Robert Goldberg co-owned a large trade clearing firm at the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Board Options Exchange and was chairman of the Board of Trade in the mid-1980s.
In his 40s, Goldberg sold his clearing firm and became a basketball coach, first at Chicago’s St. Ignatius grammar school, then at Josephinum Academy of the Sacred Heart and Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette.
“We had a variety of kids there, and they were not basketball stars, but he turned them into a team. He got them to work together,” said Sister Bonnie Kearney, Josephinum’s principal at the time Goldberg was its basketball coach. “He was totally and completely committed to them.”
Goldberg, 80, died Nov. 5 at his Gold Coast home of complications from a fall he suffered in late 2021, said his wife of 49 years, Kathy.
Born and raised in Chicago, Goldberg attended St. Margaret Mary grade school and graduated from Notre Dame High School for Boys in 1960. He attended Marquette and John Carroll universities before receiving a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University when he was in his late 40s.
Goldberg left Marquette after his junior year to become a runner at the Board of Trade, following his brother, David, who was 11 years older. Goldberg traded futures in the corn pit and, in 1969, with his brother co-founded the Goldberg Organization. The firm went on to become the second-biggest trade clearing firm at the CBOT and the largest trade clearing operation at the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
Goldberg frequently helped those starting out as traders, said former CBOT CEO Tom Donovan.
“None of us have any idea how many people there are who had very successful lives because Bob Goldberg gave them a chance,” Donovan said. “If I said, ‘I have a friend who’d like to trade,’ he would take him, he would clear him, give him some parameters and he would teach him. Some would make it and some would not, but that’s what Bob and Dave Goldberg did. They helped so many people.”
Goldberg was a director of CBOT for four years and then was its vice chairman. He worked to improve relations between the CBOT and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, among other things being involved in getting an overpass built between the two buildings.
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“He did a great job for the exchange,” said Charlie Carey, who later was chairman of the CBOT. “He led a lot of initiatives at the exchange, whether it was trying to get stock index contracts or promoting the bonds and growing the options and index businesses.”
In 1985, Goldberg became CBOT’s chairman for one year. Despite pressure from Donovan to stay on, Goldberg chose to step down after a year because he had four young children, his wife said.
“He was without a doubt, in my 18 years as CEO, the most popular chairman that I ever worked with at the Board of Trade,” Donovan said. “He always treated people well, he was very humble and he was very smart. When you put all those qualities together, you have a fine man, a great husband and father and a mentor to many people.”
In 1988, Goldberg sold his firm and pursued a second act as a basketball coach. Goldberg was on DePaul’s board of trustees, and he mentioned his interest in coaching to Doug Bruno, DePaul’s women’s basketball coach. Bruno suggested St. Ignatius School in Rogers Park.
Goldberg coached eighth grade boys for one year at St. Ignatius. In 1992, he answered an ad to be the girls basketball coach at Josephinum, a diverse all-girls high school.
Goldberg plunged into coaching role with vigor, reading every book he could about coaching and watching endless game films. He and his wife worked to provide support to the girls on Josephinum’s team in many ways, including enforcing mandatory 45-minute study halls before and after school, driving kids home and even taking them on college trips.
“If a kid got hurt on the court, Kathy would take her to the hospital, and Bob would pick up the parent and drive them to the hospital,” Kearney said. “The kids absolutely grew to love them.”
Goldberg saw his role as a coach as a way to boost youngsters’ confidence.
“I’ve seen what sports does to their self-esteem, the way they look at themselves, the way they picture themselves,” he told the Tribune in 1997. “I had one player who turned from a street thug into a woman going to college with a scholarship.”
Goldberg led Josephinum to a conference title in February 1997.
After leaving Josephinum, Goldberg joined Regina Dominican, an all-girls high school, as head basketball coach in 1999. After retiring from Regina in 2002, Goldberg and his wife divided their time between Chicago and Florida.
In addition to his wife, Goldberg is survived by four daughters, Theresa Goldberg, Karrie Goldberg, Keeley Brogan and Amy Tierney; and six grandchildren.
A memorial Mass will take place at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 21 at St. Joseph Church, 1107 N. Orleans St., Chicago.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
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