MELVINDALE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – It’s not easy to earn the title of “Dean of Baseball.” It took Gary Szalka a 53-year coaching career at both Melvindale and Trenton High Schools to earn that title.
His community in Woodhaven supported the beloved teacher who is now in hospice care after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body dementia.
Szalka received a new quilt in honor of his coaching career, which bridges the gap between time.
“I’ve seen quilts, my mother quilted, but nothing like this. This is absolutely amazing,” said Szalka’s wife, Pam, 50.
The quilt consists of uniforms worn by Szalka’s coaches over the years, and there were quite a few.
“There’s a sweatshirt in there that he used to wear at home. There’s a couple of jerseys in there that we wore when I coached with him. There’s a jersey in there that he had Todd design for his team. So it’s pretty special,” said Marc Szalka, Gary’s son and current Trenton High School JV baseball player.
According to his family, his career began with an interesting choice: teach at Melvindale or enter the draft. And I’m not just talking about the MLB draft.
“His birth date was the third birthday he was selected in the Vietnam draft. Someone on the defer board was also a teacher at Melvindale High School who had offered him a teaching position, and they said if he took the teaching position, he would be allowed to teach,” said Todd Szalka, Gary’s other son and Trenton varsity baseball head coach.
“The board said, ‘Okay, if you want to coach and teach, we’ll give you an extension,’ and Gary said, ‘Where do I sign?’” Pam said.
Gary Szalka coached at Melvindale for 37 years, even against his own two sons.
“I remember when we beat them at our house and we came home, had dinner and he didn’t want to talk to me. He wants me to do well, but he’s a competitor himself, so of course he wanted to win that day,” Marc Szalka said.
Marc Szalka said his father was always there for them, routinely offering to drive his players to school, wash uniforms and repair gloves for his players who needed support.
After retiring from Melvindale, he continued coaching for 16 years as an assistant to Todd Szalka at Trenton High School. His name is not only on four different Michigan gymnasiums, but also at the top of the scoreboard on Melvindale’s home field, which is named in his honor.
As much as the game of baseball has changed, it always seems to remain the same. That includes the way Szalka cared for his players and teams during his 53-year career and the lessons he passed on to his two coaching sons.
