Timeless

When you enter the small and quiet town of Barnsdall you get a welcoming sign that lists two prominent names, Clark Gable and Anita Bryant. Gable was a famous actor who starred in Gone with the Wind, while Bryant is a singer and former Miss Oklahoma from 1958. Both spent time in the town that sits 29 miles to the north of Tulsa. Another individual could join right in as a household name on that welcoming sign sometime in the future, only Joe Gilbert refuses to retire from a legacy he has established. Not that Gilbert isn't already honored for his glowing achievements. Appropriately, at the top of a steep hill where he has coached Barnsdall High School basketball since 1973, sits Joe Gilbert Field House. Gilbert is currently in his 53rd year of coaching at Barnsdall, the longest stint of anybody to ever coach at one school in Oklahoma. But he isn't just any other coach for any other small town in the state. He owns what is unofficially a state record for most career victories as a head coach. Gilbert has recorded 3,276 victories on the high school level. And you can break that down into four different sports - 801 for baseball, 1,039 for softball, 1,431 for boys and girls basketball and five in football. Sounds like the completed success of a retired head coach. But Gilbert, who also serves as the school's athletic director, isn't done notching wins and further advancing his legendary status. "There's nothing like it," he said of his day-to-day coaching duties. "It's something that I've loved all of my life. I've still got energy and everything, and I love it. It gives me something to look forward to every day. I love the competitiveness of it." He's currently a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame, elected in 1981, Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2000), Oklahoma Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1990) and the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2005). But Gilbert is humble when it comes to all of his recognition. He refers giving credit to his former players and his peers. "This means nothing more to me than the fact that I've had good kids," he said. "I've also been lucky. It makes you feel good knowing that your peers are responsible for this. I'm proud of my upbringing and where I came from." Beginning his coaching career at Barnsdall in the fall of 1955, Gilbert is also recognized for his accomplishments as a former athlete. He is a member of the Northeastern State University Athletics Hall of Fame. At NSU, he competed in basketball, baseball, football and track. "That honor means more to me than anything else," he said. Gilbert, who grew up in Buffalo, Mo., has one state championship to his credit as a head coach when he led the Panthers to the 1980 baseball title. That team was framed around three-sport, all-state selection Brad Bell, perhaps the best athlete Gilbert has ever coached. Bell would continue his baseball career at Oklahoma State. On three occasions, Gilbert has led Barnsdall to the girls and boys basketball state tournaments in the same season. Gilbert doesn't know when he will retire from the coaching ranks at Barnsdall. He enjoys working with his kids as much today as he did when he first started. When asked how much longer he plans on coaching, he simply replied, "I don't know." "Not too much longer. I don't really think about it but I do wonder what I would do if I weren't coaching. I'm in no hurry to give this up." One thing is certain, Joe Gilbert's legacy in Barnsdall has been set in stone. One day he might join Clark Gable and Anita Bryant on the welcoming sign as you enter Barnsdall.