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As a basketball coach, Dick Buckley was focused, intense and had a great love for his players.
Buckley, who coached the Williamsburg Community High School boys team from 1959-69, died Wednesday at the Lutheran Home of Kane. He was 92.
"Two words describe him -- intense and caring," longtime assistant coach and good friend Jerry Campbell said. "He was a very intense individual. He cared so much about the games and the players. His record (211-44) speaks for itself. He had good players. He knew how to handle them, and they respected him."
Buckley guided the Blue Pirates to the 1966 PIAA Class C championship.
"He was always a kind person and very structured in the classroom and on the court," Bill Kagarise, the leading scorer on the state championship team, said. "He was a focused motivator. During timeouts, he would just glare at you. He was in his basketball world. He would motivate us to play as hard as we could."
Don Appleman played on Buckley's first team at Williamsburg and later coached at his alma mater.
He said as a coach, Buckley had total control of his team, but at the same time he allowed his players to play freely, a hard balance to achieve.
"Being around Coach Buckley for only a short time one could sense the uniqueness and charisma that made him a great man," Appleman said. "He was a perfect combination of the driven coach Norman Dale (Hoosiers) and the stylish classy Frank Sinatra -- one of a kind. He did it his way. Now he belongs to the ages."
During his career at Williamsburg, Buckley led the Pirates to the state final three times.
His 1965-66 team compiled a perfect 25-0 record and defeated Jim Thorpe 89-54 in the state title game at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena.
His 1961 team lost the state championship game to West Reading and the 1968 team fell to Mount Penn.
From 1964 through 1968, his teams racked up a record of 123-7 with a 50-game winning streak through the 1966 and 1967 seasons. During his 10 years, the Blue Pirates won eight straight Juniata Valley League titles and six District 6 titles.
He left Williamsburg for Kane after the 1969 season.
He was inducted into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Appleman said Buckley had the gift of working with people and bringing out their best.
Campbell said Buckley was more of a friend than a coach.
"When he left town, we still remained friends and would get together for meals and vacationed together. I thought of him more as a friend than a coach," Campbell said. "Even after he left for Kane, he always thought of Williamsburg. The memories of his time at Williamsburg were always very important."
Buckley was well respected by his players.
"One of the things I remember clearly and deeply admired was how his personna and presence commanded total respect. He demanded it always and returned it in kind. The thought of calling him anything other than Mr. or Coach Buckley never entered our minds," Appleman said.
Friends will be received from 4 to 7 p.m. today at Cummings Funeral Home in Kane with a funeral service at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. John's Episcopal Church in Kane.
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.