Elgin says goodbye to coaching legend “Ches”
Elgin community members on Saturday said goodbye to a coaching legend, known simply as “Ches.”
“Bill Chesbrough embodied the body, heart and soul of Elgin High School and the community at large,” his son, Tom Chesbrough, told people gathered at the First United Methodist Church in Elgin for a memorial service.
Bill Chesbrough, the former Elgin High School basketball coach and athletic director, died Monday at the age of 92.
Chesbrough coached for 35 years, winning 573 games and ranking 37th in all-time wins for boys basketball in the Illinois High School Association.
His 1955 team finished second in the state tournament, losing to Rockford West in a game that was voted the most memorable in IHSA history. He retired from coaching in 1985.
While Chesbrough's success on the basketball court was well known, he also was a great father, husband, grandfather, teacher and friend, said Rev. Jon Hutchison.
“It's obvious to me that Bill was not a one-dimensional guy, not just a good coach,” Hutchison said. “Being a good man requires a stable foundation in knowing what's important in life.”
Hutchison said friends and family members immediately passed along anecdotes of Chesbrough's life, showing how he served people from all walks of life.
“Today, we celebrate the life of a legend.” Hutchison said. “Bill was one for the record books.”
Tom Chesbrough said his father grew up during the Great Depression, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and came to Elgin the 1950s. He had several overtures in the 1960s to coach at the University of Wisconsin, but declined.
“He didn't want to leave Elgin at that point,” Tom recalled. “What he was building was something special. He realized he was becoming part of the fabric of the community.”
Basketball was a hot ticket during Ches' tenure, his son said. He remembers going to Elgin High School basketball games where the ticket line stretched for two to three blocks.
Tom Chesbrough recalled fun times his father visited him in Kansas City to watch Chiefs football games, how someone inevitably picked up his father's lunch tab and how his dad would turn the chalkboard into a mess of white during halftime diagraming a play.
But the elder Chesbrough also loved spending time with his grandchildren and shared wisdom and encouragement whenever he could.
“He never let a time go by that he didn't want to communicate an inspiring message,” Tom Chesbrough recalled. “He had an insatiable thirst for life.”
The family has requested that memorials be sent to the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship Fund.