Today’s Streaks Alumni Profile features David McKillip of the GHS Class of 1970.
David McKillip was one of the best and most versatile athletes in Galesburg athletic history. He played baseball, basketball, football, and wrestled. As a sophomore he was good enough to start on very good Streaks sophomore basketball team. As a junior he turned to wrestling where he had an outstanding career. He played both football and baseball all three years.
David was a Knox classmate of mine. He was not only a very good football players and wrestler at Knox but he was a highly respected leader on the Knox campus. He took his leadership into a military career, and then came back to Knox as an assistant football coach where he had a positive influence on Knox athletes for many years.
It is great that he has been willing to share some of his memories.
Athletics & Activities at GHS
Football and baseball (all three years), Basketball (Soph year), Wrestling (Jr and Sr year), Choir (all three years)
Favorite Teachers/Classes
Coach R.E. Wallace; class History
Some of Best Memories Growing Up in Galesburg & at GHS
Winning the Little League World Series three years in a row (Pirates)
Senior year a bunch of my wrestling buddies drove up to Northwestern for the NCAA Wrestling Finals. We saw Dan Gable lose his only match in college.
You Were a Regular on a Very Good GHS Soph Basketball Team. Why did you go into wrestling then?
After sophomore basketball season, Coach Thiel came up to me and told me I had a decision to make. He said either football or basketball but not both. That was a no brainer for me, it was football. I went out for wrestling junior year and found out that wrestling made me a better football player. I was also able to do both football and wrestling for all four years at Knox.
Education After GHS
Graduated from Knox College in 1974 with a commission in the Army
Career
Spent 21 years in the US Army as an Army Attack Helicopter aviator
retiring in 1995 as a Lieutenant Colonel. I then worked as a government civilian for 13 years at the Rock Island Arsenal retiring in 2015. I also worked at Knox College as a football coach for 17 years, coaching the linebackers and defensive line.
Life Today
My wife Dia will be married 54 years in November. We have four grown children two sons and two daughters. We also have seven grandchildren
and one great-grandchild. We are retired, retired living in our dream home on Lake Bracken south of Galesburg.
Advice to Students/Athletes
I would tell today’s student athletes to play multiple sports in junior high and high school. Too many players get locked into club sports and get burned out if they concentrate on only one sport. Have some fun when you are young. Many D1 college coaches look for kids who do more than on sport.
No comments:
Post a Comment