March 2021
ALUMNI PROFILE

Kevin Gebhard ’59 holds a unique place of distinction in Watkinson’s history: that being that his athletic talents yielded him a feature story in the New York Times in June of 1959.

During his senior season as a pitcher for Watkinson, Gebhard "gave only 10 hits in 58 innings and struck out 128.” His stellar work on the mound attracted the attention of a coach from Trinity College who recruited Gebhard.  

Gebhard recalls, “I struggled in high school on Long Island and my parents knew if I was going to get into college, then I needed to go somewhere different for my senior year. I really enjoyed playing baseball at Watkinson and remember I pitched three no-hitters during my senior year season. My coach at Watkinson, Jack Ellis, was a mentor and helped me get into college. Both academically and athletically, I wouldn't have gotten into Trinity College if it wasn't for my time at Watkinson."

These days, Gebhard is an actor, screenwriter, author of five novels. He also works remotely for a finance company doing content creation that markets investments to wealthy foreign investors who want to move to America. He currently lives alone in Rye, NY. 
Watkinson Baseball in 1963
The legacy of Watkinson baseball: Father Charlie Geerts was the first Watkinson baseball coach, beginning back in the 1940s. As reported in the summer 2005 issue of Watkinson News, “Baseball went into hiatus at Watkinson in the mid-1980s, replaced by the rising popularity of lacrosse.” Baseball returned to Watkinson in 2004 buoyed by the enthusiasm of Tom Newman ’06 and David Bray ’06 under the coaching of former faculty member George Sailor. Then ultimate frisbee rose in popularity and eroded the numbers to field a baseball team once again. In spring of 2019, fueled by the energy and commitment of Adam J. ’21 under the coaching of Rob Dietelbaum, baseball returned again.