Former Harlingen High tennis coach and multi-Hall of Fame inductee Gerald “Jerry Hirst” died Tuesday at the age of 79.
Hirst spent 34 years as the Cardinals’ tennis coach and won 29 district team championships. He led the Cardinals to the state finals in 1991, and that team remains the only Rio Grande Valley team to reach that milestone. Hirst was named the state coach of the year that same season.
He was inducted into the RGV Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and into the Texas Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
“It was an honor and privilege to play for him,” said James Tanamachi, the Cardinals’ current tennis coach and a former player of Hirst. “He made me a much better player. I still teach the kids his same philosophies. He’s a legend, and you can’t fill those shoes. Even though I’ve been the coach for 17 years, I still feel like it’s (his) team. I’m just trying not to screw things up. … I appreciate all he did for me as a coach and making me a better person. He was a great mentor.”
Hirst was born Jan. 22, 1942, in Oklahoma. At 12 years old, he began hitchhiking across the country to participate in tennis tournaments in Texas, Missouri, New York and places out west. Hirst won a doubles and an individual state title at Harding High School and became a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
He played tennis at East Texas State University, now Texas A&M-Commerce, and became an All-American and a first-generation college graduate. He is a member of the college’s hall of fame, too.
“What my dad always said was, ‘I wasn’t the smartest or the best athlete, but I learned that if I was willing to put in work, most other guys aren’t. I learned I could outwork people,’” John Hirst said. “That was really the cornerstone for his life. Later in life, that was something he really tried to impart in not only myself, my sister and my younger brother, but to all of the kids that he ever coached and anyone he ever mentored.”
RGV Sports Hall of Fame board member Raul Zamarripa, a former athletic trainer who worked closely with Hirst at Harlingen High and developed a strong friendship with him, got choked up talking about the coach. He said Hirst “was good people” and positively impacted countless kids.
TTCA executive director Bobby Kleinecke said losing Hirst is “devastating” for the organization. Though he didn’t know Hirst personally, Kleinecke said he often heard about Hirst and knows he will be dearly missed because of how instrumental he was to tennis in the Valley.
George McShan, who spent 30 years on the HCISD school board, called Hirst a professional and personal friend. McShan reflected on all the good he did for not only tennis players, but any athlete he saw that worked hard and deserved to go to college. John said Hirst helped 36 Cardinals tennis players and several athletes from other sports earn college scholarships.
Hirst assisted in creating the RGV Tennis Coaches Association and helped to raise more than $100,000 for graduating senior tennis players.
“Jerry Hirst was a legend of a coach. But more importantly, he was one who helped students,” McShan said. “There’s not one student-athlete that will say they didn’t love Coach Hirst. He was a winner. He could motivate them and get the most out of them.”
Hirst passed his love for tennis on to the three children he had with his wife, Alice. John, Katy and Steve all got to enjoy playing alongside Hirst in father/son and father/daughter tournaments. All three partnerships were nationally ranked.
Hirst continued to play competitively up until his death. When he was 58, he was invited to be a member of the Gordon Cup International Team in a senior event that pits Team USA against Team Canada. He participated for almost 20 years and for the past 13 has hosted the annual Hirst Tennis Classic at South Padre Island, a tournament for seniors that raises money for the Gordon Cup.
“It was one of the thrills of his lifetime to represent his country,” John said.
The Hirst children want to continue their father’s legacy and are working to create a scholarship in his name. Details about services for Hirst will be available on the website of the Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home in San Benito when finalized.
“He was all of our best friend. We all felt that way individually, my mom felt the same thing,” John said through tears. “We’ve had literally thousands of messages come in. It’s been staggering, seeing how many people he touched and influenced. He was extremely proud of helping kids. He had such a tough upbringing himself. He grew up very poor. He realized there’s plenty of kids like that to help, so that became one of his life’s missions.”
