Champion Footballer and Businessman
Steve Gillespie attended Cyril Jackson High School from 1965 to 1967. He grew up in Bassendean and remembers back in those days it was football in the winter and cricket in the summer.
Many of the boys in the Bassendean, Eden Hill, Maylands and Ashfield areas were also very keen sportsmen and Steve remembers that Cyril Jackson High School was represented by a very strong football team in 1967. That side won the grand final against other high schools in the metropolitan area. The Grand Final for that year was played at Bassendean Oval and Cyril Jackson High School had a handsome win.
Steve remembers Cyril Jackson High School as a great place for fun, sporting activities and education. In 1967 Steve passed the Junior Certificate and then transferred to John Forest Senior High School for Years 11 and 12
In 1970, after leaving school, Steve started working in the insurance industry and now at the age of 72 he is still thriving in that industry. It was also in 1970 that Steve broke into the Swan Districts Football Club league team and that was the start of a football career that spanned some 15 years. Steve played mainly at centre half back and full back, and he played 201 league games for the mighty black and whites. He was described in the media as an unsung hero – a player who performed his role in the team with distinction yet attracted little attention.
n 1979, after he had played 150 league games, Steve was awarded life membership of the Swan Districts Football Club. He was a member of the 1980 Grand Final side that lost to South Fremantle, however, he was listed in the media reports as one of the best players for his team. Steve retired in 1981 due to a run of injuries and in 1982 when Swan Districts were the WAFL premiers, he made a positive contribution to the team’s success as the runner. Steve finished his football days as a playing coach for Kalamunda in the Sunday Football League and was very proud to have coached the club’s premiership sides in 1984 and 1985. Steve’s other activities around football were as a board member of the Swan Districts Football Club from 1990 to 1992. Today Steve is a very keen follower of the AFL.
Steve was a co-founder of three insurance broking businesses over the years, all of which are still trading – they have all passed the test of time. Currently Steve is the principal of Business Insurance HQ and is in the process of mentoring his 19-year-old son in the business model.
Steve is married with 2 children and 1 granddaughter and these days he enjoys family time, engaging with people in business, following the AFL and participating as a keen golfer at the Mount Lawley Golf Club. Steve still has personal friendships with several school mates from the days at Cyril Jackson High School. As Steve says, “Life is Good and Getting Better”. For his sterling football career with Swan Districts and his successful career in the Insurance industry, Steve Gillespie is today named as a Champion of CJ.