Going His Way: Bing Crosby at Gonzaga University

Over one-hundred years ago, the world was blessed with the birth of entertainment legend Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Crosby's family moved to Spokane in 1906 when he was three years old.

A lifelong association between the Crosby family and Gonzaga soon began as the family built a house adjacent to the campus at 508 Sharpe Avenue. Crosby himself would go on to graduate from Gonzaga High School in 1920 and, later that year, become the fourth child in his family to enroll at the University.

The call of show business soon drew Crosby away from his studies as he left the school two months before completing his law degree in order to join a local band. Even though he moved to Hollywood a short while later to further his entertainment career, the ties between Crosby and Gonzaga remained strong. Upon his first return to Spokane after an absence of 13 years, Crosby stepped off the train and went directly to the school to attend mass. During a whirlwind four days in the city he always claimed as his hometown, Crosby received an honorary doctorate from Gonzaga, the key to the City of Gonzaga, performed at a benefit for the school that raised $10,000 and was an honorary coach on the sidelines of the Gonzaga-San Francisco football game.

Crosby's philanthropy to Gonzaga continued over the years. He donated $75,000 toward the construction of the school's engineering building in 1949 before becoming personally involved with the fund raising for a new campus library. Crosby gave Gonzaga the production rights to the Bing Crosby Edsel Show, in which he starred alongside fellow Hollywood icons Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Rosemary Clooney. The 1957 television show not only raised enough money to build the $700,000 Crosby Library, it also earned an Emmy Award.

Prominently featured in the Crosby Library, which in 1992 became the Crosby Student Center, is the Crosbyanna Room. This houses the world's largest public collection of Bing Crosby memorabilia. Included among the over 200 pieces personally donated by the crooner over the years are gold records, citations, albums and his 1944 Best Actor Academy Award for his role in "Going My Way."

Gonzaga University continued to be profoundly affected by it's relationship with Crosby over the remainder of his life. He narrated a 30-minute promotional film entitled "Take Gonzaga" in 1961 for the school's 75th anniversary. He returned to Spokane in 1968 to donate a trio of 3-M microfilm machines that allowed the school access to items located in the New York Public Library. As a surprise to Crosby on that trip, he was presented with the school's highest honor, the DeSmet Medal.

Crosby's passing in 1977 following a round of golf in Spain was felt from halfway around the world in Spokane. Flags in the town were flown at half-mast in honor of its favorite alumnus and a citywide memorial mass was held at St. Alouysius where he had served as an altar boy as a child.

Gonzaga has continued to honor the legacy of Crosby in the three decades since his passing. Three years after his untimely death, the University purchased his boyhood home and converted it into the Crosby Alumni House. In 1981, a statue of the crooner was placed in front of the Crosby Library. Additionally, $50,000 that was bequeathed to the school by the Crosby family remains a source of revenue to the school today.