Longtime sports standout, coach, ref loves it all

When it comes to sports, George Chalich has done it all as a player, coach and referee.

Chalich, a lifelong Valley resident, was a four-sport stand-out for the Central Valley Bears in the mid-1940s. He excelled in baseball and football, earned unanimous all-state honors in basketball and "helped out the track team" when he wasn't playing baseball.

In the days before the Greater Spokane League, Chalich twice led Spokane City League basketball players in scoring and finished second another year. He made all-city as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Asked to name his favorite sport, he replied, "All of them. I was a competitor, and every sport was at just the right time of the year."

Chalich's competitiveness became his defining characteristic. That determination, combined with incredible athletic ability, spelled disaster for CV opponents.

"He was fast. He was a good shooter," Chalich's younger brother Stan said. "If he was isolated, he'd get you one way or another. There wasn't a weak part of his game."

High school greatness earned Chalich a basketball scholarship to the University of Washington. He made the Husky baseball team as a walk-on his sophomore year and caught batting practice for the Seattle Rainiers. The Rainiers offered him a pro contract, but he turned it down so he could finish his degree and stay reasonably close to his family.

Chalich later transferred to Gonzaga University, where he completed his bachelor's degree and played baseball. He also coached the college's baseball team his senior year.

In subsequent years, he played semipro baseball. During one of those games, he gave an amazing display of power.

"My best game ever, I had two grand slams and another with two men on," Chalich said. "So I finished the day with three homeruns and 11 RBI. That's a pretty good day in anybody's career."

Chalich also played Independent League basketball. His team consisted of such area legends as Jud Heathcoate and Don Monson.

Several more pro baseball contract offers came his way during college, but he declined so he could complete his studies and earn his principal's credentials.

The premium Chalich put on his education, along with his usual competitiveness and knowledge of sports, resulted in wins even when he wasn't playing. Over 28 years, he taught at Oakesdale, Mead and North Central high schools. He also coached football, baseball and basketball in the public schools for 32 years.

Chalich taught civics, elementary science and physical education. But he taught another important class that was not defined in the curriculum.

"I taught life," he said. "That's the class I really taught. I took some kids who probably would have ended up in jail and made pretty good citizens out of them. Now I see the kids and grandkids of my students playing and coaching."

His coaching career was marked with several memorable successes. At Mead, Chalich took two baseball teams to the state tournament in the late 1950s.

And Stan Chalich said his older brother was, without a doubt, one of the best hitting coaches around. He remembers when Dave Pate, a local star who went on to play for the Houston Astros, asked for George's guidance.

"We went to McDonald Elementary's field," the younger Chalich said. "(George) must have thrown 400 or 500 pitches that day. We were there 3 hours or more. George could throw with either hand. Even Dave was tired of hitting, but George just kept working him."

Playing and coaching had been very good to Chalich, but when those two chapters of his sports life ended, be began another one. He put on black and white referee stripes or the umpire's mask and chest protector.

Chalich first officiated when Marty Sutherland, a coach at North Pines Junior High, asked him to referee some basketball games in 1946. He hasn't stopped. He continued with basketball and soon added baseball umpiring. During his prime as a baseball umpire, he was widely regarded as one of the best.

In 1999, he agreed to help longtime friend Chic Sale, who at the time was the assigner for the local football officiating association. Chalich took his refereeing act to the gridiron, becoming a "rookie" at the age of 69.

The objectivity required of a referee hasn't dampened Chalich's competitiveness, though.

A losing coach once approached him after a game and said he thought Chalich had favored the other team. Chalich asked the man how long he had coached. The coach replied it was his first year. Chalich then mentioned his 30 years of coaching and even longer tenure as a referee.

When you have that much experience, he said, come back and talk to me.

It was typical Chalich for those who know him best.

"His impact on local sports was a love of sports," Sale said. "I think that's the motivation that keeps him going."

Chalich still officiates all three sports as needed. Although his playing days have passed, he's happy to give back to the sports - all three of them - that have given him so much.

Copyright 2002 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.