For all his contributions on the field as an Oregon State assistant coach — and there were plenty in his six years mentoring the offensive line and running backs — an observation in the film room during OSU’s bye week leading up to the 1998 Civil War may best illustrate the vast grasp the late Jim Gilstrap had on the game of football.

“Gilly,” as he was affectionately known to his friends, noticed that the Oregon defense never adjusted in the rare instances when opponents put their second tight end in motion to create superior numbers at the point of attack. So the Beavers added that component to their offense during the bye to exploit that oversight.

The new play punished the Ducks all night long, culminating with Ken Simonton’s 16-yard touchdown run in the second overtime that gave the Beavers a dramatic 44-41 victory and their first five-win season since 1971. Many consider that touchdown, and that game, as the pivotal moment in the program’s ongoing renaissance.

The Beavers posted their first winning record in 28 years the following fall and haven’t stopped, with six bowl appearances in the eight subsequent seasons. Gilstrap played an instrumental role in three of those bowls, as a coach or as a recruiter and evaluator who uncovered Sammy Stroughter and other diamonds in the rough that characterize the program.

Gilstrap, 65, died Thursday at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis of complications related to intestinal cancer. He was remembered Friday as a man who cared about his players far beyond the playing field.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gilstrap family; we have suffered a great loss,” said OSU coach Mike Riley, who is in Wallace, Idaho, this weekend for a banquet honoring his father, former Wallace High football coach Bud Riley. “Jim was one of the most incredible human beings I have ever been around.

“His commitment to the program and well-being of the student-athletes will be sorely missed. This is a very emotional time for all of us. It won’t be the same without Jim around the building and team.””

Gilstrap coached in college and the Canadian and World football leagues for 42 years after his graduation from Western Michigan, where he was a three-year letterman center. His specialty was the offensive line, and while at OSU protegees Doug Nienhuis, Matt Brock, Adam Koets, Roy Schuening and Aaron Koch all earned all-Pacific-10 Conference honors.

Koch, who now lives in Silverton, played for Gilstrap in 1997 and 1998 in his first stay at OSU. During that time Gilstrap oversaw the offensive line’s transition from option-oriented blocking to a pro-style scheme, a change that eventually helped Koch play in the National Football League for several years.

“He was always a very caring man,” Koch said of Gilstrap. “He was always asking about my family, even after Mike left and I was done at Oregon State. “When he came back for his second stint, I’d come down and hang around once in a while and he’d ask about how the other people in my life were doing, how was my wife, how were my children.

“He was invested in you beyond football. He always showed compassion beyond me as the ex-football player.”

Ex-lineman Jared Cornell, who played under Gilstrap in 1997-98, saw his coach when he entered the hospital for his surgery in late May.

“The biggest thing for me when I think of Gilly is that he was such a good guy,” Cornell said. “When I saw him again, after he came back when Mike returned (in 2003), he was so happy to see me, I was shocked.

“My parents were at my house (Thursday) when I told them he had died, and they were very upset. He was so friendly, a good person. When you talked to him you felt better because he had such a good effect on people.

“I remember the first time I met him I thought, ‘This guy is like John Wayne,’ he had that slow drawl and was a very deliberate talker. He was a funny guy and I just like being around him. I always made it a point to go up and talk to him” at practice or whenever else their paths crossed.

Gilstrap was one of the first men Riley hired when he succeeded Jerry Pettibone as OSU’s coach in December 1998. They had worked together in the CFL on Winnipeg’s 1990 Grey Cup champions, and again with the San Antonio Riders in the World League.

When Riley left OSU for the San Diego Chargers after the 1998 season, Gilstrap worked at Linfield, Tulsa and Southwest Mississippi Community College. He returned to Corvallis when Riley was hired again in 2003 after Dennis Erickson left for the San Francisco 49ers.

Gilstrap coached the offensive line in 2003 and 2004 and the running backs in 2005. He left coaching to become the director of support services after the 2005 season but still helped with evaluations and on-campus recruiting.

Gilstrap was known for his low-key approach.

“I saw him get pretty ticked off but he was not a yeller and screamer type,” Koch said. “He would get his point across but he was a gentle, soft-spoken guy.

“I remember he had a funny sense of humor. We’d be in a meeting, and out of the blue he’d tell us an old story or a joke, something to lighten the mood up.

“He’d throw out these funny one-line stories and we’d all get a pretty good laugh out of it.”

Cornell called them “rabbit-hole moments,” when Gilstrap would pull a story, apparently at random, from an unlikely source.

“He had some of the funniest coaching cliches,” Cornell said. “He’d grab our pads and talk to us about ‘the grip of a dying man.’ One of my favorite Gillyisms was ‘Whammo!’ his description for how hard you wanted to hit somebody. That always cracked me up.”

Gilstrap also coached collegiately at Southern Illinois, Case Western, Edinboro State, Illinois State, Kansas State, Western Michigan and Fort Hays State, and in the CFL at Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto and Saskatchewan.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, a teacher at Garfield Elementary School, and their daughters, Bethany of St. Louis and Brianna, Brittany and Brandi of Corvallis; sister Patricia Williams of Granger, Ind.; three grandchildren, and numerous relatives in Canada, Indiana and Missouri.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Garfield Elementary Playground, c/o Heidi Garza, 1205 N.W. Garfield Ave., Corvallis, 97330, or to the Northwest Hills Community Church, c/o Uganda orphans, 3300 N.W. Walnut Boulevard, Corvallis, 97330.

Online condolences can be sent to the family at www.mchenryfuneralhome.com

A compete obituary will appear in Monday’s editions of the Gazette-Times.