Billy Gallagher: Legendary High School Hurler Succumbs to Cancer
Billy Gallagher was the kind of person that made you feel good about mankind. A mild mannered, yet passionate soul, Gallagher, 52, succumbed to cancer while I was vacationing in LBI last week, so I never got to pay my respects to a guy I basically idolized as a middle schooler in Putnam Valley back in the late ’70s. There was nothing not to like about Billy G., the Peekskill High baseball legend who went on to star at the University of North Carolina. He was the shining star of a Red Devil baseball team that set the bar, which may never be topped by any other Peekskill outfit.
People used to ask me if Billy Gallagher was my brother, and it pained me to say no. “He’s not my brother, but I know him well,” I used to ensure anyone who would ask.
Additionally, he was a stud soccer player, who went on to win the Section 1 title in 1978, but of all the things you could say about Billy Gallagher, perhaps the most telling thing would be the fact that he was a better guy than he was an athlete. And that is saying something when you consider the fact that his one-time batterymate, Scott Bradley – the former MLB catcher and current Coach at Princeton University – referred to him as the “Clayton Kershaw” of his generation before arm trouble derailed what would have been a fabulous professional career.
As Peter Gammons would attest in a recent Retweet: “One of the most talented pitchers in UNC history passed away today. Rest in peace, Billy Gallagher, Class of ’82”.
Gallagher’s arm went south on him during his All-ACC stint at UNC, but he rocked Section 1’s world when he transferred from Panas to Peekskill on account of the “Great Strike” in 1977 when the Lakeland School District teachers and board of education squared off from September 6th to November 9th in the longest teacher’s strike in NYS history.
Panas’ loss was Peekskill’s gain. In his varsity debut as a Red Devil, Gallagher tossed the first no-hitter of his career against an Ardsley program that habitually competed for the state and section titles. Determined to make it to the bigs, Gallagher whiffed 18 batters that day and drew the attention of pro scouts from Maine to California. While other teenagers were duking it out at places like the Hollowbrook Drive-In, Gallagher was home, practicing the art of leadership.
“We were out doing what teenagers do and Billy was home doing milk and cookies with mom and pop,” his lifelong friend and co-ace of the Peekskill staff Bob Shubert said. Shubert and Gallagher were synonymous with local celebrity; a dynamic pairing that tossed 90 MPH-heat and adorned the cover of the NY Daily News with compelling figures like Mike Ryan and Dave Pohill.
“The scouts lined the backstops every time he pitched, radar guns in tow,” Shubert said. “He started for us on opening day his junior and senior year and struck out 36 batters in those two games. He was incredible, but as good as he was he was a better person. Billy didn’t have a bad bone in his body, outside of the bad bone in his shoulder that derailed his career. He was a phenom. Everybody watched him in amazement. They don’t make guys like him anymore. Losing him was one of the saddest things in my life. He went 7-1 with 94 strikeouts in his freshman year at North Carolina and was second in the nation in strikeouts. He was on his way.”
Then, the shoulder blew out. Gallagher’s promising career wound up at IBM for 20 years before becoming a correction officer in Westchester County. Undeterred, he married Paula Kastuk, his childhood sweety, and they produced three of the finest boys the Ossining School District ever saw; Billy Jr., Mark and Griffin. His second wife, Patty, was the later the love of his life, whom he wed in 2011, and served as a role model to her three kids.
If you could steer regular guys onto a path of fatherhood, you would veer them Gallagher’s way. He was a superb gentleman, a volunteer coach on many levels and a buffer between right and wrong and everything in between.
I missed his wake on account of an LBI vacation, but I caught enough of him to know how special he was before a vicious form of cancer took him down. RIP, Billy G.
Gallagher is survived by his wife Patricia; his father William Sr.; sons, William Gallagher III, Mark Gallagher, Griffin Gallagher; step children, Gina Stabile Cerone (Jeff), Dana Stabile, Mark Stabile; sister, Terri Turner (Daniel); niece, Kristan McCarty (Travis), and nephew Daniel J. Turner Jr.
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
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