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WILKES-BARRE — Former players of Rollie Schmidt paid their respects to their coach on Monday, telling stories of how he impacted their lives as they traveled through life.
Schmidt died Thursday at age 82.
Bill Hanbury, an offensive guard who graduated from Wilkes College (now University) in 1972, delivered the eulogy at the memorial service at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center. Hanbury shared a story that typified the kind of relationship players had with Schmidt, the legendary head football coach of the Colonels and the famous Golden Horde teams that won 32 straight games in the mid-sixties.
“I went from hey you, to Bill, to Billy, to son,” Hanbury said of his four years at Wilkes playing for Schmidt. “Not many achieve greatness, but coach Schmidt personified greatness. Playing for him was our chance to touch greatness. Before you all leave here tonight, touch that casket and touch greatness one last time.”
Hanbury, like all of the players attending the service, repeated the two words that Schmidt constantly used — pride and poise.
“He told us to stick to the basics, to work non-stop and to strive for excellence in academics and athletics,” Hanbury said. “His legacy lives on with every player he coached.”
Players like Joe Wiendl, a three-sport star for the Colonels and still the only 12-time letter winner and three-time Athlete of the Year in school history. He starred on the gridiron and the baseball field for Schmidt, and on the wrestling mat for another Wilkes legend, John Reese.
“He was a great leader, a quiet leader,” Wiendl said of Schmidt. “He never raised his voice. But once in a while, he would kind of look at you funny and you knew you did something wrong. You knew when he was upset.”
Wiendl having Schmidt and Reese as his collegiate coaches left a positive impact on his life.
“Having these two guys as my leaders, well, I couldn’t have done any better,” he said.
Former quarterback Joe Zakowski said Schmidt always made his players feel like they couldn’t lose.
“He would convey what he wanted us to do and we did it,” he said.
Hanbury said Schmidt would never humiliate a player. He said he always cared about his players and challenged them. He said Schmidt also taught his teams how to lose with grace.
“His voice will always be in my head,” Hanbury said. “I can still hear his whistle blow. Work hard, have confidence, pride and poise. When I have decisions to make, I think how Coach would handle this.”
Hanbury now lives in Bermuda where he works as the CEO of the National Tourism Authority.
Reese told how Wilkes found Schmidt when he was an assistant coach at Kingston High School under Jim Fennell.
“When he came in, the beginning was tough,” Reese said. “But then he started winning and his teams just kept getting better.”
P.J. Kane expressed sadness that all the former players were feeling.
“He was such a great man; he meant so much to us,” Kane said. “His leadership, his calm demeanor, he made it easy for us to focus on what we had to do.”
Kane said when he saw Schmidt recently, he told him how the players looked forward to getting a kiss from Marge, the coaches wife of 59 years. The Schmidts didn’t have any children and Kane said Schmidt told him Marge always said the players were “their boys.”
Wilkes President Patrick Leahy said he hoped the Schmidt family and all of his extended Wilkes family realize how much Schmidt meant to Wilkes..
“His players became better players and they became better men,” Leahy said. “This man was much more than a coach — he was a father figure to his players.”
According to a release from Wilkes, Schmidt’s service at Wilkes began in 1962; he retired in 1994. During his tenure, he served numerous roles; head football coach, men’s golf coach, head baseball coach and associate professor of physical education. Schmidt was elected to the Wilkes Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2010, Schmidt Stadium was dedicated in his honor.
Serving as head football coach from 1962 through 1981, Schmidt led the football program to its legendary 32-game win streak, resulting in Wilkes College being awarded the Lambert Bowl trophy in 1966 and 1968 as the top small college football team in the East.
As baseball coach, he led the Colonels to their first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference Baseball championship in 1968. As golf coach, he led his teams to three conference championships.