Gardner stood out on field, diamond

This is a busy time of year for Watertown's Jerry Gardner. It's tax season, so there's always something for the certified public accountant to do, whether it's taking phone calls, returning messages, sifting though paperwork, meeting with clients or getting a good night's rest so he can do it all over again the next day.

Don't feel too bad for Gardner, though. He has always managed to keep a busy schedule and make the numbers work.

Case in point: Gardner's career in and around athletics.

He is a 1966 graduate of Watertown High School, where he played four years of varsity soccer and two years each of baseball and basketball. He led the Cyclones soccer team in scoring for two seasons and helped WHS claim a Section 3 crown.

After high school, triple duty turned into double duty as Gardner focused on soccer and baseball at Ithaca College.

In soccer, Gardner was the leading scorer on Ithaca freshman team before going on to achieve the same status for his first two seasons on the varsity squad. The center-forward switched to the fullback position as a senior, where he helped limit Ithaca's opponents to 1.50 goals per game. Serving as a team co-captain, he also produced four goals as a senior and earned state all-star status.

"He's beautiful back there," teammate Al Baumgarten said in 1969. "Some of those plays he makes are just out of this world. He's saved us a lot this season."

Gardner's versatility showed in baseball, too.

On Ithaca's freshman team in 1967, Gardner hit a team-high .382 while starting a shortstop. He spent the next two seasons as a varsity shortstop, batting .269 with 16 RBIs as a sophomore and .325 with 23 RBIs as a junior.

Gardner moved to third base for his senior season. Again serving as co-captain, he batted .264 — with two game-winning hits — and drove in 20 runs. He led the team in walks (20), doubles (seven) and stolen bases (four). When he was finished, he held Ithaca career records for double played participated in (21), assists (137) and games played (67). Gardner's teams also participated in the NCAA Division III tournament in each of his varsity seasons.

Not a bad return for Ithaca on its investment in a kid from Watertown.

He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Ithaca in 1970 and later studied at Syracuse University to earn accounting credits. Gardner has worked in accounting since 1972 and has been a CPA in Watertown since 1982.

Gardner, who played semiprofessional baseball for the Watertown Royals and Split Rock Redbirds, was a member of Jefferson County Community Baseball Inc., the original ownership group of the New York-Penn League's Watertown Indians. JCCB operated the team from 1989 until 1995, when it agreed to sell the team to Josh and Stanley Getzler, who eventually moved the club to Staten Island and have since sold the franchise. The Indians won the NY-P title in '95.

Gardner and his wife, Laura, reside in Watertown. Daughter Bonny is a senior at WHS, while son Tyler is a junior at the school. Another son, Robert, is a senior at SUNY Oswego.

To read about previous selections to the Times' list of The North Country's Greatest 100 Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com