Class News

Dick duPont ’64 reminisces about hockey coach Dick Gagliardi

June 2, 2022

Dick duPont, who spent two years with our class, recently selected the freshman-year hockey coach in 1961, Dick Gagliardi, as his most influential teacher at Yale, We added him to the earlier story. duPont’s account was so rich and vivid that we expand it here with photos that he provided. Dick writes ...

Our coach, Dick Gagliardi, was both my most memorable and influential mentor. The subject was "How to play winning hockey." We went 12 and 2 that season.

Front row, L-R — Louis Ray, Anthony Lee, Cole Oehler, Matthew Baxter, Capt. Samuel Crocker, David Smith, Ward Wickwire, Richard duPont. 2nd row — Tyler Smith, Sydney Lea, William Morse, Loring Knoblauch, Boardman Lloyd, Strachan Donnelley, Peter Wycoff, Marshall Hamilton, Manager. Back row — Jim Trowbridge, Ass't Coach; Thomas Rodd, William Fischer, Frost Hubbard, Bruce Warner, Waldo Johnston, Samuel Callaway, Coach Dick Gagliardi.

Coach "Gags" was literally just beginning his college coaching career at Yale. And in 1960, we freshman were doing the same as players. That was a fierce bonding agent. Simply put, he was an outstanding coach. All of us saw that instantly, and we all gave our full measure of desire and effort in return. But it was he who drew that out of us. He had the resolve, the discipline — the leadership. And he never wavered.

During his early career as a star Hamden High School athlete, Dick earned multiple letters in football, track, and hockey. In his senior year, Hamden’s hockey team won the New England High School Championship and Dick was named All New England Defenseman. He went on to play four years of hockey at Boston College, lettering in football there as well. In both his junior and senior year, Dick’s Boston College Eagles ECAC championship hockey team advanced to the NCAA finals.

After two years of service in the United States Marine Corps, where Dick captained both the Quantico Marine and the Hawaii Marine Football Teams, he was honorably discharged and came straight to us at Yale. He taught us by example what “Semper Fi” is about. Speaking of mottos, Taft School’s is “Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret,” or, “Not to be served, but to serve.” Coach Gagliardi led an exceptional and long life of leadership and service to others, particularly young athletes. Looking back, I cannot recall anyone I ever knew who fulfilled our Taft motto more than Coach Dick Gagliardi. His adherence to that was consistent and unconditional.

Dick Gagliardi

After his Yale debut with our team, Dick coached four more Yale freshman teams, then was named head coach of the Yale varsity hockey team. After that, Dick went on to teach high-school mathematics and coach Hamden High School’s Green Dragons varsity hockey team, winning the Connecticut State Championship in the 1988-1989 season. In 1993, he became athletic director at Sacred Heart Academy and taught there as well. The following quote from Dick’s address at his final retirement from Sacred Heart Academy speaks volumes about his passion and leadership as a player, coach, and mentor:

“Success in sports is not measured by the scoreboard, the trophies on your shelf, or the news clippings in your scrapbook. Success means loving to play as much at 60 as you do at 16. This love will last when you respect yourself, your teammates, and your opponents.”

Gags died in 2018 and was eulogized in the New Haven Register.

In addition, Dick’s wife, Manon, furnished via Sam Crocker the following touching eulogy, “So long my friend and fellow Marine,” by his Marine Corps pal, Roy Baker.

As the end approached, our Captain and my linemate, Sam Crocker, called a team meeting. We were knocking around ideas for a gift of some sort to present to Coach "Gags." We thought it would be great if we all signed it. It might be a proper framed copy of our team picture, a plaque of some sort, or a trophy. We couldn't decide. That prompted me to reach for a handful of courage before blurting out, "Guys, I've been working on a pencil drawing of Coach "Gags." It's a portrait in his Yale jacket — the one he always wears on the ice. But I don't know if it's good enough." Well, my teammates agreed to have a look to see if it might pass muster. A few days later, I showed it to them. Remarkably, they all liked it. So, that was that. I had a mat cut at a local gallery, then personally circulated that for each teammate to sign. I don't think I missed any signatures. I took it back to the gallery for a plain black frame and “Bob's your uncle.”

Well, three-score years have since passed, during which I have certainly recalled the drawing from time to time but have never felt right poking my nose into the Gagliardi family's business. Then your April 9 newsletter arrived on cue. That, of course, prompted my response above, which led to the questions of whether the drawing still existed and, if so, where might it be? I had heard earlier from Sam Crocker that Dick had passed in 2018 from Parkinson’s disease. I remembered Sam saying he had penned a letter to Manon, Coach Gags’ wife, and that she had written back a remarkably touching response. He wasn't sure about Manon's status now — some four years hence. However, Sam was able to find a contact for Dick and Manon's son, Dr. Joseph Gagliardi. I called Joe out of the blue a few days ago and he couldn't have been more gracious. "Bingo!" The drawing was not only still at Dick and Manon's home, but it had been hanging in their living room the whole time with three other items of memorabilia — the only four items Coach "Gags" chose to keep nearby as he wound his way through further decades of teaching and coaching — some fifty seasons in all to draw from.

Postscript

Upon seeing this web page, Joe Gagliardi (Dick’s son) wrote us as follows:

The expanded piece on your class website is amazing. Really FANTASTIC. My dad would be humbled by such a heartfelt tribute. Thank you very much.

Joe G