Longtime O’Hara coach Gardler dies at 72
“There is not a doubt in the world that I would not be coaching and teaching basketball if not for Buddy Gardler. He was influential beyond words in my adolescent and adult life …” — Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, who played for “Bud” Gardler at Cardinal O’Hara in the mid1980s
Anyone who played basketball for Harrison “Bud” Gardler at Bishop Kenrick or Cardinal O’Hara didn’t have to wait for a stoppage in play to know they made a mistake.
Gardler would kick the bleachers with his heel when he was not happy with the play on the court.
“That was better than the horn,” said Chris Arizin, who played for Gardler at O’Hara in the mid-1980s. “You knew you were coming out of the game.”
There were times, though, when Gardler did not connect with the bleachers.
“One time, we’re playing up at St. Joseph’s Prep and he goes to kick the bleachers and hit a chair,” said Max Boyle, who coached with Gardler for 15 years at O’Hara.
“The chair went flying and one of us had to go and get it.”
Gardler, who spent 40 years as a basketball coach and teacher, died Wednesday evening at Paoli Memorial Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was 72.
“There is not a doubt in the world that I would not be coaching and teaching basketball if not for Buddy Gardler,” said Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, who earned All-Delco honors as a player under Gardler at O’Hara in the mid-1980s. “He was influential beyond words in my adolescent and adult life … I still find myself thinking about what he would do in certain situations. He was an unbelievable father figure. The one thing I have tried to emulate at Penncrest is that our program is a family. To this day, I always refer to him as ‘Coach.’ I never called him Bud or Buddy. That’s how much respect I have for the man.”
Gardler retired from coaching following the 2008 season as the winningest coach in Philadelphia Catholic League history with a career mark of 560-413. Legendary coach Speedy Morris would break that record in 2011.
Gardler started his coaching career at the now defunct Bishop Kenrick High School.
He went 97-72 in seven seasons in Norristown. He then spent the 1974-75 season on Jim Lynam’s staff at American University in Washington before returning home to coach and teach at O’Hara in 1976.
He was a master tactician who took the Lions to the Catholic League playoffs 16 times, reaching the final in 1998.
“His X’s and O’s were off the chart,” Doyle said. “I still run the circle and the two play for a jumper at the top of the key. We may not have been as talented as other teams, but we never felt inferior because of the confidence he instilled in us. We felt we could play with anyone.”
Gardler’s coaching tree is nearly as lengthy as the number of wins. Saint Joseph’s men’s coach Phil Martelli served as an assistant under Gardler at O’Hara. Connecticut women’s coach Geno Auriemma played for him at Kenrick. Temple assistant Dave Duke also coached with Gardler. Penn’s Steve Donahue, Hartford’s John Gallagher, and Colorado assistant Sean Kearney all played for him at O’Hara, as did Doyle and former O’Hara coach Steve Cloran.
“A very sad day for many former Cardinal O’Hara players,” Donahue tweeted. “Coach Bud Gardler passed away at the age of 72. He was a great coach, English teacher and mentor. I knew I wanted to be a coach after my four years in his program. RIP coach.”
“He really taught me how to play the game the right way and how to play with an edge and attitude, and how to compete,” said Mike Louden, who earned All-Delco honors under Gardler in 1985. “He taught me a lot. I didn’t realize it at first. I got to appreciate him as I got older. As a young kid you don’t understand those things, but you do when you get older.
“One of my best memories of coach is when we used to go down to play pickup games at 14th Street in Prospect Park (Moores Lake). He would play in the pickup games and I think I learned more about him and from him by playing against him in those pickup games more than anything else.”
Gardler was known as much for his dry, sarcastic humor as much as his basketball acumen. He also loved to play “Liar’s Poker.”
“His wit was unbelievable,” Boyle said. “He had a line for everything, some I can’t repeat. But he was more than just a coach, he was a good friend.”
“He was just the kind of guy that you liked to sit down, have a beer with and talk sports,” Louden said. “I was very lucky. I played for a great coach in high school in Coach Gardler and a great coach in college in Herb Magee.”
Gardler is survived by his son, Chris, daughters Meghan and Mary Kate, and five grandchildren, including granddaughter, Kenzie, an All-Delco basketball player at O’Hara who will be a freshman at Villanova. Funeral arrangements are pending.