Charlie Guy, Jr.

By Charlie 3 (Charles H. Guy, lll)

A Little History

My 1st lacrosse memory was in Tampa early 1956 on a Saturday afternoon when my dad returned home from work. Recently having moved from a 2-bedroom apartment, our new tract home had its own carport storage area for our family stuff’s from which he then retrieved 2 wooden sticks that looked like leather crab nets. He kept the very long one, giving me the short one saying:

Today we are going to learn how to play lacrosse today.

Well as a 9 year old who did know that my dad had played football and who loved playing catch with him, I was very confused!! Since I relished any time that I could play with my him….even if it was with leather crab nets sticks, I was happy! It sure was awkward at first…..but seemed like maybe in time it could be fun. Living in Florida, however, did not support such athletic activity and football became my sport.

Over the years, my dad would occasionally share some stories about his lacrosse days, but he never said much as he never wanted to be accused of being a braggadocio (one of his favorite words for a braggart). I only knew that he played at Severn and at the Navy Academy and was, in his words….pretty good. It was only in his later years that he allowed more of his true experiences to be shared with me as he was really much more comfortable keeping his light under the basket.

It was not until in early 2007, when I attended a meeting in Tampa with my dad, Greg Murphy, USNA ’70, and Brian Lantier, USNA ’65, both Navy LAX Hall of Famers, that I learned the true extent of his unique lacrosse experiences and their potential value to the sport of lacrosse in general. Greg and Brian were traveling the country raising the funds needed to complete the Bilderback-Moore Navy Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Their trip, at their own expense, to Tampa was with the dual mission of convincing Charlie…

• to consider financially supporting the build out of the Bilderback-Moore Navy   Lacrosse Hall of Fame. 

• to consider allowing them and others in the national lacrosse community to seek and support his membership into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

During that 3-hour meeting, I learned for the first time, mostly from Greg and Brian’s accounts, the true Charlie Guy, Jr., Lacrosse Story. Immediately, the challenge was NOT the money, but rather Charlie’s aversion to being perceived as a braggadocio (One of his favorite sayings was Spouting whales get the harpoon!).  He said that he did not want to do anything or need anything more in his life…except the love of his wife, Marcia, the company of his dog Reilly, and a good cigar…..that could appear to be motivated by his self-aggrandizement.

Brian and Greg would not be deterred by his personal 60-year old braggadocio philosophy! They finally challenged him to stop being so selfish and only thinking of himself! Think instead, they said, of the value first and foremost to the Navy LAX and secondarily to the sport of lacrosse in general, including UVA LAX where he had been their first winning coach and his brother had attended as a football player:

The new Navy LAX Hall of Fame and your membership into the National Lacrosse of Fame just might help Navy to recruit several more new young great lacrosse players and win some more Navy National Championships!!

Brian and Greg are GREAT salesmen…..Charlie agreed on both counts!!

• He agreed to make a leadership contribution for the construction of Hall of Players and Coaches Wing.

• After the meeting as I drove him to his house, he agreed to allow me to begin to start the application process for his consideration for membership into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Our family will be eternally gratefully for these fine efforts of Brian and Greg to finally motivate Charlie to share more of his fruits of his business successes and his unique lacrosse experiences and accomplishments!!

The final good deed of Brian and Greg’s trip to Tampa was to introduce me to Buddy Garland, US Naval Academy (’84) Navy LAX Hall of Famer, who in November 2006 had first publicly suggested Charlie’s possible induction into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

With Buddy’s assistance and support, we did in fact begin in 2007 the research for the application process for Charlie’s consideration for membership into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The process was, however, delayed by the death of his beloved wife, Marcia, and his suddenly failing health, including severe memory lost. In May 2010, after Charlie’s sudden death, we have in fact renewed our full time efforts to gain his admission.

Charlie’s Simple Sport & Life Principles

Over the years when my dad would speak of his sports’ background and how he then applied his sports principles to his life principles, he always seemed to return to the same very simple core thoughts:

Focus:

Even though he, in his four combined years at Severn and the Naval Academy, was a three-sport athlete (lacrosse, football, & wrestling), he would share with me that he was able to be a multi-sport athlete NOT because he was a natural athlete but because he was able to stay completely focused on the sport at hand. When he played sports……he focused on sports. Later on in life when he had to earn a living for his family……he focused earning a living for his family……no time then for fun and frivolity…..no time for club lacrosse until he retired.

Preparation:

Since Charlie believed that he was NOT a naturally gifted athlete…BUT he believed that he could always out work everyone else in getting in better shape!!

Physical preparation, however, was only half the battle……

….no excuse for a lack mental preparation!

….even a less gifted athlete can know the plays!

....a slow smart player is usually better than a fast dumb player!

He applied this principle not only in his youthful competitive sports years, but also in his business career, and later in his late 60’s and early 70’s(age..not years!) when competing in senior club lacrosse……in the hot Florida spring and summer days, Charlie would be found running at noontime in order to get in shape for the Old Goat Tournament.

Execution:

You may NOT be as big or as fast as your opponent, but you sure can be in better shape, know your assignments better, and out hustle him!

Full physical exertion with a complete understanding of your assignments!

            He also taught me that….

…….well applied violence can certainly positively affect an outcome!

Finally, from all my years of listening to and observing my father, I have learned that he felt absolutely that his participation in sports was the KEY to his later successes in his business career. Being a great natural athlete sure would have been nice, but he liked better his way of becoming successful in sports and life better!!

From his life principles and his resulting accomplishments, we feel that an appropriate motto for The Charlie Guy, Jr., LAX Fund that his death in May 2010 has empowered his family to create in his honor should be:

                      Winning Smart Improves Lives!