The 59-year-old baseball field at King Philip Regional was dedicated to the late Gary Lombard on April 29 at a ceremony that was filled with emotion, love, respect and admiration.
Lombard coached baseball for 26 years at KP and he also was the varsity football coach for four seasons. His baseball teams won three Hockomock League championships and qualified for tournament play 15 times (when earning a berth required a winning percentage of 72, unlike today’s 50 percent). Lombard’s victory total was 300-plus.
An English teacher and guidance counselor with degrees from St. Anselm’s and Northeastern, Lombard retired in 2001 after a 35-year career in education. He moved from Norton to Dennis and lived there for 16 years before his passing last Dec. 13 after a struggle with cancer. He was 72.
Lombard, a two-time Hall of Fame inductee, was more than just a teacher-coach. He was much more.
He molded kids into men, stressed the importance of family, taught the value of discipline and prepared his players and students for the challenges they’d face in life.
“Coach Lombard had high standards and he was very important in shaping my character,’’ said Jeff Plympton, the Wrentham Recreation Director who pitched at the University of Maine and played in the Red Sox system for seven years. “There were no gray areas with him. He was old-school and you followed his rules. If you played for him, you became a better person. He got his players ready for the next level, whether that was baseball or real life.’’
The ceremony, which was attended by 400, featured six speakers and ended with the unveiling of a plaque of Lombard. A sign on the backstop was visible, designating the facility as the “Gary F. Lombard Baseball Field.’’ A meet-and-greet reception followed before the Warriors’ baseball team faced Stoughton, the school where Lombard graduated.
The master of ceremonies was Bill Rice and the speakers included State Senator Richard Ross, State Representative Shawn Dooley, former KP players Joe Johnson, Ray LeBlanc, Ed Moran and Greg Foster, and Lombard’s daughter (Terri Zenobio).
Rice, whose career at KP included teaching, coaching and serving as athletic director and principal when Lombard coached, offered excellent insight into what made his colleague a breed apart.
“I’ve never been around a teacher-coach who was more committed to the job 365 days a year,’’ said Rice, who along with Pat Weir, the current KP baseball coach, led the move to dedicate the field in Lombard’s honor. “Gary checked on students’ and players’ attendance and their activities in the summer, and helped them get jobs. He was a caring person who spent lots of time with kids who weren’t athletes.’’
Rice labeled Lombard a “lifelong learner’’ and said he was the most organized person he ever knew. “He was an innovator, always going to clinics and seminars after years of coaching,’’ Rice said. “And, his practice sessions were planned to the second. He’d start a practice with 36 balls in a bag and that session didn’t end until all the balls were retrieved and back in the bag. He was old-school.’’
Rice, who coached with Lombard, admired his penchant for teaching fundamentals. “His teams always had good pitching and defense and his players were always prepared,’’ Rice emphasized.
Weir, who played for Lombard, recalled a phrase that the late coach emphatically stressed to his squad. It was: “Be your best self.’’ Weir said that because of Lombard he developed a passion for baseball and became the person and the coach he is today. “Coach Lombard was a strict mentor and he always emphasized to carry yourself as a gentleman,’’ Weir said.
Weir revealed a unique incident about a Lombard practice in 1993 that seemed like punishment but really was a lesson in teamwork and team spirit.
“Gary was on the bench and he had a bunch of butter knives,’’ Weir said. “Our team was struggling, so he gave us knives and told us to use them to dig out weeds in the infield. We all got on our hands and knees and started to dig out weeds. We thought it was punishment but it was a lesson in teamwork. We won nine of our next 11 games, qualified for the tourney and won the first Division 1 tourney game in KP history.’’
Before Lombard’s death, Plympton and Weir traveled to Dennis to inform him of the dedication plans for the field. “Gary got emotional and shed some tears,’’ Plympton recalled.
Lombard’s wife (Ruth) was present at that time and she said her husband “was overwhelmed at the honor.’’
“Gary was so pleased and thrilled to hear that news,’’ she recalled. “He was truly honored that a legacy would be left. As a coach, he stressed family first, school second and sports third. All he requested from his players was their best effort. He could take a good person or good player and make them better.’’
Married for 49 years, Mrs. Lombard described her husband as “wonderful and very giving.’’ The couple had three daughters — Theresa, Kathleen and Elizabeth — and six grandchildren.
Johnson, who played for Lombard from 1976-79, pitched in the Major Leagues with the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays from 1985-87. Now 55, Johnson shared some thoughts and moments he had with Lombard.
“Gary was able to identify what a player needed on and
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off the field,’’ Johnson said. “He told me when I was a sophomore that I needed more poise on the mound. He told me to get myself under control and I got better and better in that area in the years ahead. When I became a captain as a senior, the poise and control he stressed was a big plus because I had to set an example for other players.’’
Johnson, whose Major League record was 20-18 with an earned-run average of 3.96, recalled Lombard’s humorous side at a KP baseball banquet. “Coach Lombard knew I worked in landscaping during the summer and he knew I wasn’t very good at it,’’ Johnson said. “He spoke about my ability as a pitcher, then added that I needed to develop better technique in landscaping. It may not sound that funny but it was if you were at the banquet.’’
Moran, who played for Lombard from 1985-88 and later coached with him, directed the KP varsity squad for 16 seasons. He remembers his former coach as a competitive guy but also as “a student of the game who was a tremendous teacher of the sport.’’
Moran said he wishes more people could have known Lombard because he was more than just a baseball coach. Moran knew he was a great family man and he especially admired Lombard’s advice when the prom and Mother’s Day were approaching.
“Gary taught us to be good people first,’’ Moran said. “Before the prom, he’d stress the proper way to act and that the girl we were with was to be treated with the utmost respect. He also emphasized doing something special for our moms on Mother’s Day because they drove us to Little League practices and games and they washed our uniforms. He didn’t want us to forget the role our mothers played. He’d even give players money to at least buy a card.’’
It’s not just a coincidence that the three varsity coaches who have succeeded Lombard are Steve Plympton, Moran and Weir, all former players that he coached.
Lombard’s life and legacy are marvelous blueprints. He was a man of principle and high standards, a coach who elevated his players to compete at peak levels and a teacher who was caring and understanding.
The KP community no longer has Gary Lombard but his magnificence lives on. And, now there’s a field with a sign and monument that keeps his memory vivid and vibrant.
As it should be.
Issue Date:
June, 2017
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