Harold Gibson was born in Chicago, Illinois and moved to New York City in the late 1950's.  He married Pat Gibson in 1960 and Patrick and Leslie Gibson joined the family soon after.  Harold lived in Manhattan until his death on June 10, 2001.Harold, an athlete and consummate sports enthusiast, became involved in athletic activities for children in 1968.  His active life in children's sports began by escorting his son Patrick to a baseball program they had learned of from a friend.



The baseball program was not an official Little League group.  At a time when there was almost no community athletic activities or facilities for children in Manhattan, several local churches formed a league, and all the neighborhood children were welcome to participate in this non-denominational group.  The games were played at the Queensboro Oval field under the 59th Street Bridge on a red clay field.



Harold accompanied his son to all his games, and was eventually persuaded to become a coach.  His involvement grew.  He was the groundskeeper, the scorekeeper, the operations manager, the field manager, and the liaison between the players, the parents, the coaches and the umpires.  He regularly recruited new parents as volunteers to keep the league alive.  During the baseball and later the basketball seasons he spent long hours at the field or in the gym every Saturday and many Friday nights.  During the week, the organization of the leagues became his second career.



He coached his daughter's basketball team and helped to organize and develop the basketball program, securing the use of private and parochial school gyms in the community.  He expanded the basketball league to include leagues from uptown Manhattan communities.



As the leagues grew, Harold assumed its' leadership.  He was known as "The Commissioner."   He successfully fought to keep the field under the 59th Street Bridge from the developers and available to the children of the community.  He was also instrumental in securing the Asphalt Green Astroturf field and fields in Central Park for the use of our baseball league.

 

In 1990 Harold Gibson he helped establish the Yorkville Youth Athletic Association, a nonprofit group that organizes sports leagues for children between the ages of 5 to 17.  The enrollment is currently over 1,300 participants.  The Association's Board of Directors is comprised completely of volunteers as are all the coaches.  Through Harold's efforts, the baseball program is now part of the National Little League Organization.

 

Harold was the organization's very active president until his death in 2001. Each Saturday, Harold could be found watching the action on a baseball field, stopping by one of the gyms to take in a basketball game, or running a lively board meeting.

 

The Yorkville Board of Directors voted to introduce an annual coaches award, to be given to a coach who has kept the volunteer spirit of Harold Gibson alive by giving his or her time freely to the youth of Yorkville. The award is appropriately called The Harold D. Gibson Volunteer Award for volunteer service to the youth of Yorkville.