Hall of Fame
Ronald “Ron” Gerwin has worked at Kingsborough Community College since 1967. Although no longer a part of the athletic department, Ron continues to teach several HPE courses here at KCC. Ron’s tenure with KCC Athletics lasted from 1967-1990. During that time Ron served as the head baseball coach, moderator of the soccer club, beach director, assistant athletic director, head men’s basketball coach, region XV baseball committee chairperson, assistant athletic director, athletic director, and chairman of the health and physical education department. Needless to say, Ron was an integral part of KCC Athletics’ rich history. During his service, Ron was not afraid to volunteer himself to fill less attractive positions in order to keep the program running to its full potential. One of Ron’s key points that he stressed as a leader of the department was accessibility to athletic programs for everyone. Under Ron’s leadership, he was able to expand the intramural program and also assisted in helping to establish women’s sports into the NJCAA. Perhaps one of Ron Gerwin’s most outstanding accomplishments was to keep KCC Athletics afloat during NYC’s tumultuous financial times of the Mayor Koch administration. Ron was forced to find part timers to fill coaching positions because money was no longer available to pay coaches full time. During that time Ron worked to do most of the hiring alone, as the budget did not even have room for a front staff member. We should all be thankful to him for getting the department through the crisis so that we, today, may still be enjoying the benefit of intercollegiate athletics here at KCC.
From his time as an assistant baseball coach under Lou Shor, Ron still has fond memories of the team road trips. The 1972 KCC Baseball team made it all the way to the NJCAA World Series and placed 5th Although the team did not win the championship, they did win the sportsmanship award for the tournament which made Coach Gerwin proud. Everywhere the team went, they were a favorite of the local residents and appeared on television several times. Ron is also proud to have helped guide many student-athletes to successful careers as administrators, teachers and coaches who will in turn pass on their gifts to others.
We thank Ron for his dedicated service to KCC athletics, commend him on his efforts to take keep the department afloat during its tumultuous times, and applaud him on helping to produce student-athletes who became successful in their fields. It is our honor to induct Ronald Gerwin into the KCC Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class.
