TYNGSBORO — In William Bagley’s first year as a coach for Lawrence Pop Warner, his team won one game. A year later, they went 7-1, repeating that impressive record for two more seasons.
The difference?
“Michael Bobo,” said Bagley, who was head coach of the “D” team. “He was my top assistant. And his son, Jake, was my quarterback. Mike was the best in X’s and O’s, but more importantly getting more out of everyone, including me.”
Michael Bobo was diagnosed with liposarcoma and eight weeks later succumbed to the cancer in February.
His family, headlined by his wife Casey, his college sweetheart from Dartmouth, a long-time college counselor at Brooks School back in the early 2000s, quickly created a charity golf tournament in his name, the Michael Bobo Memorial Golf Tournament.
The family also started the “Bigger Than Ball” Foundation with the golf tournament fund-raiser its first event.
The tournament drew 120 players, many of whom flew in from around the country, including Bagley, an executive with mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
“Mike was that good of a coach but even a better person,” said Bagley, who now lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“He had a special quality, beyond teaching football,” recalled Bagley. “He was great with all of the kids, especially the Lawrence kids. He was always smiling, too. I would see him and say, ‘How are you doing?’ Mike would say, ‘Better than I deserve!’ There was no way I wasn’t coming here to honor him.”
Michael played football at Dartmouth and was the leading receiver his last two years, including 55 receptions and 10 touchdowns as a senior making the All-Ivy first team in 1991.
Recruited as a quarterback, he was moved to wide receiver early on. One of his former teammates, Jerome “Jerry” Gilbert, of Portland, Oregon, made the trip to honor his best friend, too.
“We both were quarterbacks but coaches immediately moved us to wide receiver,” recalled Gilbert, who gave the eulogy at Michael’s funeral in February. “I didn’t take it as well as he did. But that was Michael. And he was really good. His values were special. And he was a loyal friend to me.”
He added, “I remember making a few trips back and visiting them at Brooks, throwing passes to Jake until my arm fell off. He and Casey raised three boys that were athletes and my wife and I raised two girls that were athletes. So we had that in common, too.”
Michael worked 31 years as a top sales executive for Proctor & Gamble. But for most of the last two decades he coached football as a volunteer, including his stint at Lawrence Pop Warner, Brooks School, Belmont Hill and Greenhill School in Dallas, Texas.
The family was unanimous in choosing Lawrence Pop Warner as the event and foundation’s first benefactor.
“Football was a love of his, all of it as a volunteer,” said his wife Casey. “He had a connection with those Lawrence teams. He worked a lot and worked hard, but he always found time for those kids. This was the right decision, to continue his work in his name, and really just help further the great things they do.”
Jake, at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, made the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and played in every game over two years with three receiving touchdowns. He is expected to have a bigger role in 2025 as the possible No. 4 receiver.
While he grew up on the Brooks School campus, the family moved and he later starred at Belmont Hill. His love of the game was jump-started, he said, playing for Lawrence Pop Warner.
“Those were some of the best memories of my life playing football in Lawrence,” recalled son Jake, who starred at Duke before doing a grad year at UCLA. “The coaching was great, Coach Bagley especially. My dad. Coach Wynn. I still am friends with my old Lawrence teammates.”
The “Bigger Than Ball” name was quickly brought up when deciding what to name the foundation.
It was basically Michael Bobo’s calling card.
“If we were going through tough times after a game, or whatever, he always said your performance is what you do,” said son Luke. “But it’s not about who you are. It’s bigger than ball. That really stuck with us.”
Youngest brother Mac followed his parents’ legacy at Dartmouth. He is a member of the school’s heavyweight rowing team.
To call the golf tournament a success would be an understatement. It amazing raised over $400,000 in its first year and drew players and sponsors from all over the country.
“This is amazing,” said Lawrence Hurricanes coach Mark Alicandro, who resides in Salem, New Hampshire. “I didn’t know Mike (Bobo), but I feel like I do. He cared about our kids and the city of Lawrence. This means a lot to us.”
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.