Facebook App
In a recent blog, Jack Bastable was included on my list of the best high school football players I have seen in the last 50 years. Some readers said: "Who?" Bastable, a Wheeling graduate of 1969, isn't widely remembered by many people outside the Mid-Suburban League. But he should be.
Bastable certainly is well remembered by legendary columnist Bob Frisk, who covered high school sports for the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights for 50 years, and Jim Millay, who was Bastable's classmate at Wheeling.
Frisk described Bastable, a three-sport star, as a "fierce competitor" and rated him ahead of Barrington's Dan Pohlman, Arlington's George Bork and 13-letterman Bill Robinson of Arlington as the best player he ever saw. By most accounts, Bastable was the best athlete ever produced in the Mid-Suburban League.
Millay recalls that former Wheeling basketball coach Mike Owens, who starred at Galesburg High School and Bradley University, said Bastable was the best athlete he had ever seen. Bastable excelled in football, basketball and baseball in high school but Millay insists he had even more potential in tennis and soccer.
Bastable grew up in St. Louis, a soccer town. He said soccer was his first sport but admits tennis was his love. But tennis wasn't a major sport in high school and he had a passion for team sports. His goal was to be a major league baseball player. He went to Missouri on a football scholarship but also played baseball.
A third baseman, he was drafted by the Oakland A's out of college. He spent six years in AAA. His agent was Jim Bunning, his minor league manager. Finally, he went to work for former major league catcher Bob Boone in the fitness business. Today, he lives in Overland Park, Kan., and works for a benefits consulting firm. His specialty is health and productivity management.
Bastable recalls when he was growing up, coaches didn't stress specialization. They didn't pressure athletes into concentrating on one sport. And Bastable never thought about specializing in one sport. He thought about football in the fall, basketball when it got colder and baseball in the spring. To him, that was the natural order of things.
"Baseball was the sport I had most fun in," he said. "But high school basketball was more fun. That's when school spirit caught stride. Baseball was my best sport, the one I was most gifted in. Football practice wasn't much fun. But the thrill of Friday night games and the lights and the excitement was fabulous. But I never got tired of shagging balls or taking ground balls or taking batting practice in baseball."
It is hard for Bastable to understand why kids don't play two or three sports today, why many choose to concentrate on one sport on a year-round basis. As a youngster, he was inspired by the Chip Hilton books, which highlighted the exploits of a three-sport star.
"I think there is potential to get imbalance when you miss out on well-rounded experiences from other sports," Bastable said. "Today, there is too much peer pressure for kids. And coaches are so competitive now. Being a three-sport athlete allows you not to get burned out.
"I liked change. It was in my personality. I didn't like doing the same thing over and over. When the baseball season was over, I felt it was time for football. I was ready for it. It invigorated me. I never felt pressure that I should be playing one sport more than the other. I didn't feel I was losing an edge, that I had to keep up with the Joneses. I didn't have that kind of peer pressure back then."
Cell Phone Alerts
I am not saying Bastable isn't the best. In that era what conference was Prospect in? Two guys that played for Prospect and graduated in 1967 were Kingman (USC) and Lundsted (spelling?) (Michigan). They were both pretty good basketball players and we all know they were pretty good baseball players. I don't know if they played football, or not.
Unless your name is George Washington, Babe Ruth or Martin Luther King chances are you will be long forgotten once your time is up. It wouldn't surprise me that most readers of this blog under the age of 50 couldn't care less about anyone named Jack Bastable.
For any athlete to be remembered and discussed 40 years after the fact deserves attention. Will a player like Jon Scheyer be mentioned in the year 2046 when Jon is approaching 60?
Arguably one of the most versatile and gifted athletes the Chicago area has ever produced, Bastable was offered college scholarships in baseball, football and basketball. As an HS football player after the 1968 football season he along with Darryl Stingley were honor by a group of writers as "Players of the Year". Darryl was the top CPL performer and Jack the top suburban player. While at the U of Missouri his football career was split between starting at tailback and wide receiver. In addition to that Jack averaged 40 yards a punt and handled both kickoffs and kicking field goals . As a wide out he played a big part in Mizzou's 1972 upset win in South Bend over a great Notre Dame team that featured Dave Casper and Tom Clemens. As a baseball player at Wheeling his batting average toped .450 his senior season on a team that finished 16-1. At Missouri he played both catcher and third base earning a spot on an All-American team that toured Japan in the summer of 1972. He was drafted by the Oakland A's as a catcher. During his first season with the A's he was traded even up for major leaguer Deron Johnson of the Phillies. The Phillies however were a team already deep in catchers with Bob Boone and Johnny Oates. During his days as a minor league catcher a high level scout for the Red Sox once described Bastable's catching skills as being comparable to Johnny Bench. In 1978 after being the last player cut in spring training from the Phillies roster 2 straight years Jack left baseball to raise a family.
As an HS basketball player at Wheeling Jack was a three year starter. Earning a spot on the Daily Herald All Area team in 1968. A 5'10" white kid who could dunk. Jack was blessed with great quikness and strength. He could guard anyone at any level.
But there weren't enough seasons in a year for Bastable. Tennis and soccer were the odd men out. While at Missou while splitting time between baseball and football Jack could pick up a racket and play even with any of the scholarship tennis players... During his waining days with the Phillies he once said " 'I know I can play professional soccer in England or Europe if baseball doesn't work out".
Today he is celebrating his 36th wedding anniversary and is a proud grandfather.
Yes there were many that were faster, stronger and bigger than Jack Bastable but no one was more complete.
Do some research on a gentleman named Bruce Erb. Bruce graduated from Glenbrook South in 1966. A guy doesn't always have to touch the ball, or hit the ball to be the most complete athlete. By the way, Bruce played football, wrestled and track. Check it out, Bruce was the real deal.
As I have said before, this is nothing against Bastable. But I would take Bruce Erb any day and he is a true gentleman.
I would agree with the article. Jack was a tremendous athlete. But more outstanding than that was/is his character. He is a humble gentleman who cares for others and honors God. He is a real role model by the way he lives his life.
Take it from someone who played with Jack Bastable..he was in no way comparable to some of the greats of Illinois high school basketball..he was competitive..yes..but he excelled at nothing..believe me.
and i can assure you, at 5-10 he could not dunk ..far from it..he was rather pudgy..in fact i never saw him jump!
Anonymous, nobody said Jack Bastable was a great basketball player. He was a great three-sport athlete, one of the best I saw in the last 50 years. He was better at football and baseball. But nobody, certainly not me, ever said he was one of the great basketball players in Illinois high school history, just a great all-around, multi-sport athlete. And there aren't too many of them. Taylor Bell
I tend to agree with you Mr. Bell. And since I played fb against him in hs having to tackle him, not always successfully, watched him play both bb's against us, and saw him live once in college fb - he was the best I ever faced including my brief college career.