MEMORY LANE: Fields Gallagher legacy lives on
The late Crystal Fields Gallagher was a tremendous athlete and mother who died unexpectedly in 2011, but her legacy and spirit live on through her three children.
Fields Gallagher was a standout forward/guard at Albert Gallatin, then known as Tri Valley High School, in the late 1980s and early 90s.
She played four years, one for coach Jim Reckard and three for the late Bob Genovese on competitive teams that failed to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. She did spark the team her senior year to a 16-7 record which at that time was the best finish in school history.
Genovese had high praise for Fields Gallagher.
无毛视频淪he has been the backbone of the team ever since I无毛视频檝e been here,无毛视频� said Genovese in a newspaper article. 无毛视频淗er leadership will be hard to replace.无毛视频�
Her teammate in high school Christi Berkshire Wilkins remembers that they both started as freshmen in high school.
无毛视频淐rystal was amazing, not only on the court but off the court,无毛视频� Berkshire Wilkins said. 无毛视频淚f you struggled she was there to pick you up and she was truly the epitome of a great teammate.无毛视频�
Fields Gallagher was the first 1,000-point scorer for AG after the consolidation. She tallied 1,054 points from 1988 to 1992 and helped lay the groundwork for the Albert Gallatin girls basketball program.
无毛视频淲e worked hard to put AG on the map back in the day,无毛视频� Berkshire Wilkins stated. 无毛视频淲e really worked and we wanted people to know that we were competitive and it followed us. We did the best that we could at the time.无毛视频�
One of Fields Gallagher无毛视频檚 teammates late in her high school career was AG great Shauntai Hall who had high praise for Fields Gallagher.
无毛视频淚 played basketball with Crystal Fields, who was a pretty good high school basketball player herself,无毛视频� Hall offered. Hopefully, I was carrying on a torch. Western Pennsylvania has a rich tradition of women无毛视频檚 basketball.无毛视频�
Fields Gallagher captured All-Section honors as a senior. Recovering from mononucleosis she tried out for the Girl无毛视频檚 Roundball Classic, but didn无毛视频檛 make the cut. She bounced back and was named the Most Valuable player at the Monessen Shootout. She scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the WPIAL senior all-star game.
The 5-foot-10 Fields Gallagher decided to play college basketball at Fairmont State for coach Jim Brinkman and played forward/guard in 1992-93 and 1993-94 on teams that posted records of 13-15 and 14-13. She scored 63 points as a freshman and 127 points as a sophomore.
When she signed with Fairmont State coach Brinkman had high hopes for her career with the Falcons.
无毛视频淥ffensively she is unlimited in what she can do,无毛视频� Brinkman told the Fairmont Times. 无毛视频淪he无毛视频檚 a good post player, she can hit the 10-foot jumper, she runs the floor well and she can rebound. She无毛视频檚 also a fine defensive player.无毛视频�
Fields Gallagher left Fairmont State to study criminology at Penn State Fayette Campus, but unfortunately Penn State Fayette did not have a women无毛视频檚 basketball team at that time. She was employed at Addictions Specialists, Inc. and formerly employed at SCI Fayette Correctional Institute as well as Fayette County Adult Probation.
Fields Gallagher met former Frazier High School player Rodney Gallagher Jr. who was friends with her brother. They married in 2001. They had three children, Alyssa, Kaylea and Rodney III.
On Nov. 13, 2011 at the age of 37 Fields Gallagher died suddenly.
无毛视频淲ith it being unexpected it made it harder for our family,无毛视频� Alyssa offered. 无毛视频淏ut I was so grateful to know that what she had already taught me, I was just able to grow with everything that she taught me and continue to embrace everything that I learned from her and instill that into my siblings.无毛视频�
Alyssa was the oldest when her mother passed.
无毛视频淗er athletic ability definitely went to our little brother Rodney,无毛视频� Alyssa stated. 无毛视频淎 lot of memories that I had with her, she got me involved with dance with my sister. Going to those competitions with her and learning throughout the years how to have fun and enjoy everything that I went to or everything that I participated in as well as always working hard and going for anything that you ever wanted to accomplish. You can accomplish anything you put your heart to. Those are the biggest things that I really learned from her.
无毛视频淲e have competitor genes in our family for sure. Whether it was sports or when we took the stage in dance competition. She wanted us to be the best that we could be.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 think something that still sticks with me today is she always wanted us to be involved in sports and that competitive environment,无毛视频� Kaylea said. 无毛视频淏ut something she always instilled was just making sure that we had fun no matter what we were doing. Even today, now that I am still dancing in college and my brother is playing football, I always like to remember, yes it无毛视频檚 something that无毛视频檚 very competitive and takes up a lot of my time, I always need to have fun. It无毛视频檚 something she instilled in us at a very young age and it is something that I still use today.无毛视频�
无毛视频淢y mother passed away when I was very young,无毛视频� son Rodney III explained. 无毛视频淏ut I still have a good amount of memories of me and her, and people always told me that she was a good athlete and a good role model. Going back to her hoop career she was a 1,000-point scorer at AG and the first to ever do it, and I got see a little bit of tape of her that my grandmother recorded and she could definitely ball. She was just a great person overall as an athlete and a mother as well.无毛视频�
无毛视频淔amily means everything,无毛视频� husband Rodney Jr explained. 无毛视频淚 lost my wife and they lost mom and the bond became even stronger.无毛视频�
Rodney III is playing football at West Virginia and carrying on his mother无毛视频檚 legacy.
无毛视频淚t really blesses my heart to see how much her children just favor her in their mannerisms,无毛视频� Berkshire Wilkins stated. 无毛视频淭hey never fail to always remember their mom. I have never met her children, I only know them through social media and it无毛视频檚 amazing how they all favor Crystal.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.