MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
On a late Tuesday or Friday night, or whatever the night might be, when we were on deadline in the Cumberland Times-News sports department trying to get our stories filed, it initially seemed that Donnie Gibson was always calling us at the worst possible time, when, in reality, he was calling to save the day. And, usually, us.
Donnie, you see, was the man of information, particularly if the game we had just covered involved one of the city schools, but most notably Allegany, as Donnie Gibson was completely devoted to his alma mater, Allegany High School.
Donnie always came through with that fact, that piece of information, that record that would not only end up in the lede of our story, but would end up carrying our story and making our reporting complete.
As the years went by and we had grown a little wiser, when we were told, “Donnie Gibson on line two,” the entire sports department rushed to pick up line two.
Donnie would set us straight on things we might have gotten wrong or just missed. But he would also be the first to tell us on those rare occasions when we had discovered on our own that we had actually “set me straight.” And then, as always at the conclusion of his calls or visits, he would thank us and tell us, “We’ll stay in touch.”
I thought of those times last week upon learning of Donnie’s death at the age of 93, and I had to smile, because Donnie Gibson did so much to help all of us in the sports department know and to report things that only he had uncovered up to that point.
Donnie had an open invite to come into our office any time he wanted to to comb through the old books and clip files started by the great C.V. “Jiggs” Burns, J. Suter Kegg and Jim Day to collect and compile for his books, his Allegany history books (more like college media guides) concerning football and basketball from beginning to the present – every score of every game dating back to 1926, and all of the names and accomplishments that came from them.
He updated them every few years and gave us copies every time, and they have proven to be invaluable to the sports staff. In fact, when I left the Times-News in 2019, a copy of Donnie’s basketball volume (Or was it football? Or both?) accidentally found its way home with me. I thought of returning it (not at all) because the guys might need it, before realizing there would be plenty others back at the office. That’s how up to date Donnie kept us on the history of the Campers and the Cumberland City League schools.
What a labor of love it was for Donnie, a man who had seen firsthand most of the sports history of Allegany High School.
An Alco graduate of 1949, one of the most significant eras of Cumberland sports, Donnie came home a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, married Margaret (Mrs. Gibson to us whenever she answered the phone when we called Donnie) with whom he raised their family, while being active in the community and becoming a leader in the Allegany community.
He founded the Allegany Sports Hall of Fame, was a member of the Camper Club and Allegany Alumni Association, having served as president of both. Whenever it was Hall of Fame time, Donnie could be seen coming through our doors carrying his copy (informative and clean) and a stack of Allegany yearbooks that he had borrowed from the school so we could have pictures of all the newly-inducted Hall of Famers.
Donnie grew up and graduated with and remained best friends with two of Cumberland’s all-time greats, Earle “Lefty” Bruce and Wes Abrams, known here since the fall of 1948 as the Touchdown Twins.
Of course, Bruce would later become known as the head football coach at The Ohio State University, taking the 1979 Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl and being named National Coach of the Year. As it turns out, he was never known as “Lefty” outside of Cumberland.
I asked Donnie about that for a story he helped me with when Bruce died in 2018.
“He was right-handed,” Donnie said, “but he broke his arm when he was very young and had to use his left arm to do everything. And a fellow by the name of Tubby Lucas dubbed him ‘Lefty.’ He was only a kid at the time he broke his arm and he had that nickname for quite awhile.”
How good of friends were Donnie and the Touchdown Twins?
“Wes and I hitchhiked to Lefty’s wedding,” Donnie told me. “That was the oddest thing. Wes called and said, ‘Do you want to go?’ And I said I did. We were young and had just gotten out of the service and we went down to Centre and Mechanic streets, and it wasn’t 10 minutes until a guy stops and says, ‘Where are you going?’
“We said, ‘Ohio’ and he said, ‘Where in Ohio?’ and we said, ‘Mansfield.’ Turns out the guy was from Mansfield, Ohio and took us right to the front door. What are the chances?”
We never knew what kind of information or story Donnie would have for us when we saw him at games with his pal Chuck Eirich or when he came into the office at the newspaper. But he never disappointed us, even when he called us on deadline … Particularly when he called us on deadline!
Donnie Gibson’s time and devotion to Allegany HIgh School was real and it was true. He was one of a kind; a good man, and his helpful nature, his generosity and his friendship will remain greatly appreciated and fondly remembered.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT