The love of the Irish
Alex Leon
Jim Gillis wears his love for the University of Notre Dame on his
sleeve.
The 75-year-old Toluca Lake resident also wears it on his fingers,
his chest, his head and when the weather is cool and crisp, around
his neck in the form of a scarf.
The affable Gillis doesn’t hide his affinity for the Fighting
Irish. Instead, he embraces it, is empowered by it and does
everything he can to let everyone he comes in contact with know he’s
a proud Notre Dame alumnus who played baseball for the school from
1949 to 1951.
“I just can’t put into words what going to Notre Dame has meant
for me and my family,” said Gillis, surrounded by an abundance of
Notre Dame memorabilia in his home office. “I get overcome with
emotion when I talk about the spirit of the school and what a special
place it is. I love supporting the university and what it stands for,
whether we win or lose.
“My wife Jane and I go back to South Bend at least once a year,
and sometimes more. She is from South Bend and we got married when I
was still a student there and we consider it our home away from
home.”
Always upbeat, Gillis doesn’t like to dwell on wins and losses by
his beloved Irish on the football field. However, Gillis -- a former
president of the Notre Dame Club of Los Angeles -- admitted it was
tough to watch Notre Dame play so poorly Nov. 30 when it lost to USC,
44-13, at the Coliseum.
The loss to the Trojans also meant that the beloved Shillelagh,
the symbolic prize given to the winner of the USC-Notre Dame rivalry,
would reside for a year at USC’s Heritage Hall instead of South Bend,
where it has been 15 times since 1983.
The Fighting Irish hold a 42-28 advantage in their storied series
with the Trojans. Five games have ended in ties.
The sting of the loss behind him, Gillis will root for his Irish
today at 9:30 a.m. when Notre Dame (10-2) takes on North Carolina
State (10-3) in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
“Our athletic area at Notre Dame is also called Heritage Hall and
the original Shillelagh still resides there. The Notre Dame Club in
Los Angeles originated the award in 1952 and it has all the emblems
of the winners of the games dating back to 1926 until 1995, when it
was retired,” he said. “Original Shillelaghs were made from
blackthorn saplings, trimmed, carved and hung in the family chimney
for seasoning. It was an Irish war-club used for centuries by Irish
defenders against the many invasions of their homeland.
“My wife and I traveled to Ireland in 1996 on behalf of NDCLA and
commissioned an Irish craftsman from County Leitrim to carve
Shillelagh II. It was presented to former USC Coach John Robinson for
winning the 1996 game. It is a beautiful work of art with a gold
helmet and a ruby stone representing USC and a gold shamrocks and an
emerald stone representing Notre Dame.”
The Shillelagh is so special and coveted that ABC sportscaster --
and Gillis’ longtime friend -- Keith Jackson mentioned the
significance of the award, as well as Gillis’ name, on the air near
the end of this year’s rivalry game when USC quarterback Carson
Palmer held it up to celebrate the Trojan victory.
If you asked a young Jim Gillis in 1945 what college he hoped to
attend, Notre Dame would have been just a pipe dream for the baseball
standout from Huntington Beach High.
Being a standout All-CIF Southern Section player for the Oilers,
Glendale resident Rod Dedeaux recruited Gillis to play at USC.
However, he was drafted into the Army before he could ever suit up
for the Trojans.
In the Army, Gillis played for the branch’s baseball team, and
that’s where he met Tom Simpson. Simpson, a former Notre Dame player,
helped Gillis get to South Bend to play baseball for the Fighting
Irish.
“I grew up listening to Notre Dame football on the radio and it
was a dream of mine to attend and play baseball at the school. I was
actually enrolled at Michigan State after I got out of the Army when
I got the call that I was accepted at Notre Dame. My roommate for all
of two days was good enough to drive me to the airport,” he said.
“Needless to say, the Notre Dame experience changed my life, as
did being coached by Jake Klein, for whom I played outfield and first
base.
“I still wear his Notre Dame ring that was given to me after he
died, and the whole experience meant so much that my wife and I
recently established a scholarship to aid student-athletes in
baseball.”
After graduating from Notre Dame, Gillis worked for the FBI until
1960 and spent the rest of his working life in the broadcasting
field. He is a longtime member of the Southern California Sports
Broadcasters Assn. and a member of its board of directors. The
organization is preparing for its 12th annual awards luncheon Feb. 3
at the Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake.
With a solid handshake and a warm smile, Gillis offered one more
story regarding his association with Notre Dame.
“My dad took me to my first USC-Notre Dame game in 1934 at the
Coliseum when I was 7 years old, and 60 years later in 1994, I was
there as president of the school’s Los Angeles alumni group,” he
said. “My wife and I have organized several alumni trips back to
South Bend for that game in the past few years, and I love for people
going for the first time to see why I have loved about the school for
so long.”
Although he might have come close to being a USC Trojan, Gillis is
proud to be one of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish fateful, and it is
an honor he wears close to his heart.