“Nicole Rockfish (left) and Billy O'Brien (right) wave Ol' Crimson flags on O'Brien's 35-foot Carver Yacht Saturday night on Lake Washington. Rockfish, O'Brien and three friends spent their evening "sailgating" as Washington played Utah at Husky Stadium. (Courtesy/Paul Twibell)”
Story (not posted here) by Theo Lawson, Spokane S-R Sunday Nov. 29, 2020
NO APPLE CUP 2020 TO SEE ON TV NOV. 27. BUT, ON SAME DAY WSU FAMOUS ‘COSMIC CRISP’ APPLES SIGHTED
As you
know, Apple Cup 2002, UW vs. Washington State University, football game is not being/has not been
played in Pullman as scheduled on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Therefore, it was
serendipity when a Pacific Northwest grocery store (see photos) put WSU famous
“Cosmic Crisp” apples on display for sale.
https://magazine.wsu.edu/2020/10/31/new-stars-on-the-market-shelf
Remembering Bill Gaskins, Washington State
University’s ‘Ambassador’
Photo cutline: Bill Gaskins was a standout on the football field and on the track for Washington State in the 1960s. He died on Nov. 12 at the age of 76.
By Chuck Stewart for Spokane- Spokesman-Review 11/22/2020
“The Ambassador.”
That’s the nickname his college football official colleagues gave Washington State University football and track hall of famer Bill Gaskins.
“You could get onto an airplane with him and by the time you got off, he knew everything about you; wife’s name, kids’ names, birthdate, your favorite food … ” Jim Northcott said.
“Same on an elevator; he’d strike up a conversation with the first person he saw,” the president of the Spokane Collegiate Football Officials Association added. “He was quite a guy; so friendly, so outgoing.”
Gaskins, who wound up working his final college game with Northcott in the 2002 Orange Bowl to end a 17-year career as a Pac-10 football official, died Thursday at his Pullman home with his wife of 56 years, Felicia, two children and five grandchildren by his side.
He was 76, 11 days short of his 77th birthday. He had fought cancer for 3½ years, Felicia said.
The outpouring from WSU supporters and former associates echoed Northcott’s sentiments.
“Bill was as fine a person as ever walked the planet. Sad day for Cougar Nation,” tweeted Cougfan.com.
“So sad to hear the passing of another Cougar great, Bill Gaskins. Met him my Fr year and was one of the nicest Cougs I ever met. He was an amazing man. #GoCougs,” tweeted WSU football legend and Hall of Famer Jack Thompson.
Former WSU volleyball coach Cindy Frederick tweeted, “Bill was truly one of the best people! This is so heartbreaking.”
Gaskins arrived at WSU with a dual scholarship for football and track and field, which didn’t set well with Bert Clark, his second football coach.
Clark, who arrived in 1964 to replace Jim Sutherland, thought all his players should participate in spring practice. But Gaskins, a sprinter/hurdler on the Cougars’ track team, felt he had an obligation to the track team, too, and needed to honor that commitment. He held his ground.
He was a star on the renowned 1965 Cardiac Kids team, celebrated for its heart-stopping comebacks and narrow victories during a 7-3 record his senior year. He kicked two extra points in a 14-13 come-from-behind victory over Minnesota and had two of his season-high five interceptions in late-game situations that turned potential losses to Villanova and Oregon State into wins.
Mike Price, who would become a Hall of Fame coach for the Cougars, was a quarterback on the ’65 team.
“I was on that team,” he later recalled. “We came out here (to the Midwest) and beat Iowa 7-0 and 14-13 over Minnesota. Bill Gaskins kicked both extra points because our kicker (former Gonzaga Prep star Ted Gerela) was hurt and he’d never kicked since high school.”
Following that season, Gaskins, a safety who occasionally saw time as a running back and was a kick return specialist, was named to the United Press International and Newspaper Enterprise Association All-America second teams, along with gaining All-West Coast and All-Pac-8 honors. He also received the team’s inspirational award, given in the name of former athletic director J. Fred Bohler.
In 1990, Gaskins was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there to hear the applause. He was in Arizona, honoring a commitment to officiate a football game. Felicia and son William III accepted the award.
“It was a special evening for our son,” Felicia said. “The kids really didn’t know that much about what their dad did. Bill had said we’re not turning the house into a shrine to Bill Gaskins. So (son Bill) went with me and I think he was pretty impressed.”
After leaving the playing field, Gaskins kept his hand in athletics. He was a Division I track and football official, who worked several major college bowl games during his 17 years working the highest level. He also donated his time as a starter for high school track meets.
“I remember when he started (in the Pac-10) in 1986,” said Northcott, who is now a Pac-12 instant replay official. “We would have (rules) study meetings in Spokane, 10 in the spring, 4-5 in the fall, and he drove to Spokane for all of them. That’s quite a dedication.”
It wasn’t just on the athletic field that the 1962 Lewis and Clark High School graduate left his mark, though. He had been a clinical pharmacy instructor at WSU for 42 years, finishing his career as adjunct clinical assistant professor pharmacotherapy, and director of pharmacy at Pullman Regional Hospital for 43 years, retiring from both positions in 2013.
Felicia said Gaskins wanted to keep his pharmacy license in effect for 50 years, so even after “retiring,” he accepted fill-in shifts, finally stepping aside last year after 50 years and three months.
Felicia was not surprised by the nickname his football official friends hung on him.
“Everywhere he went,” she said, “he’d always ask someone, ‘Where you from?’ and people would start talking. He was making friends all over the place.
“We’d be shopping and in the checkout line and one of the kids would look around and ask, ‘Where’s dad?’ and one of us would answer, ‘He’s off making friends.’ ”
Gaskins was, you could say, an ambassador-in-residence in Pullman.
After arriving there in 1962 to start his highly successful athletic career, Gaskins made the city his adopted home. The family never left the Palouse except for two years (1966 and 1967) he spent in Calgary, Alberta, playing for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League and a pharmacy internship in Puyallup, Washington.
They returned from that brief side trip and he finished up his degree, graduating from the WSU College of Pharmacy in 1969.
“This is the perfect place for us,” said Felicia, who described herself as “a Tacoma girl” who met Gaskins in 1962, fell in love, and married two years later. “We came for four years and ended up staying for life.”
She, daughter Helen, son Bill and granddaughter Hilary all graduated from WSU. Felicia earned a B.A. in music education and later an M.A. in intercultural relations.
In an interview with Cougfan.com in 2018, Gaskins said, “It’s a great place to raise children. The people here are caring and genuine.”
Felicia said part of the reason Bill fell in love with Pullman was his affection for the hospital.
“He was practicing pharmacy in the hospital, working with patients and students. He was able to do all his teaching in a hands-on way in the hospital.”
In 2013 when he retired, a pharmacy scholarship program was established by Pullman Regional Hospital in Gaskins’ name to provide pharmacy students with a rural pharmacy practice experience. Recipients, named Gaskins Scholars, receive $2,500.
“Our students are the best and the brightest,” Gaskins was quoted in 2019. “It has always amazed me that these young men and women keep us fresh by exploring new ways to look at the future.”
“Bill is one of the most generous men I know,” Dr. R. Keith Campbell, a long-time colleague and distinguished professor, was quoted in an article announcing the scholarship.
“His leadership and donation of his time has played a vital role in the development of WSU’s College of Pharmacy, Pullman Hospital and the community. He has also promoted diversity in health care that is so needed.”
Six years later, in 2019, Gaskins was the first recipient of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences R. Keith Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award.
During the later stages of his battle with cancer, when “the treatments were pretty drastic,” and speaking was difficult, Felicia said Bill and the grandchildren devised a set of hand signals to communicate similar to the system he used officiating.
“A thumbs-up, things like that,” she said. “They knew what they meant.”
Gaskins is survived by his wife, daughter Helen and son-in-law Carl Washington, son Bill and daughter-in-law Carmen Gaskins and five grandchildren – Carlen Washington, Courtney Washington (Adam Ebberbach), Caleb Washington, Hilary Zuniga Camacho and Jorge Zuniga Camacho.
Felicia said because of the pandemic the family will wait to hold services at a later time “when we can all be together.”
“We’ve had a blessed life,” she said.
On Thursday, November 12, 2020, William “Bill” Gaskins, Jr. went home to meet his Maker surrounded by the family that will always love him and miss him.
Bill Gaskins shared his gifts of smiles, hugs, and generosity with all that he met in his life.
Born November 23, 1943 in Billings, Montana, Bill was the first of two children born to William and Helen Gaskins. At the end of WWII, Bill and baby brother Wally moved with their parents to Spokane, WA. Bill attended Edison Elementary, Libbey Junior High School and Lewis and Clark High School. With his brother close behind him in school the brothers (known as Willy and Wally in Spokane) excelled in football and track and field.
In 1962, Bill accepted a football/track
scholarship to attend Washington State University. At WSU, Bill would come into
his own playing football, running track, finding his academic calling in
pharmacy and meeting Felicia, the love of his life.
When Bill’s college eligibility ended in 1966, Bill’s honors included All AAWU Conference Safety, UPI 2nd team All-American, All-West Coast recognition and J. Fred Bohler Inspirational Award.
The icing on the cake was when Bill was signed by the Calgary Stampeders to play in the Canadian Football League for former Cougar Coach, Jerry Williams. After two seasons in Calgary, Bill returned to WSU with his family to complete his pharmacy degree.
In 1970, after completing his internship and board exams, Bill accepted the position of manager of the Pullman Memorial Hospital pharmacy and clinical instructor in the College of Pharmacy at WSU. He was later promoted to Director.
It quickly became apparent that the return to Pullman and the position in the hospital was a perfect fit for Bill. Hospital pharmacy in a college town offered Bill the opportunity to interact with patients, mentor students, and with increases in pharmacy staff provided more services and new practices to the hospital.
Living in Pullman also brought new opportunities to remain close to another love, athletics. Bill became a football official beginning with high school and small college football. He would go on to referee Pac-10 football for 17 years including refereeing bowl games and serving on the board of the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO). Bill also served as the WSU track & field starter.
He was a member of the Pullman City Council from 1977-81 and Pullman Rotary Club president from 1984-85.
The WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals recognized Bill with the R. Keith Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award during the Crimson Gala on October 18, 2019.
Bill
Gaskins was preceded in death by his parents, William and Helen Gaskins. He is
greatly loved and deeply missed by his wife Felicia; brother, Walter Gaskins
(Yoshiko) of Morgan Hills, CA; daughter, Helen L. Washington (Carl) of
Portland, OR, son William T. Gaskins III (Carmen) of Bothell, WA;
brother-in-law, W. Don Cornwell (Saundra) of Brooklyn, NY, and five
grandchildren; Carlen A. Washington of Portland, OR, Courtney A. Washington
(Adam Ebberbach) of Vancouver, WA, Hilary Zuniga Camacho of Bothell, WA, Jorge
Zuniga Camacho of Bothel, WA, and Caleb J. Washington of Portland, OR, and
scores of family and friends.
A
service to honor Bill’s life will not be held until COVID-19 restrictions are
lifted.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to
--Pullman Regional Hospital Gaskins Scholars Award, 840 SE Bishop Blvd, Suite 200, Pullman, WA 99163.
--The William and Felicia Gaskins Scholarship at the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99202-2131.
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He worked for Washington
State University for 42 years and four months:
--Adjunct Clinical Assistant
Professor Pharmacotherapy, Jun 2009 - Dec 2012 (3 years 7 months)
-- Instructor of Clinical
Pharmacy, Sep 1970 - Jun 2009 *38 years 10 months)
He earned a BPharm degree
from WSU in 1969. He started as a WSU student in 1962.
A preview of what LinkedIn
members had to say about him said, "Bill is a most productive
blend of professionalism and community citizen. When you need something done,
Bill's your man or connection."
WSU legend Bill Gaskins, a
Cougar Nation gem, is gone at age 76
By Dylan Haugh, Cougfan on Nov. 15th in 2020
PULLMAN—Bill Gaskins mused in an interview with
Cougfan.com two years ago that the only reason Washington State football
coaches recruited him out of Spokane's Lewis and Clark High was to get an
inside lane to his talented younger brother.
If so, the gambit paid off in a major way -- and not because of
his little brother. Gaskins went on to become not just
one of the school’s greatest defensive backs, playing on one of the most iconic
teams (the 1965 ‘Cardiac Kids’) but a giant in the Pullman community over the
last five decades.
The Spokesman-Review reported yesterday that this
personable, caring fixture of the Palouse has died. He was at home, in Pullman,
at age 76. The cause was not known at press time. We will provide memorial
details as they become available.
The loss is one that touches many.
Former WSU volleyball coach Cindy Frederick tweeted, "Bill was truly one of the best people! This is so heartbreaking."
Chris Moton, a football standout in the late 1980s said, "He took me under
his wing and had me in his home when I was on the team... solid role model for
me..... I’m glad he came into my life." Palouse Posse mainstay Torey
Hunter tweeted, "This one hits different. RIParadise."
In our 2018 story on Gaskins, we
noted, "The one-time All-Coast safety, second-team All-American, standout
sprinter, and WSU Hall of Fame member is still a towering presence in Pullman.
But his stature today doesn’t stem from the gridiron. It’s from a life well
lived, working in and serving a community he and his wife -- and college
sweetheart -- Felicia fell in love with in the early 1960s and never wanted to
leave."
Except for Bill’s two seasons playing in the
Canadian Football League and a pharmacy internship in Puyallup, they never did
leave Pullman.
Bill spent 41 years as a clinical
pharmacy instructor at WSU and the director of pharmacy at Pullman Regional
Hospital. Felicia also spent four decades working at WSU, most recently as
associate vice president for the Office of Equity and Diversity. Both of their
kids, William and Helen, are WSU grads, as is one of their five grandchildren.
“It’s a great place to raise children. The people here are caring
and genuine,” Bill told COUGFAN in 2018 in his
baritone voice and welcoming manner. “We just found a place that turned out to
be very perfect for us and our family.”
Gaskins was a star running back and
defensive back at Lewis and Clark High before journeying to Pullman in 1962.
Felicia, from Tacoma, was a year ahead of him in school and it was nearly love
at first sight when he spotted her walking across campus.
Here are condensed highlights from our illuminating conversation
...
COUGFAN: When you played at WSU in the early 60s, the civil rights
movement was in full swing. What was that time like?
Gaskins:“When
Kennedy was assassinated, it changed a lot of things for a lot of people … In
previous generations, like my parents’, they taught us that if we were model
citizens then equal rights may not happen for us but it would happen for our
children. With the civil rights movement, minority people realized if it didn’t
happen right now for us, it probably wasn’t going to happen for our children
….”
COUGFAN: When did things start to change for the better and where
do you see our society at the present day?
Gaskins:“When
we got into the ‘70s and the ‘80s we thought that things had changed and we
made a lot of progress and were on the road to a more tolerant, caring society Unfortunately
that isn’t the case today for a lot of people. I think the percentage of people
who believe all people are equal -- based on character and nothing else like
religion, color, creed -- is greater today, I would say. I believe the great
majority of people believe that, but there still is a significant group of
people who believe Blacks, Hispanics, women and other minorities are not equal.
That is unfortunate.”
COUGFAN: You were a Pac-10 referee for 17 years. You played
college football in the 1960s and then officiated during a new era. What was
that contrast like for you?
Gaskins: “I
always tell people, the athletes today are so phenomenal, they do so many
amazing things compared to when we were players. It would be interesting to see
what a player from the 60s would be like in 2018. The players are bigger,
faster, stronger … These players are unbelievable in my mind, they just do
things that I could never imagine doing sometimes.”
COUGFAN: You still help out the Pac-12 with its assessment of
officiating. What does that entail?
Gaskins:
“A couple times of year I’m enlisted to review the officials in a
game … I’ll go to the game and I watch all the players on the field, referees,
umpires, field judges and look to see that they they’re in the right positions
to make calls and that they don’t miss calls that they should have made.”
COUGFAN: How tough was it being an official in a multi-billion dollar
sport?
Gaskins: “Nobody
has any idea -- other than officials -- how scrutinized officials are. Every
game in the Pac-12, there are five guys that are former officials who review
the game -- every single official on every single play to make certain that
they have not made an incorrect call or that they have done something that is
inappropriate. They’re graded on that... every single official in the Pac-12 is
on a one-year contract. They’re evaluated at the end of the year. If they’ve
done well they’ll get another contract …”
COUGFAN: Were there any games you wish you had the chance to
officiate but didn't?
Gaskins: “Unfortunately
in my career, since I was a WSU alum, I never had the opportunity to do the
Washington vs. Washington State game ... I always regret that I didn’t have the
opportunity to do that game because that really is a special one ... But the
appearance of former player (from the rivalry) officiating could be
misconstrued if there was a controversial call.”
COUGFAN: In your WSU playing days, what were some of the more
memorable games?
Gaskins:
“There really wasn’t a game, it was a season actually -- my senior year (1965)
when we went 7-3 and beat three Big Ten schools on the road (in nail biting
fashion). It was the best record that WSU had in quite a while. It wasn’t a
really special team, but all the people on the team fit together and played
their role and did their jobs. It made us successful. We weren’t predicted to
do very well in the conference that season. That’s really what made it a
memorable year for us. All the games were good.”
(Of note: the Cougars missed the Rose Bowl that season by virtue
of a two-point conversion that was whistled back in the final moments at
Arizona State.)
COUGFAN: Bert Clark was the WSU coach in your junior and senior
seasons. He’s fairly notorious for the way he treated players. Talk about that.
Gaskins: “...
The two of us got along fine but things went a little bit sideways when I
explained to him that my scholarship at WSU was for both football and track so
I wouldn’t be out for spring ball because I would be running track. For the
most part, though, he was fair. He played the best 11 guys.
“That first spring he was there, I was thankful I wasn’t part of
it. I’m not sure I’d have returned in the fall if I had to go through what I
saw ... Eighty-five guys turned out that spring and by the fall, the roster was
down to 38 or 39, and some of the guys who left were really good players … He
was a tough task master and he could do some unusual things. We had three-a-days
one fall … At practice one time after a poor game, he brought out a belt and
said we were going to run every play until perfect. After the first play, he
singles out an offensive lineman and hits him on the butt with the belt. After
another play, he hits a running back -- and the guy just jogged off the field
and never came back. Bert put the belt away after that.”
COUGFAN: Who were some of the best athletes you played with at
WSU?
Gaskins: “One
of the best athletes that I’ve ever been around was a guy named Clarence --
Clancy -- Williams. He was an All-American (1964) here at WSU and a year behind
me. He was a track athlete too … I’m not sure there’s any sport that he
couldn’t excel in, he was just an amazing athlete.”
(Williams was a first-round draft pick by the L.A. Rams and played
eight seasons in the NFL. He died of cancer in 1986. His son Butch Williams was
a three-time first-team All-Pac-10 tight end for the Cougars.)
“In my senior season we had an All-American tackle, Wayne Foster,
who was amazing. He was probably 220 pounds -- which was big for a defensive
tackle in those days. He was very difficult for offensive linemen to handle and
part of the reason we were so successful was because of him. Those are just two
people …”
COUGFAN: What’s it been like to watch the football program return
to prominence during this current run with Mike Leach?
Gaskins:
“We’ve gone through some very difficult times and it’s nice to see
they’re back on the winning road ... One of the things that I’ve been very
pleased with is that the players seem to be very good citizens. They work hard,
they do their jobs. Obviously they’re not all perfect but the greatest majority
are good citizens and working toward completing their degrees which I think is
the most important thing for young men to understand in this day and age. I’m
glad to see we’re successful on the field but more importantly we’re also
successful off the field.”
::::::
Also see, “WSU football hero to be honored by College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences” form Aug 8, 2019:
Former
Washington State standout Bill Gaskins, a member of 1965 ‘Cardiac Kids,’ dies
at 76
By Theo
Lawson, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Sun. Nov. 15, 2020 print edition
Bill Gaskins, an ex-Washington State defensive back and
halfback who starred on Bert Clark’s 1965 “Cardiac Kids” team, has died at the
age of 76.
A cause of death for Gaskins is unknown, but The
Spokesman-Review learned he died at his home in Pullman. Gaskins is survived by
his wife, Felicia, and his two children, Helen and William III – both of whom
are also WSU graduates.
Before Gaskins accepted a scholarship at WSU to play
football and run track, he was a standout halfback and defensive back at
Spokane’s Lewis and Clark High.
Gaskins eventually made Pullman a permanent home, but not
before a decorated career with the Cougars. He played from 1962-66 and was an
All-AAWU Conference safety, in addition to being a second-team All-American. As
a defensive back, Gaskins intercepted five passes as a senior, but he also
served as a kick return specialist and occasionally as a running back.
In 1965, Gaskins was a member of the “Cardiac Kids” team
that went 7-3 and earned its nickname because of a penchant for winning games
by tight margins.
Gaskins, who also was a sprinter for WSU’s track and field
team, earned the J. Fred Bohler Inspirational Award for his performance on the
football field and returned to Pullman to complete his pharmacy degree after
two years with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders.
In 1990, Gaskins was inducted into WSU’s Athletics Hall of
Fame.
Following his playing career, Gaskins managed to stay active
in the game, spending 17 years as a Pac-10 football official and also working
as a starter for WSU track and field events.
The Gaskinses moved back to Pullman in 1970 when Bill became the Director of the Pullman Regional Hospital Pharmacy and clinical pharmacy instructor in the College of Pharmacy.
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(Photo found online, not at Spokane S-R)
BILL GASKINS mention in Spokane S-R 11/15/2020 "A Grip on Sports' blog
• A Cougar great – in many, many ways – died recently.
From Vince Grippi's Sunday,
11/15/2020, "A Grip on Sports" blog at the Spokane Spokesman-Review
website.
Bill Gaskins, a Spokane high school star and a member of WSU’s 1965 group nicknamed the Cardiac Kids, passed Thursday.
His name doesn’t appear in all that many spots in the Washington State record book, but if there were a list of top 10 nicest people connected to the university, he would be on it. And quite possibly at the top.
Gaskins made my time (and the time of everyone who came in contact with him) in Pullman better, even though we only interacted at home games. He sat just behind me in the press box for many games, performing his duties as an observer of Pac-12 officials. (Now that’s a thankless job.)
We talked often about subjects as varied as our children and WSU quarterback play. He taught me about officiating – he spent years on the field after his playing days were done – and he was my go-to guy when something untoward happened in that arena.
No matter what, Gaskins was a gentleman. He spoke the truth at all times – he occasionally mentioned something I had written he didn’t agree with, but he was never mean about it – and you always felt uplifted after speaking with him.
If there are a handful of Cougars representing Washington State’s interests in heaven today, Gaskins is among them. And he belongs.
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