Greyhound legend Charlie Bibaud '55 passes . . .

Good bye Charlie . . .

By Steve Morris, Asst. A.D. for Media Relations
    One of the best friends of Assumption College athletics through the years, CHARLIE BIBAUD ‘55 played, coached, served on every imaginable committee, and provided equipment through his company, KangaROO Crossing, for more than half a century.
    Mr. Bibaud passed away Friday, October 16, 2009. 
    His professionalism, his charm, his wit and his ability to motivate young people into becoming better persons tomorrow than they were today, were just part of his magic.  He was very plainly, a good guy, to everyone!
    He had four sons, one of which, Tim, is an assistant men's basketball coach and head men's golf coach with the Greyhounds.  Charlie served as an unofficial advisor with the Greyhounds a few years back helping head coach Serge DeBari ‘71. He also served as Director of “the Laska” high school tournament, hosted by Assumption College in between Christmas and New Years, since its inception in six years ago.  He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but we’re guessing he was routing for his adopted high school alma mater, Saint John’s High, deep inside.
    One his most memorable moments came November 28, 1951 as a freshman with the Greyhound basketball team.  In his very first game he scored the game-winning basket as the team defeated crosstown rival Worcester State (55-53) for legendary coach Andy Laska’s first victory.
    He coached at Assumption Preparatory School from 1952-69---including three years while still a student at the College as perhaps the youngest high school coach in the state's history---and later at Saint John's High School in Shrewsbury, MA from 1970-80.  He retired with an overall record of 418-178 as one of the winningiest boy's basketball coaches in Massachusetts history. He also coached a year of baseball (1958) at the College.
    His Assumption Prep teams won 20-or-more games three times en route to a school-record 250-113 overall mark. They won the New England Catholic Tournament in 1956, the Western Massachusetts Tournament in 1957, the Worcester City title in 1957, 58 and 61. Among the notables who played for him at the Prep were Holy Cross standout Jack (The Shot) Foley and Assumption College Hall of Famer Steve Warner '64.
    In 1955-56 the Monks finished 20-6 as the New England Catholic Champions and won the Assumption College Invitational Tournament. In 1956-57 (22-3) they won the Western Massachusetts and Worcester City titles.  In 1960-61 they finished 22-3 at the Worcester City Championships. His teams won the New England Prep School title in 1966 and 1967.
    He coached 10 years at Saint John's High and posted a 168-65 overall mark with a pair of 20-win, District championship seasons. His team was 23-2 in 1973-74 and 21-4 in 1977-78 --- both winning District championships.
    He also taught history, English, French and mathematics at both Assumption Prep and Saint John's High and along with his basketball duties also assisted with the cross country, baseball and football programs.  He was the Director of Athletics at Assumption Prep (1960-70) and later at Saint John's High (1970-84). He also served as Academic Dean at Saint John's (1977-84).
    In 1963 he was sent to then French West Africa by the United States Department of State as a French-speaking basketball coach. He worked with the national teams of Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Togo, Dahomey and Mali.
    He was also instrumental in bring “the Cousy” international basketball tournament for players under 6-feet-4 to the Central Massachusetts region in the summer of 1996.  Most recently he had volunteered to help coach the team at Venerini Academy.
    He was very visible at all Greyhound home games sitting in “coaches corner" with Laska and other former team players.  And, when the Greyhounds weren’t playing, you could find him at 378 Main Street in Shrewsbury watching the Pioneers.  He was a very proud man when Saint John’s won the state title last year.
    He is a member of the Assumption College Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame (2005), the Assumption Prep Alumni Hall of Fame (1970), the Massachusetts Coaches Basketball Hall of Fame (1985) and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame (2003).
    Good bye Charlie! And, don’t forget, the first game in the rededicated Laska Gym for the Greyhounds is November 15. We just know he’ll be watching.

How about this coaching staff from the 1964 Worcester Academy Clinic?

(front, left to right Lester (Buster) Sheary, Hound Hall of Famer Don Lemenager '56, Dave Gavitt and Charlie Bibaud '55.  Back: Dee Rowe, the coach himself Andy Laska H'90, Bill Ferris, Paige Rowden, Hound great Joe O'Brien '57 and Joe Mullaney!

(Special thanks to the Worcester Telegram and its archives for the photo)