TOM GILLEY - INDUCTEE #84
hall of fame fast fact:
After Palo Duro High School won the state basketball title in 1956, the Amarillo school board rewarded Tom Gilley and his wife with a European vacation.
Tom Gilley
As Palo Duro’s first basketball coach, Tom Gilley was a father figure and mentor to many of his players. Gilley first made his mark in Amarillo at Horace Mann Junior High.
Before coaching, he was captain of the 1939-1940 Red Raiders. When Palo Duro opened, Gilley was promoted to become the school’s first basketball coach.
The first-year Dons won the 3A state title and finished with a 26-3 record. The colorful and spirited Gilley coached at Palo Duro until 1976. He finished coaching with a 291-245 record and 12 winning seasons.
After he left coaching, Gilley led a tax protest referendum against city government and was a vocal critic of the City Commission.
In 1983, he was a volunteer assistant coach for one season at West Texas State.
Gilley died in 1995.
