Smiley Had Their Backs

I n the 1980s and early 1990s, Prescott and Waitsburg high schools experimented with a sports combine, but things didn't go so well. The first try failed and the teams went their separate ways.

It wasn't until the mid 2000s that the schools made a second attempt at pooling their sports teams and by then it had the driving force of Prescott athletic director Jack Smiley behind it. Smiley worked with Waitsburg's athletic director Chris Pearson and others to build a viable combine.

And, according to longtime friend, colleague and head coach Jeff Bartlow, Smiley was the perfect facilitator.

"It required a lot of sacrifice, planning and vision," Bartlow said. "Jack had all of that."

Jack Smiley passed away last week after a short battle with cancer. Everywhere in the Walla Walla Valley sports community, those who knew him - and there are many - mourn the loss of one of the most selfless, upstanding, professional and inspirational sports figures ever to grace the sideline.

"For the short time he was at Dayton High School, he was one of the best ADs we ever had," said Greg Fullerton, Bulldogs assistant baseball coach. "He worked very hard for the coaches."

And through the coaches for the kids, others might add.

Bulldog baseball players last weekend wore black arm bands with the letters JS stitched in white to remember their one-year athletic director whom they deeply admired and respected.

As members of the media, several of us had the honor and pleasure of working with Smiley on sports coverage. We quickly came to appreciate his hard work, integrity and love for the teams. He was the quiet backbone of the Waitsburg- Prescott combine's success, whose culmination he could only enjoy from a distance.

By the time the Tigers and Cardinals were on their way to state championships, Jack had moved on from his job as Prescott athletic director to become Dayton high's athletic director. But coaches like Bartlow wished he could have been there to share in the celebration. But Smiley was never about glory, at least not for himself. A graduate from Walla Walla High School, Smiley was a four-letter winner in baseball at Eastern Washington University, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in education (health, physical fitness and recreation). He completed a master's degree at Eastern Oregon University and became a certified athletic administrator. He was a secondary school teacher for nearly 40 years, serving in numerous Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon communities. He was in Prescott for 20 years. He coached basketball for 26 years and was an assistant coach in football, basketball and baseball.

Though respected by everyone in the high school sports community, he was particularly popular with the coaches, whom he supported tirelessly as their director with endless coordination. He would even go out on a limb to have their back when theirs were up against the wall.

After Waitsburg High School fired its two main volleyball coaches in 2010, he spoke out against the hasty decision and supported the coaches in their appeal against the administrative ruling. Following the controversy, Smiley left the combine with the idea of spending his "remaining good years" at Dayton.

"I leave on good terms," he said at the time. "But a fresh start is always good. I got a lot of good years left."

He barely joined Dayton when he was diagnosed, and at first, it barely slowed him down at the helm of the Bulldogs' sports program. Even further from his home in Walla Walla now, he would show up at every game as he always had for every other sports program - a quiet strength and presence on the sideline.

We'll always remember you that way, Jack. We'll miss you.

Jack Smiley

Memorial Service

2 p.m., May 19

Mountain View-Colonial

DeWitt Funeral Home

Chapel

1551 Dalles Military Rd.,

Walla Walla