Harry Gauss Passes Away At 57

"You'd need to fill a couple of newspapers with all the stories of Harry Gauss." former London City soccer player Luan Jonuzi said yesterday,

Gauss, the heart and soul of the London City soccer club, passed away at home Saturday after a three-year battle with brain cancer.

He was 57.

The London sports community has lost a giant and one of its most colourful characters.

Gauss and his father Max launched the City franchise in 1973. With Harry as manager, coach and jack-of-all-trades, the team is the longest continuously operated pro soccer club in North America.

"No one brought more passion to their job," said London sportscaster Pete James. "Harry viewed his role much like the London Knights. He wanted to develop young soccer players, preferably London kids, and move them on to bigger and better things.

"He had one guy go on to the German Bundesliga. He sent Paul Munster to the Czech Republic. One of his players was Frank Sauer, a defender who went on to play with Pele with the New York Cosmos. It doesn't get much bigger and better than that. Without Harry, City can't and won't be the same."

There was little middle ground with Gauss.

"He was a guy you either loved him or hated him," Jonuzi said yesterday from his Irene's Seafood restaurant in London. "He was honest and he'd tell you what he thought. Not everyone liked that."

Jonuzi loved it. He's been one of Gauss' "kings" for the past 18 years.

"I remember I was playing soccer in London's second or third division and Harry had heard of me and kept calling me to play for his team. I kept telling him I couldn't. I had to work. But finally, a home game came up where I could, and he said what do you want and I said No. 9 (on his jersey). He said, 'You score a goal and I'll give you No. 9."

A day or two before his debut, Jonuzi picked up the flu.

"I was sick, I told Harry, 'I can't play, I can't play' and stood there freezing on the sideline," Jonuzi said.

"With 10 minutes left, we're down 1-0, and Harry says, 'I don't give a damn about your flu. Get out there and show me what you can do.

"I was shaking but I ended up scoring. He gave me No. 9 and when I was done playing, he put it into retirement.

"It's the only one. He wouldn't give it to anybody else."

Jonuzi was also at the centre of one of Gauss' most recent triumphs.

He buried the shootout winner in City's 2003 Open Canada Cup victory at Cove Road.

"I wasn't healthy then, bad wrist, bad hamstring, and couldn't play, but four or five minutes before penalty kicks, they put me on so I can take it. When it went in, I never saw Harry jump so high.

"He cried like a baby. The team had some good times and it went through hell, too. He deserved that win. His whole family did.

"The city has lost a hall of famer."

Though Gauss detested the game's politics and the fragmented culture of soccer in Canada and London, few in the sport were as opinionated or carried as much weight in the Canadian Soccer League boardroom.

"It's a black day for soccer," said outgoing CSL commissioner Cary Kaplan. "As the trooper Harry always was, he hung around until the end of the season."

League chairperson Domenic Di Gironimo added: "The CSL mourns the loss of one of its pioneers. We will remember Harry Paul Gauss as a cornerstone of our foundation."

Gauss was given the meritorious award from the Ontario Soccer Association for special service to the game two years ago.

There will be a visitation on Wednesday at the O'Neil Funeral Home (350 William St.) in London between 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m., followed by a private gathering at St. Peter's Cemetary on Thursday.

Gauss, who emigrated from Germany as a young boy, is survived by his wife of 32 years, Kathleen, and sons Ryan and Sean.

Another son, Paul, died when he was 19 from a brain tumour.

Ryan Gauss has served as CEO and GM of City for the past three years. He recently announced he had put the team up for sale but, barring the right offer, is prepared to stay at the helm next season.

The club recently sold off its successful minor soccer program to London United.

ryan.pyette@sunmedia.ca