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JC man was inspiring coach, father and friend

Shannon Hazlitt | @ShanHazlitt

Daniel Gallagher had a knack for coaching, winning dozens of championships while guiding players in several sports.

But winning was certainly not the most important aspect of coaching for Dan.

He lived to show his faith in his athletes, even when they didn't believe in themselves, said his friend Allen Costello, of Endwell, who played on Dan's "Teener" baseball league.

When Allen joined the league as pitcher, he was having problems throwing strikes.

"I had an ugly windup and delivery," he said. "I became a better pitcher who could throw fast and more strikes than balls. He always said I could throw faster than anyone he knew."

Allen also said Dan's laid-back personality made the sport much more enjoyable.

"He was just such an easy-going guy who would never get upset," Allen said. "Doesn't matter what happened. He would just tell us, 'Get over that, and we'll move for something better to happen.'"

Dan coached basketball for eight years, Pee Wee football for four years and baseball for 13- through 15-year-olds for six years.

Daniel "Dan" Gallagher, 77, of Johnson City died June 16.

The mayor of Johnson City gave Dan his own day. But an even bigger accomplishment was shaping the lives of many children and teens through his dedication to coaching.

Binghamton-born athlete

Dan was born on the South Side of Binghamton on Jan. 3, 1939. In 1950, Dan's family moved to Academy Street in Johnson City.

Endicott Johnson played a major role in Dan's life. His father and mother worked in the EJ shoe factory, and he lived in an Endicott Johnson home, said Dan's brother Jim Gallagher, of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania.

He came from an athletic family, according to a Binghamton Press interview from 1973. Dan's father, Jimmy, played a major role in the area's boxing scene for nearly 40 years, running the Johnson City Boxing Club, and training amateur and professional fighters.

Jim and Dan enjoyed many sports and adventures as children.

"We were like a lot of youngsters in those days," Dan's brother Jim said. "God had to assign us four or five guardian angels. We were pretty daring."

Jim and Dan often invented games and challenges to keep themselves amused — especially games that involved baseball. The two also could be found playing basketball, no matter the weather. They would use a shovel to remove snow from a nearby basketball court in the winter, Jim said. They would then use the same shovel to clear a pond and go ice skating.

From a young age, it was easy to tell Dan valued family above many other aspects of his life.

Instead of calling each other by their first names, Jim said he and Dan addressed each other just as "brother." This lasted until Jim and Dan were teenagers, Jim said. He recalls even their mother called Jim "brother" in conversation once.

Getting into baseball

When they were not off pursuing a game they had created themselves, Jim, Dan and other neighborhood kids would try and catch and return baseballs hit outside the stadium while the Binghamton Triplets were practicing. This became a job Dan was eventually paid for as a ball hawk as a teenager. Dan was paid for every ball he retrieved and loved the job, said his son Scott Gallagher, of Johnson City.

Dan was soon paid to do other jobs around the stadium during games, Jim said. He would put down the plates for bases, and would chalk the lines around the batter's box and the umpire's box. After the game, Dan would fetch the umpire a hot dog, beer or soda.

Dan could tell stories in a way that made everyone around him burst into laughter or at least crack a smile. He once said he made the chalk lines around the umpire's box too thick and the umpire complained the chalk was rubbing off on the bottom of his pants. The umpire, who at the time didn't know this was one of Dan's responsibilities, asked him if one of the groundskeepers had made the lines so thick. Dan just said, 'I'll look into it," his brother recalled with a laugh.

For the most part, however, Dan was truthful and was never afraid to poke fun at himself, Jim said.

Dan idolized Mickey Mantle, the famous Yankee center fielder and first baseman, from the time he was in high school. He started a Mickey Mantle scrapbook and eventually was able to meet him in person twice though a friend when he came to Binghamton, Scott said.

Like Mantle, Dan also made a name for himself in athletics, at least locally. Dan was a three-sport athlete until he badly broke his left arm when he was about 16.

Giving up every sport was not an option for Dan, though. He continued to play CYO basketball and baseball using a flexible cast.

Dan's arm never healed properly, but he didn't let it get in the way of his work or sports. Eventually, his arm needed five operations, but he was a member of the Johnson City divisional champion baseball team as a first baseman in 1957.

While playing CYO basketball, Dan caught the eye of 15-year-old Mary Anne Bussman, a cheerleader at the time for St. James. 

After dating for some time, they married Oct. 14, 1961.

Getting into coaching 

Dan used his connections to break into coaching, according to the Binghamton Press interview. When Dan's ex-schoolmate Rich Gulbin got a job as a head coach at Catholic Central, Rich used his pull to get Dan a job as head coach of the St. James Varsity CYO basketball team for the 1963-64 season.

This first team Gallagher coached won a CYO title and later won the YMCA junior tournament title. After staying with the St. James team another year, Dan moved to the newly founded and varsity-sponsored Municipal League, or "Muni."

And this was the start of Dan's seemingly endless string of victories.

Dan coached a team in the fifth-to-sixth- and seventh-to-eighth-grade Muni leagues for about eight years. His teams posted a combined record of 170-64 and won eight championships.

While he was a coach who expected every player to always do their best, Dan also allowed his athletes to have fun at times. He would finish each season with a party he paid for out of his own pocket, and he would buy trophies for the most valuable and most improved players.

Dan was all about his athletes, those who knew him say.

Working hard beyond sports 

After high school, Dan served for a time in the Army before an honorable discharge, his son said, mainly due to his arm.

Dan then went right to work in the EJ warehouse for a while. At one point, a friend of Dan's helped him get a job at the Johnson Water Department, said Dan's longtime friend Richard Billings, of Johnson City.

Richard said Dan's work ethic was remarkable and truly inspired those who knew him. He worked his way up from being a general laborer to a valve operator who knew where all the valve shutoffs were on every street in the village, Scott said.

Although Dan's left arm could have been a limitation for all the manual labor his job at the Johnson City Water Department required, Dan never let it get in the way of doing his job.

Dan once helped the Binghamton Water Department through a challenging situation. An important pipe for the  department had broke somewhere in the middle of the Chenango River, causing many businesses and homes to go without running water for a a couple days. Nobody was able to identify where the leak had sprung from until Dan made an educated guess. He thought ducks would likely congregate where the pipe had broken, given the water would be warmer, Richard said.

It is unknown to this day if that was really the case, Richard said, but either way, it happened that under an area where many ducks had gathered, the leak was located.

While Dan was devoted to his job, athletics remained a focal point of his life. In fact, on top of coaching basketball and baseball, Dan decided to start a new opportunity for Johnson City youths.

Dan, Richard and a few of their other friends came together to form the village's first Pee Wee football team, the Glenwood Lumbermen, Richard said,

Starting up the new league was difficult in the beginning, in terms of getting all of the equipment together and explaining the concept to kids interested in playing — but it was also a lot of fun, Richard said.

The team is still around today and going strong, he added.

Through all the sports he coached, Dan said he didn't  value just a few of the most skilled or disciplined — he valued working with them all.

"I can't say anything bad about any kid I've ever coached," he said in his Press interview. "I'm proud of them all."

This pride inspired many of Dan's athletes and created memories they treasure to this day.

"That championship was special to me," said Tom Boyle, whom Dan coached on a St. James CYO championship team in 1964.  "It was the first time I was ever really on a team."

Although Dan was the rather rare coach who would not allow his own son to be on any of his teams, Scott said he heard from many in the community of his father's coaching prowess — there were few remarkable area athletes who hadn't, at one point, worked with Dan or connected with him in some way.

The mayor of the Village of Johnson City proclaimed June 10, 1984, as Daniel J. Gallagher Day for Dan's contributions to the village's youths through his years of coaching.

After becoming a grandfather, Dan exhibited this same devotion on a smaller level, focusing on his beloved grandson Danny — who inherited his name from his grandfather.

Danny said his grandfather often supported him in his athletic endeavors. From baseball, a sport Dan was practically an expert in, to hockey, a sport Dan was learning, he made it to as many of his grandson's games as possible and was always around to help him.

Dan Gallagher with his grandson Danny, who is now 13.

"He would always try to help me get better," said Danny, now a 13-year-old Johnson City student. Dan often used rewards to motivate his grandson, such as saying he would give him $2 if he hit a ball over his garage. Dan also would  help his grandson with his stances for football and shooting basketballs.

Danny said his fondest memories are going to Penn State games with his grandfather, who was a major supporter of the university's football team, as his brother Jim works in the athletic department for the university.

Dan's life wasn't all about sports later on, however.

He often went fishing with friends and family, or could be found picking garlic with Danny that they later used to cook. Mostly, friends remembered sharing a laugh with Dan with beers in hand.

Hunting and picking mushrooms in the fall were among Dan's other interests, said his friend Pete Kurst, of Endwell. In addition, Dan worked his way up to being a third-degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

After Dan retired from coaching, it remained a source of pride in his life.

"He just really enjoyed teaching kids a sport he loved," Kurst said. "And the kids loved him, too. I know that."

By bringing so many young kids the joy and confidence that comes from winning championships and getting a shot in the game, Dan taught his young athletes much more than the rules of a sport, his son said. Dan even showed this confidence in others beyond a baseball field or basketball court.

"He saw the best in people and was able to pull out the best from those who never thought they had it in them until he believed in them," Scott said.

Dan leaves behind his wife of 55 years, Mary Anne; his son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Rachelle Gallagher; grandchildren Danny, who was the light of his life, Megan (Travis) and baby Anabella, Jillian and Kristen; brothers Jim (Marge) and Rick (Mary Lou); nieces and nephews Jimmy, Karen and Matt; Kevin, Marilu and Eileen; Eric, David and Jenine; and sister and brother-in-law Kathy and Dick Pokorak.

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