Hall of Fame
George served as Towson’s first women’s gymnastics coach, directing his 1968-69 Tiger squad to a national championship.
In the fall, 1966, George was named the Tigers’ coach and charged with the responsibility of building a women’s collegiate gymnastics program. He held the position until his retirement in 1981. Over his 14-year stint the Tigers made five appearances in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women’s post-season Championship Meet, winning the 1969 Division II national title. Towson followed that performance with two fourth places, a sixth and a 12th in subsequent AIAW appearances. To date that title remains the only national championship for women in the history of Towson athletics. It was also the first national title for any Towson program.
Two of his 56 gymnasts earned All-American status. Over his career as Towson’s coach his teams compiled a 104-45 record as they paved the way for a program that has been recognized as one of the top 20 women’s gymnastics programs in NCAA Division I. Despite the Division II status, George’s teams regularly dispatched such opponents as Maryland, West Virginia, Penn State, North Carolina, Rutgers, Temple and UMass.
In 1979, after leading the Tigers to a 20-3 record, he was honored as Towson’s Coach of the Year. In 1991 George was inducted into Towson’s athletics Hall of Fame. He was also a member of Towson’s physical education faculty for 15 years.
A native of Chapel Hill, N.C., George graduated from UNC with a degree in physical education. He taught briefly in Gastonia, N.C. then moved to the Baltimore area where he first taught at Carroll Manor School before assuming a position at then Ridgely-Dulaney Junior/Senior High School that presented him with an introduction to the sport. As his interest in gymnastics grew, he moved on to the newly built Dulaney High School in 1960 when he started the school’s co-ed gymnastics program. His boys and girls teams were undefeated from 1960 to 1966. In 2018 George was inducted into Dulaney’s athletics Hall of Fame.
A clinician at gymnastics camps from Massachusetts to Florida, he continued his coaching career when he moved to Chester, Vermont following his retirement from Towson State. He coached at a competitive club, Northern Lights Gymnastics, where a number of the youngsters George mentored over the years went on to compete at the collegiate level. The McGintys returned to the Baltimore area in 2003, residing in Jarrettsville in Harford County. George passed away on March 14, 2019 at the age of 85.
