Hobart College - Echo of the Seneca Yearbook (Geneva, NY)

Page 21 text:

in mem or i Am Early in December of 1960, the College community was shocked to learn of the death of Lysle Emerson Garnish. Spike was well known throughout the state, hav- ing served as coach both here and the University of Rochester, as a principal scout with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1946 to present) and as one of the area’s most able and sought after basketball officials. The tragedy of his untimely passing does not lie in the simple loss of a coach, scout, or official, but rather in the sudden realization that this was the death of a man whose whole life had been devoted to helping other people. Spike was con- vinced that coaching was “the finest life there is” and as such, he put his whole heart into it. His methods of coaching were often unorthodox—he believed in edu- cation first and sports second. Eventually others will come to take his place as coach, to fill his job as scout and official, but the replacement of his aggressive and enduring spirit will come harder. Spike’s teams have long been tagged as The Bandits because they managed to steal so many close ones out of the fire; it seems almost ironical that the man who has been eulogized as Hobart's “Beloved Bandit” was a man who had given so much of himself to so many of his fellows. The faculty, administration and students of The Colleges all join with President Hirshon in his prayer: “May God the Father receive and bless His devout servant, Lysle, Hobart’s ‘Beloved Bandit.' ”