NCAA MEN'S GYMNASTICS ALUMNI On FaceBook

Don't know how many of you are on Facebook but there is a group called NCAA MEN'S GYMNASTICS ALUMNI that currently has about a thousand members but is looking for more.  You can find it under search. I would encourage you to look at  it and consider joining if it's of interest to you. (I think you can just click on the above name and it will take you there.)

I still have a number of videos of the reunion that I'll send to anyone who is interested and I mean anyone.  You didn't have to attend of even be part of the "golden oldies" group.  If you're just on this website and would like the video contact me at the info on the website.
Thanks,
Pat

Tony Rossi

Anthony Maria Rossi

Date of Birth:

Friday, August 17th, 1917

Date of Death:

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Funeral Home:

Allnutt Funeral Service

650 West Drake Road

FORT COLLINS, Colarado, UNITED STATES

80526

Obituary:

Tony Rossi was born August 17, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Italian immigrant parents and one of eight brothers and sisters. Growing up, Tony frequented the local YMCA and developed his love for gymnastics.

With the escalation of World War II, Tony enlisted. He served as a bombardier on a B-17, and was shot down over Germany in 1944. He spent a year-and-a-half in several POW camps across Germany. To keep mentally and physically active while a POW, Tony would build high bars and practiced his giant swings daily.

After the war, Tony received his Bachelors’ degree from NYU and in 1948 moved to Greeley, Colorado to complete his Masters’ degree at what was then the Colorado State College of Education (now the University of Northern Colorado). While going to graduate school he found the love of his life, Marianne Cawley. They were married August 24, 1949.

Tony became an instructor of health and physical education at UNC where he served with distinction for 34 years and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1983. While at the University, he also implemented one of the first athletic training programs in the country and over the course of his career served as athletic trainer for all college sports.

In addition to his love for Marianne and his three children, Tony’s true passion remained with gymnastics. He led his UNC gymnasts to a number of individual awards and team championships. He himself received multiple Coach of the Year honors and was inducted into both the UNC Athletic Hall of Fame and the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Students and student athletes from across three decades remember Tony and his impact on their lives. His most cherished recognition came from students. His house became a safe harbor for students and many remember Tony for his home cooked spaghetti dinners.

Tony’s love of country and dedication to military service also remained strong throughout his life. He continued to serve in the Air Force Reserves, and retired as Lieutenant Colonel in 1977.

Tony was preceded in death by six of his eight siblings and by his second child, Ricky. He is survived by his wife Marianne and sister Dorothy. Also surviving him are daughter Roxanne, son Michiel and their spouses, and three grandchildren: Michael, Jonathan and Sarah. More than anything, his family remembers him as a loving husband and father, doting grandfather, and dedicated family man.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Tony Rossi Kinesiology and Physical Education Scholarship Fund, Saint Peter Catholic Church of Greeley, or Hospice and Palliative Care of Northern Colorado in care of Allnutt Funeral Service, 702 13th Street, Greeley, CO 80631.

Don Robinson died at 2 PM July 4 at a rehab center in Phoenix. He was being treated for a pulmonary embolism but on July 4, trying to get out of bed, he passed out, suffered cardiac arrest and died.  He went quickly with no pain. 

Don created the gymnastics program at Aurora High School, and coached there from 1960 to 1967, winning state championships in 1963, 1964, and 1967. He led the Arizona State University men's gymnastics program for 25 years (1969-93), guiding it to 13 top 10 national finishes and six conference titles. ASU had a pair of national runner-up finishes (1974, '78) before breaking through and winning the NCAA Championship in 1986. That same year Robinson earned national coach of the year honors.

He was inducted into the Arizona State University Hall of Distinction in 1993.

Under Robinson's tutelage 24 different Sun Devil student-athletes earned a combined 43 All-America awards.

In 2000 Robinson was the first recipient of the USA Gymnastics Lifetime Achievement Award.

Robinson's own gymnastics career began during his prep days at North High School before his collegiate career at Colorado State College. He earned four letters in college and was the team's top all-around performer. He earned his bachelor's degree from CSC in art education in 1958 and his master's degree from Eastern New Mexico University in 1968.

Prior to college, Don served in the Air Force for four years, and, while in the service, appeared on the old TV show “Beat the Clock” performing his black light one-finger stand trick.

Don married his wife Audrey in 1965. Unfortunately, Audrey suffers from Alzheimer’s and has been in assisted living for several years. They had no children.


*****************

To all the friends and colleagues of Don Robinson

I first met Don in 1954 when he enrolled at the Colorado State College of Education in Greeley, Colorado. I had been lured into the gymnastics gym by Coach Rossi and Don quickly made me a believer in the art and athletic nature of gymnastics. As an active member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, I convinced Don that he should join as a number of the gymnastics team members had done. I became his “big brother” for the fraternity activities although he was much older and wiser than I. During my senior year, Don, Grady Mathews, and I were fortunate to qualify for the National Gymnastics Championship, meet at the Naval academy so Coach Rossi took us via the railroad system to New York (Brooklyn) and then on to Annapolis for the competition.

In addition to these experiences and many others, Don was the best man at Louanne’s and my wedding in St Paul, Minnesota. I remember Don spotting me on a standing back flip in the front of the church during the rehearsal. He always seemed to work in the “art” of gymnastics in whatever he did.

          Don and I transported our high school gymnasts a number of times to the Christmas clinics in Tucson, Arizona and Sarasota, Florida. With two station wagons loaded with gymnasts, we would pull into a filling station for gas, the doors would all spring open, and there would be gymnasts on their hands walking all about the station grounds.

           Don and I both served as gymnastics instructors and counselors at Trojan Ranch near the little town of Gold Hill in the mountains west of Boulder. Along with the encouragement of Coach Walker, the camp owner and director, we were able to hold an international gymnastics clinic, including such stars as Rusty Mitchell. Many of you were there to hone your skills and workout under the beautiful blue skies of the Colorado mountains.

           Don and I and many of you were involved with the growth and popularity of gymnastics in Colorado and the USA. I venture to say because of Coach Rossi and Don, the Colorado gymnastics quality was one of the best, if not THE best, in the country. The growth and development of the skills of the sport and the quality of the individuals involved in the sport is a long lasting legacy left by Don and others.

         Thanks to a number of you (Pat Edwards, Jack Ryan, Ben Blea, and others) and the organization of the Colorado Golden Oldies Reunion we were all extremely fortunate to have valuable time together which gave us the chance to share with Don and catch up on the last 50 years.

          We all will miss Don dearly.

Art White

As most of you know our reunion last year was the result of my being tripped in March by my kid's dog and breaking my kneecap in two. Almost ten weeks of sitting with my leg locked straight brought on enough boredom that I finally decided to organize the reunion several of us had been talking about for several years. Shortly after the first anniversary of my broken knee cap (last Saturday)I once again fell collapsing that same knee under me and straining the knee so that in 24 hours it looked like a tennis ball on a knitting needle. A visit to the orthopedic doc on Monday determined it was probably a small tear in the scar tissue between the two parts of the knee cap. After taking a turkey baster of fluid out he told me to keep the joint immobile for two weeks and we'd go from there. It's actually much better than I expected but I wanted to inform any of you still reading this that despite the circumstances I WILL NOT be planning a reunion for this year despite the fun we had. This blog remains available to add anything you'd like to keep in touch with others so don't hesitate to send me stuff.
Thanks,
Pat

It's been awhile but here's three new posts sent in by Steve Schroeder and Terry Truman.



Here's the outcome of what happened when SIU came to town when they were the kings of the college gymnastics world.







And here's a Modern
Gymnast article about Aurora Central winning the '67 State Championship.

Here is Don Robinson in front of his photo in the Arizona State University fieldhouse and Don and Gary Alexander in front of Gary’s photo in the Arizona State Athletic Hall of Fame in Tempe.



AND... here's the latest word from Eric Singer (mid-January.)
Here's what he wrote:

Dear Pat,
Update on my surgery... knee fits,otherwise I had two CODES Thanks for the prayers. I truly believe that God has something for me to do,Otherwise I wouldn't have made it. So knee trauma over. Next a month later I was checking on some work on my house and fell 25' but I made it to my back. Breaking 8 vertabrae, God was watching again. I'm in a body cast for 2-3 months.
Keep up the prayers.
Eric Singer