School History
125th Anniversary Celebration
Official Goldey College Yell
In its early days, Goldey College specialized in business, bookkeeping and penmanship. It seems logical, then, that they actually published the following as the "Official Goldey College Yell" for sports events:
Debit, credit, petty cash
Half length, double length, curve and dash
Coaslescents, F-V hook,
Journal, ledger, entry book!
Truth is often stranger than fiction...
Ira T. Ellis - Beacom College's National Champion
In 1927, Ira T. Ellis, Beacom College Class of 1927, won the national championship for the best typewriting without errors - in the United States and Canada! The entire Beacom College student body, the Mayor, and several hundered other dignitaries gathered around Wilmington's Baynard Field to watch the Royal Typewriters Company airdrop a new typewriter from a plane to Ira as the crowd cheered on. "A small parachute hovered in the air," wrote a local reporter, "then dropped gently to Earth." Ira had typed 95 words per minute for 15 minutes without a single error to bring this glory to Beacom College.
Goldey vs. Beacom
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While there was immense competition between HarryGoldey and William Beacom for studentsand reputation, there is one area where competition never occured. For over 30 years, both schools had identical sports teams - including basketball,baseball, tennis, swimming and golf. They used the same facilities - usually the YMCA and TWCA. They used the same playing courts, and competed against the same area teams - but never once faced off against each other. Never in the history of these neighboring schools did the scoreboard show "Goldey vs. Beacom."
The Lightning Nickname
Goldey-Beacom College adopted the nickname "Lightning" in the 1998-99 academic season. Today, just two schools in the United States are known to use it: GBC and Lehman College (NY). Lehman College, oddly enough, also uses the same navy blue and gold colors that Goldey-Beacom does. Also, seven high schools and several professional/minor league teams, most notably the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning, have the nickname as well.
In addition, the Air Force Academy Falcon athletic teams and the National Football League's San Diego Chargers use lightning bolts in their logos, though they are not called the Lightning.
According to absoluteastronomoy.com, the bolt of lightning in heraldry (which is the art of devising, granting and blazoning coat of arms) is a symbol that represents power and speed.
Though not famous for frequent or severe thunder and lightning storms as the city of Tampa Bay and the central Florida region is, the mid-atlantic region (spanning from Delaware down the coast to North Carolina) has the third highest number of lightning strikes that hit the ground per square mile in the United States according to the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network.
Goldey-Beacom's athletic teams continue to take pride in the nickname Lightning. Recently the athletic department adopted the motto "Goldey-Beacom Athletics...where lightning strikes." Students who wear the navy blue t-shirt with that motto in gold print get free pizza with admission to select GBC sporting events throughout the school year.
"Boots" Reed (1956-1988)
Harry C. "Boots" Reed officially entered the Goldey-Beacom College athletic scene in 1956 as a volunteer assistant to the men's basketball head coach, Earl "Pickles" Burns. He took over as head coach in 1961, but continued to work closely with all athletics programs.
Beginning with his initial volunteer days of service to the young men and women of Goldey-Beacom College, he served the athletic department in many capacities to insure its stability and progress. This included his duties as teams' manager, trainer and "official bus driver" during the College's many road trips.
Reed dedicated many hours to his coaching duties, developing skills and instilling strong work habits and sportsmanship in all his student-athletes as he directed the softball, volleyball and men's and women's basketball programs.
A veteran of the U.S. Navy and a former standout athlete at Claymont High School and Brown Technical High School, Reed was a force to be reckoned with in his own right on the local basketball scene as a 6-4, 200 pound competitor in the Wilmington CYO league and on various other teams in independent and industrial leagues throughout the state of Delaware.
After serving the students at Goldey-Beacom for over 30 years, Reed announced his retirement in 1988. He resided in Wilmington before passing away in 2012.
Chris Morgan (1999-2011)
Morgan came to Goldey-Beacom College in 1999 and guided the athletic department through a transformation from a four-team NAIA school into a 10-team NCAA Division II institution. During his time , the athletic department saw unprecedented success with all 10 teams transitioning into the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Among the many athletic accomplishments in his tenure are eight CACC championships and 13 NCAA Regional Tournament appearances.
The men's golf team has flourished from the time Morgan assumed the position, winning three CACC Championships and a Super Regional Championship in 2005-06. The golf program also boasts 2011 U.S. Open qualifier Michael Tobiason, Jr, who in 2015 was selected to the CACC Hall of Fame.
Also on the rise is the Lightning women's tennis program, which Morgan established in 2005. Morgan brought in one of the premier tennis coaches in the area in Joe Kissel and the program has prospered since. The Lightning reached the CACC final the last two years under his watch and advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament both times. Kissel twice has been named the CACC Coach of the Year. Morgan is also credited with hiring two of the conference's finest basketball coaches in Jen Carleton and Chuck Hammond. Carleton guided the women's basketball program to new heights in 2010-11 as the Lightning claimed the school's first CACC Basketball championship and NCAA Regional Tournament berth. Hammond has turned a once fledgling men's basketball program into a CACC powerhouse. He has amassed over 100 wins, an ECAC Championship in 2007, three straight trips to the CACC final and a CACC Coach of the Year award in 2005-06.
With these athletic successes under Morgan's direction, his commitment to academic success never ceased. Morgan established an institutional policy that required GBC student-athletes to maintain a 2.5 GPA (more stringent than the NCAA policy that requires a 2.0). As a result, the average student-athlete GPA has been over a 3.0 every year since Morgan arrived.
Also, Morgan managed an athletic department that was ranked third in Division II for gender equity compliance in 2007 by the Women's Sport Foundation and was recognized by the NCAA for Overall Excellence in Diversity in 2008.
A Wilmington, DE native, Morgan served on numerous NCAA Regional and National Sport Committees and was Vice-President of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. In the Spring of 2011, he was appointed to serve for the NCAA Division II Nominating Committee. He also served as head women's soccer coach at GBC from 1999-2003,helping the team reach the 2002 NAIA Region X Independent Tournament final.
Morgan left GBC in August, 2011 to assume a similar post at Kean University in Union, NJ.
The Milton R. Olazagasti Memorial Scholarship Fund
Milton R. Olazagasti was a true pioneer of the soccer program at Goldey-Beacom College, coaching the men's soccer team from 1991 to 1997. He was a respected referee, entrepreneur and devoted student of the game.
Sadly, in March, 2010, Coach Olazagasti passed away. The Milton R. Olazagasti Memorial Scholarship Fund at Goldey-Beacom College commemorates the remarkable career of Milton R. Olazagasti, who played a significant role in building the GBC men's soccer program during his years of service as head coach.
Milton was not only a coach, but a player, referee, and trainer of referees, respected throughout the Delaware athletic community. This award goes to a full or part-time student in any degree program who shows the same commitment to campus life, sportsmanship, and respectful conduct that characterized the life of Coach Olazagasti.If you are interested in donating to the Milton R. Olazagasti Memorial Scholarship Fund, please click here.
