MAURY GERARD

Roger Carlson

There is a certain pack of past Orange Coast College coaches which

forms the nucleus of the Pirates’ corps that is of legendary status

when one ponders the Bucs and their storied past on the community

college level.

Like Ocean’s 11, each a star in his or her own right, as in Tandy

Gillis and Dick Tucker, or Jack Fullerton and Barbara Bond, or Jane

Hilgendorf and Fred Hokanson, or Laird Hayes and George Mattias, or

Bill Workman and Dave Grant.

Another in that mold is the venerable Maurice “Maury” Gerard, a

tennis coach who put the Pirates on the map, and kept them there for

a long time en route to his selection as a member of the Daily

Pilot’s Sports Hall of Fame, celebrating the millennium.

A captain in the Air Force during World War II, Gerard’s athletics

road began in the San Joaquin Valley where he was somewhat of a

legend even then when he dominated youth tennis for some seven years.

Gerard was the Central California High School singles champion in

1928 and runner-up in singles at the 1928 State Championships.

A native of Charleston, Ill., he would go on to various honors at

Pomona College and was in the education field before finding his way

from Santa Ana JC to OCC in 1957 as a counselor, professor of

psychology and tennis coach, taking over for Ray Rosso in the spring

of 1958.

For the next 18 years he flourished as Coast’s tennis coach,

guiding five teams to conference crowns, capped by the 15-0 1971

state championship team which swept the field, taking the team

championship, the singles crown (Robbie Cunningham) and the doubles

title (Atilio Rosetti and Mike Caro).

“I decided to make the move in order to work for Pete (OCC

President Basil Peterson), a man I truly admired,” Gerard told OCC

administrator Jim Carnett for the school’s 50th anniversary program

in 1998.

He had been Santa Ana’s head coach for 10 years, and for the next

19 years at Coast, he never once lost to Santa Ana. “I’m rather proud

of that,” he told Carnett.

George Mattias, who came onto the tennis scene at Coast a couple

of years after Gerard retired in 1976 (it was mandatory then),

recalls the real strength of Gerard’s game, which was the knowledge

of the game, and the willingness to actively recruit the best he

could find.

Among them were Rosetti of Estancia and Caro of Newport Harbor,

the Cunninghams (Robbie and Lawrie) of Newport Harbor, Glenn Morton

from Estancia and Tim Mang from Corona del Mar.

“You didn’t find many on the JC level with this kind of knowledge,

and a lot of the coaches (on the other side of the net) resented it,”

said Mattias.

“He took great pride in beating them.”

And always, honor was the No. 1 priority.

Some 14 years later he would come back to Coast for a brief stint

as the head coach at the age of 80 with a career college record of

410 wins, 75 losses.

Among Gerard’s outstanding teams were the 16-3 ’63 team, the 12-2

‘60 team, the 12-3 ’64 team and the 11-4 ’66 team.

Mattias, known mostly as a stalwart in the football camp, went on

to a successful career at Coast as the tennis coach and said most of

his techniques were items which he had picked up from Gerard.

“The thing is,” said Mattias, “Maury could pick out weaknesses and

pass them on to his players. He was a player as a collegian, and he

played against some of the best.

“No one knew more about the game.”

Rosetti, who as Coast’s No. 1 player in 1971 when the Pirates

swept to the state championship, recalled Gerard’s presence in

Hoylake, England, where he was playing in a tournament qualifier just

after a run at Wimbledon in ’71.

“Maury told me, and I really considered it in jest, that he was

going to come out to Europe and see how I was doing,” said Rosetti.

“I was in Hoylake and there he was. He had rented a boat on the

Thames.”

Rosetti recalled Gerard’s strength in the knowledge of using court

geometry and score management, as in when to coast and when to turn

it on.

“He understood those things,” said Rosetti. “And he hung out with

us, he was really wonderful to me.”

Maury Gerard, who will be 92 in March, is presently weathering a

storm and would probably welcome a visit. A good contact to set up a

visit or call, is Walli Mattern at (714) 585-7366.