbertson was well-known to innovate from the conventional in order to provide an opportuity for his students to improve their performance. Here is a story about Mr. Gilbertson innovating in the classroom as a young teacher. Keith Gilbertson was my driving instructor when I was a junior in Snohomish High School.  We drove new Ford straight stick sedans from …

Dedication set for Coach Gilbertson memorial

The following press release went out today to local media outlets: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 3, 2012 CONTACT:  Michael Edwards at the Snohomish Education Foundation: 206-940-5552 or michael@snoed.org. The date is set for formal dedication of the newly installed bronze bust of Snohomish coaching icon Keith Gilbertson Sr. at Snohomish High School. It will take place Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, …

Snohomish girls embrace Gilbertson legacy; former Panther greats salute coach in video

  About a year ago, head coach Ken Roberts’ 2011-12 Snohomish High girls basketball players adopted the season slogan “Leaving a Legacy” in memory of Keith Gilbertson Sr., who had died nine months earlier at age 83 in his 61st consecutive year as an SHS coach. To mark the dedication at their home opener, the Panthers wore and distributed t-shirts …

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.

Gilbertson bust on display; formal dedication set for Jan. 18

The bronze bust  of Keith Gilbertson Sr. has been installed at Snohomish High School to help jump-start a second phase of fundraising to permanently endow a memorial scholarship honoring the Panther coaching icon. Coach Gilbertson, a 1945 SHS graduate, was a teacher for 31 years and coached for 61 years at his alma mater, including the last 30 as an …

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 …

Gilbertson left lasting impression on SHS hoops legend

The following is a Gilby rememberance from Snohomish basketball legend Melina Flores, who was an SHS senior during the 1995-96 season, when Keith Gilbertson Sr. made the transition to coaching Panther girls basketball after more than 30 years of coaching the boys team. Flores is currently an assistant coach at Princeton after a stellar collegiate career as a point guard …

Championship XC coach recalls Gilbertson’s impact in early years

The following is a Gilby rememberance from former Snohomish High cross country coach Dan Parker, currently the XC coach at Glacier Peak High. A 1970 SHS grad and three-year track/cross country letterman under coach Larry Eason, Parker coached the Panther girls XC teams to four state team titles in 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2003 before moving to Glacier Peak when …

SHS fitness center renamed in honor of Keith Gilbertson Sr.

Thousands of Snohomish High School students and athletes will long remember their association with Keith Gilbertson Sr., and thanks to an action by the Snohomish School Board, thousands more will be linked to the legendary high school coach and educator. The school’s one-year-old sports and fitness center has been renamed in honor of Gilbertson, who died in February at age …

Gilby teacher (SHS photo)

Coach Gilbertson as inspirational in classroom as on the athletic field

You’d have to be in your mid-40s at least if you can remember having Keith Gilbertson Sr. as a teacher at Snohomish High School. And you’ll find others in their mid-70s who sat in his class as early as the sixth grade before the longtime SHS coach and educator settled into his familiar niche as a popular and talented ninth-grade …

Gilby still teaching us, Marsh says of Snohomish coaching icon

Coach Keith Gilbertson Sr. “is still teaching us,” reflects Snohomish football great Curt Marsh while sharing a story about the drive home following his eulogy of the Snohomish High School coaching legend in 2011 during a community memorial service in the SHS gym. Marsh shared this and other thoughts about Coach Gilbertson during a video session for the Snohomish Education Foundation’s ongoing …

1999-2000 SHS girls (WIAA photo)

Coaching girls basketball a bliss for Gilbertson in his later years

Girls basketball was a whole new ballgame for Keith Gilbertson, but it soon became a bliss. If he were considering retirement as an SHS volunteer coach, that option was never more open to him than in the 1995-96 school year as Snohomish introduced new head coaches in both football and boys basketball. In football, Gilby’s transition from Dick Armstrong’s staff …

‘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 …

Gilbertson stood out on biggest stage of SHS basketball lore

Although he was never a head coach in basketball at Snohomish, Keith Gilbertson Sr. still had a profound effect on Panthers hoops over the past five decades. For 30 years, Gilby coached boys basketball as the junior varsity coach and varsity assistant under head coaches Jack de Kubber, Jim Adams and, for one year, George Fowler (1992). He joined de …

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 …

Gilbertson left a remarkable record as track and cross county coach

    Almost anyone who knew Keith Gilbertson could speak of his prowess as a football and basketball coach. But few might know that he was probably even better as a track and cross country coach. Gilby started coaching track when he was still in college, mentoring a Pullman High team that in the spring of 1950 qualified six athletes …

Eileen and Keith Gilbertson Memorial Endowment Fund

Snohomish Education Foundation is partnering with the Gilbertson family to endow two new Snohomish High School scholarships. If you knew Keith, then you’ll probably enjoy taking a minute to remember him. You can share your thoughts and stories about this inspiring coach by adding comments. Or honor his memory by making a donation to help us permanently endow the scholarships. Learn more.

Bud Rothget photo

Trackmen salute Coach Gilbertson

The following are excerpts from 1993 letters written by track and field persons in support of Keith Gilbertson Sr.’s induction into the Snohomish High School Hall of Fame:   Stan Huntsman, 1988 U.S. Olympic track and field coach and a longtime friend and AAU coaching associate of Coach Gilbertson since the late 1950s, considered Gilby “one of the best athletic coaches in the history …

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 …

Gilbertson all about relationships

  The Postal Service would do well to honor Keith Gilbertson Sr. on a commemorative stamp, simply in recognition of all the postage fees he generated. Throughout his 61-year coaching career at Snohomish, he corresponded regularly with hundreds of coaching colleagues, friends and former students and athletes, many of who became teachers and coaches themselves and viewed him as a …

Keith Gilbertson Sr. Timeline

1927: Born Aug. 20 in Snohomish, second son of Steven and Helen Gilbertson. 1942: Earned first high school letter in spring as ninth-grade tennis player. 1945: Graduated Snohomish High School as four-sport letterman, football captain and two-time Most Inspirational player and entered the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving one year on active duty in the Pacific. 1946: Returned home from the Navy …

"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. …