Wayne State University Athletics

Mains, a native of Mt. Carmel, Ill., and graduate of Mt. Carmel HS, is being inducted into the Wayne State Athletic Hall of Fame as a contributor/builder for his lifetime efforts in support of Tartar Football. Along with Rodney Kropf, who was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame last year, Mains was a founder of the Tartar Gridiron Club in the late 1980s. The club's sole purpose is the survival of Tartar football. Among its fund raising efforts each year is the Annual Golf Outing that Mains helped spearhead. The Golf Outing is still held annually, and Mains is still among its top supporters. Besides the Gridiron Club, Mains also assists WSU's Gas House Gang, its original varsity lettermen's club, in its charity events. Mains is also a member of The Tartar 100, an organization of community leaders who support Tartar football. In 1994, the City of Detroit and Mayor Dennis Archer recognized Mains' outstanding contributions to Wayne State University and Tartar Athletics. Citing his tenacity to rejuvenating the Wayne State football program. Archer remarked "but not for (Gil) Wayne State would not have a football team today and hundreds of young men would be looking to the streets instead of the field." Mains' charity efforts do not stop at Wayne State. A long-time supporter of Detroit, he is a member and leader in the "Hands That Care" organization that each year makes up packages that are distributed to hundreds of senior citizens at nursing homes in the city and metropolitan area. In 1994, the Michigan House of Representatives bestowed its "Big Hearted American" Award to Mains for his leadership of "Hands That Care." Speaker of the House Rep. Curtis Hertel noted in the tribute that Mains is a "role model looked to as a successful individual who has worked hard and has earned the admirations of his peers and others" and commended him "for improving the quality of life" in Michigan. Mains was also a driving force in creating the Detroit Lions NFL Alumni organization. He has served in several leadership roles with that organization, including as its president. Mains played nine seasons as a defensive tackle and special teams member with the Lions. He was a member of the lions' 1953 and 1957 World Championship teams, and its 1954 Division Championship squad. He was known as "Wild Hoss" from his unorthodox way of jumping feet first into the wedge of opposing team players during kickoff returns. Pay in the NFL being what it was in those days, Mains spent two off-seasons as a professional wrestler, winning all but three of 193 matches against the likes of Gorgeous George, Lord Layton and Whipper Billy Watson. Mains was drafted by the Lions in 1951 out of Murray State University in Kentucky, but he had to fulfill a two-year obligation in the U.S. Army before joining the Lions. Mains enjoyed four outstanding seasons (1948-51) with the Thoroughbreds and was named to the Ohio Valley Conference Team in 1950 and as their captain in 1951. Mains is a member of the Murray State Athletic Hall of Fame. Mains is chairman of his own business, RMF Global, Inc., that is located in Toledo. Among its operations are industrial contracting, commercial and industrial construction management, industrial services, and site remediation. Mains and his wife, Delores, reside in Sylvania, Ohio, and are parents of four children, Gilbert Jr., Michael, Melissa Marie Newsome, and William Arthur.