Gosney was ‘The Commissioner’ of CYO sports for decades
Robert J. Gosney, of Binghamton, filled his cup of life to the brim.
He’s known as to many as “The Commissioner” of the Catholic Youth Organization basketball program, but his dedication and energy splashed over into other parts of his life, too.
When he died on Aug. 4 at age 86, he left behind his example, showing what a husband and father can be, and how one life can matter to many.
Hometown boy
Growing up on Binghamton’s North Side, Bob graduated from St. Paul’s High School, and joined the Marine Corps with his best friend and brother, Jack. Bob served in Korea from 1950 to ’53, receiving a Purple Heart for injuries to his legs suffered when his Jeep drove over a land mine.
He had just gotten out of the center position in the Jeep to get cigarettes, and when he got back in, he was on the far right side. The Jeep hit the bomb, and the soldier sitting where Bob had sat moments before was killed.
“Dad, we always told you to quit smoking, but in this case, smoking saved your life,” daughter Mary jokingly told him several times.
Bob met a lovely young woman named Sophie Anthony, of Binghamton, at a mutual friend’s wedding and started dating her in December 1952.
“Many letters were written back and forth from Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina, to Binghamton,” Sophie said. Bob asked her to be his wife a year after their first date, and they married on July 17, 1954.
Three children graced their lives: Mary Cay, Julie and Bobby.
Family the priority
While Bob played golf, Sophie would watch the children at the nearby pool or playground, then they’d all go out for ice cream.
“He loved sharing the simple pleasures in life with his family,” Sophie said.
As his first child, Mary Gosney of Sharon, Massaschusetts, learned many lessons about life from Bob, and they began on the basketball court when she was 4.
“He would take me to St. Paul’s and let me shoot baskets and just talk,” she said. “Being with him was always easy and fun.”
Sundays were devoted to God and family. After attending church at Saints Cyril & Methodius parish, Bob and Sophie would take the kids to visit their paternal grandparents on Virgil Street in Binghamton.
Bob’s brother Jack and all his kids would be there, too, as well as his sister Mary and her brood, making it a true family affair.
And if the Cardinals weren’t playing that afternoon, he’d direct everybody into the car and they’d amble through the countryside, stopping at last for ice cream.
Every year, the family trekked to the beach in New Jersey as well as Notre Dame football games.
“I had a very special bond with him and shared his love of sports with him,” said Julie, who lives in Binghamton. “I used to watch all the games with him.”
One of the family’s favorite trips of all time took them to Nashville, where Bob could indulge in his affection for country music.
Irish music — especially the Clancy Brothers — was really his thing, though.
Bob’s clear tenor could often be heard around the house, serenading anybody within earshot with Irish songs.
And of course, the kids could depend on seeing their dad’s face from the stands at all their sporting or cheerleading events.
“Dad came to every CYO St. Cyril’s basketball game,” Julie said. Her brother Bobby played, and she was a cheerleader.
And the man knew a thing or two about marital harmony.
Mary would first go to her dad to ask permission.
“He would usually say yes, but would always defer to Mom and tell us, ‘Ask your mother,’” Mary said. “If she said no, that was the decision he stood by.”
When he and Sophie had important issues to discuss, he’d defer to her with the words “whatever you want” or “whatever you think is best” — which may explain the sublime success of their longstanding union.
“We have been truly blessed,” Sophie said, “and because of our faith in God and one another, we recently celebrated our 61st wedding anniversary.”
Supporter of young people
Bob coached basketball at his alma mater, St. Paul’s, before coming on deck with CYO.
Podiatrist Joe Hogan, of Binghamton, knew Bob as his patient and friend.
“Bob, from what I have heard, as coach of St. Paul’s Catholic High School basketball team, is the winningest high school basketball coach in the Southern Tier,” he said.
If that’s not exactly true, it’s nearly so, said former CYO employee Kevin McGoff, who’s now executive director of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference. At the time his and Bob’s connection with CYO intersected for about five years, 26 parishes — and from 1,500 to 2,000 kids — were involved, and Bob stayed on top of it all.
“He had a very good interaction with the kids and the coaches,” he said. “Where there were controversies, he handled them in a gentlemanly manner and got each one resolved.”
Joseph G. Slavik, director of the Syracuse diocese of Catholic Charities, knew “The Commisioner” from the time Joe started with the agency in 1975.
Before Joe’s coming to head up the CYO office in Binghamton, Bob had been serving nights and weekends in CYO basketball across the county as well as filling in for all sorts of non-athletic CYO activities, such as taking kids to national conventions several times.
There were about 20 high school teams — JV and varsity — and about that many grammar school teams, and Bob oversaw all that, Joe said.
“He used to have meetings with all the coaches and referees, and make up the schedule,” Joe said.
Bob conscientiously made sure the kids not only had a great time but were learning good sportsmanship — and that the program was run to the letter of the law.
He also started a cheering competition, held annually at Catholic Central High School, to recognize the young ladies in the CYO program and celebrate their talents, too.
“Every year, it was standing room only,” Joe said, noting that the CYO events may have been precursors to today’s STAC competitions.
The idea had sprung from the imagination of Monsignor Ronald Bill, now of Immaculate Conception parish in Fayetteville.
“He carried it out for me,” he said.
When he served in the area at that time, he was at St. Mary’s, and he remembers St. Paul’s as being a formidable opponent.
“We didn’t have a chance against St. Paul’s,” he said with a laugh.
Not only that, Bob was a genius when it came to nabbing quality speakers for the CYO’s annual dinner. It featured some high-profile guest speakers, including college coaches Al McGuire and John Thompson, 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks, and former Notre Dame head coach Dan Devine.
“About 1,000 people showed up at these events, and he did it all,” Msg. Bill said.
Life outside CYO
“From his weekly Saturday morning tee times at IBM Country Club to annual charity tournaments, he loved spending time on the course with friends and relatives,” said son Bobby, who lives in Rochester.
Bob was also a fixture at En-Joie Golf Course every summer during the B.C. Open — and of course, he was one of Arnold Palmer’s biggest fans.
While Bob was devoting all that time, energy and concern at CYO, he was also holding down a full-time day job at IBM, which he began in 1953 and from which he retired in 1989.
Then he worked some at the Arena and did shopping for shut-ins.
But, oh, the call of sports always beckoned.
Bob loved Notre Dame football, because that’s what good Irish Catholics were supposed to do, Bobby joked.
“Also a fan of the New York Giants, he would often describe the perfect football weekend was when the Irish and Giants both won,” he said.
But maybe Bob’s number-one favorite sports team was the St. Louis Cardinals.
“My dad often spoke of his love for the Redbirds since he was a little boy,” Bobby said.
Bob’s father, Earl Gosney, knew Bill Hallahan, a Binghamton native who pitched for the Cardinals during the 1920s and ’30s.
A member of three World Series teams, Hallahan once showed Bob his championship rings — an event Bob never forgot.
Bob’s love for the Cards increased greatly when Hall of Famer Stan Musial played for St. Louis.
“As far back as I can remember, any discussion about the ‘greatest ballplayer ever’ began and ended with Stan Musial,” Bobby said.
When Bobby himself became a father, he and his son Conor took lots of trips with Bob to see the Cardinals when they played in Pittsburgh.
“I’ll never forget the smile on Dad’s face when Conor got Albert Pujols’ autograph,” Bobby said. “Absolutely priceless.”
No doubt Bob’s passion for sports was passed on to his son.
“Since 1990, I’ve worked as a sports photographer and producer for Time Warner Cable News in Rochester,” Bobby said. “I can honestly say I’ve thought of my dad during every big event I’ve covered, my simple thought being, ‘Dad would love this.’
“The one thought that keeps running through my mind about my Dad is that he took great joy in the good fortune and happiness of others.”
And those are but a few ways Bob Gosney left an indelible mark on the world around him.
Bob is survived by Sophie, his loving wife of 61 years; children Mary Cay (Yinon), Julie, Bobby (Michelle Burnett); and grandchildren Conor Robert and Elyse Sophia Gosney. Also survived by his sisters-in-law, Jayne Gosney and Sharon Anthony; and nieces and nephews: Kevin, Jim, Joanne, Jerry, Karen, Joe and Jackie Gosney; Ellen, Eileen, Pat, George, Michael and Mark Anthony; Susan, Jeff, Marcy, Terry and Andrea Anthony; Paul, David, Peter, Mary Pat, Dan and Julie Anthony; Russell, Christopher, Mary Joan, Laura, Karen, Susan and Michael Jacobson.
Follow Valerie on Twitter @PSBValerieZehl.