MARCE GONZALEZ SR.

Marce Gonzalez was a graduate of Gary Froebel High School and the University of Illinois where he made quite a name for himself in track and field. He retired from the Gary Community School Corporation after 48 years as a teacher, coach and administrator. His career with Gary schools included positions at West Side High School and Tolleston High School where he coached the State Championship Track Team in 1966.

Marce held many distinguished sports records: Indiana High School 100-and 200-Yard Dash Champion, Big Ten Champion in the 220-Yard Dash in 1945, Member of the World Record Mile Relay Team, Member of the 1946 University of Illinois team that won the NCAA Track and Field Championship, and Member of the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and the Imen's Letterman Club.

Marce became an avid long-distance runner and especially enjoyed daily runs on the beaches of Miller and Ogden Dunes. He was a dedicated fan of the Illini and the NY Yankees. Throughout the years, fellow coaches who worked with him or competed against him described him as someone they admired and gained a further appreciation for the sport through watching him in action. He touched the lives of so many students that he mentored, coached, and developed their talent that led them to achieve their goals and obtain great success both on and off the track.  Coach Marce will forever be remembered as someone who as one person said, “taught us that the size of a person is measured by their heart, and his heart was that of a giant.”