Ask 100 people around Gilroy who Bob Garcia is, and most likely
95 of them will not only know of him, but a high percentage of
those have probably had a conversation with the charismatic ball
coach.
Ask 100 people around Gilroy who Bob Garcia is, and most likely 95 of them will not only know of him, but a high percentage of those have probably had a conversation with the charismatic ball coach.
Garcia, who served three stints for a combined 14 years at the helm of the Gavilan College football program, the first from 1972-1978, will be inducted into the California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame on March 6 in Visalia, the home of the Hall of Fame.
“He is really deserving of the honor,” executive director of the CCCFCA Hall of Fame Chris Pappas said. “It’s an honor long overdue. He has such a great family and he is a credit to our association.”
The Garcia name is synonymous with Gilroy-area football and the connections back to Bob are endless.
“It’s such an honor for my dad. I feel like it is long overdue,” said son and 11-year NFL veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia, who was inducted into the CCCFCA Hall of Fame in 2003.
Bob coached Jeff during the 1989 season at Gavilan. The duo is the only father and son tandem in the prestigious club.
Jeff Garcia also shares the distinction of being part of the only grandfather-grandson combination to have played in the East-West Shrine game. Jeff’s maternal grandfather, Maurice “Red” Elder, a former GHS football coach and one-half of the namesake for the GHS football field (Garcia-Elder Sports Complex), played in the college all-star game.
In 1973, in just his second season, Bobby Garcia led the Rams to a national championship, posting an 11-0 record in the process.
“I know a few of the guys from the ’73 team are flying in,” Bob Garcia said.
The first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1984. Some of the prominent members enshrined in the Hall include, Jackie Robinson, John Madden, Frank Gifford and Bill Walsh.
“He should have easily been inducted well before I was,” Jeff added. “For him to finally get that recognition for his dedication to the game; to the football program at Gavilan, and what he meant to Gavilan and what he did for Gavilan. It is just an astounding honor.”
A Gilroy High alum (1955-1959) and a three-sport star at Gavilan, even garnering an All-Conference nod in basketball, Bob Garcia bleeds Gilroy through and through.
His profound impact on the residents of Gilroy and surrounding communities goes far beyond the football field.
He often offered his home to players when he was a coach, and always engages with anyone who will listen, delivering an entertaining story or two, sparing no detail and always punctuating the conversation with a smile.
He still follows all the local sports teams and is often seen, chatting with everyone at Gilroy sporting events, especially the football games.
“More so than anything it is the lives that he has touched throughout his lifetime of coaching and giving back to the community,” Jeff Garcia said. “Not just the football players that he coached either. It’s parents that he had an affect on. It’s friends of the family, of the college, of the football program. He has touched so many lives in a positive way.”
