Thomas Joseph Gola (January 13, 1933 – January 26, 2014) was an American basketball player and politician. He is widely considered one of the greatest NCAA basketball players of all time. Gola was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976. He led his high school team to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship, his college team to the National Invitation Tournament championship and the NCAA championship, and was on the Philadelphia Warriors 1956 championship team, all in the space of six years.
Early life
Thomas Joseph Gola was born on January 13, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the third of seven children born to Ike and Helen Gola. Gola's father was a Philadelphia policeman of Polish descent who had changed the family's surname from "Galinsky".[1] Gola was praised as a great all-around player as a high school student at La Salle College High School, part of the Philadelphia Catholic League, where he was second team All-Catholic League in 1949, and first team in 1950 and 1951. He led the Explorers to a Philadelphia Catholic League Championship in 1950.[2] He also won the Markward Award as the Catholic League's top player (future basketball hall of fame coach John Chaney won the Philadelphia Public League award the same year).[1]
He entered La Salle University in 1951,[2] a year after another Philadelphia basketball Hall-of-Famer, and future teammate on the Philadelphia Warriors from 1955 to 1962, Paul Arizin, graduated from Villanova.[3] Arizin, ironically, had been cut from the La Salle high school team.[4]
College career
Gola was one of the most talented collegiate athletes in Philadelphia sports history. He came to national attention while playing for his hometown La Salle UniversityExplorersmen's basketball team.
Gola starred as a college freshman and led La Salle to the 1952 NIT championship.[5] He was the MVP of the NIT tournament.[6] Gola paced the Explorers to the NCAA basketball championship in 1954 and was named tournament MVP. It was the first nationally televised NCAA championship game. That same season he was selected as National Player of the Year, was a consensus All-American, and was selected to the All-Tournament Team. In 1954, he also set a new collegiate records for rebounds (652), rebounds per game (23.0) and free throws in a season (202).[2][5]
As a senior, Gola helped La Salle finish as the runner-up in the 1955 NCAA tournament to the University of San Francisco. It was the only one of his ten NCAA tournament games he would lose. He again made the All-Tournament Team, which also included future hall of fame legend Bill Russell (star of the championship Dons team). Gola was named the AP and UPI College Basketball Player of the Year, and was selected to the All-American team.[7][2]
In his two years of NCAA tournament play, Gola scored 229 points.[7] In his four years at La Salle, over 118 games, he averaged 20.9 points and 18.7 rebounds per game, with a .407 shooting percentage and .745 free throw percentage.[2][6] As of 2024, he remains the NCAA all-time rebounding leader with 2,201 career rebounds.[8] His was the first college player to score over 2,000 points and have over 2,000 rebounds.[9] His La Salle teams were 102-19.[7]
At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m), Gola was a forward who could shoot/score, rebound and defend, but he also had the ballhandling (dribbling, passing) skills of a guard, and with his shooting range and all-pro defensive skills, could play just as well in the backcourt.[5] His nickname was "Mr. All-Around".[9]
He was inducted into the La Salle Hall of Athletes in 1961[10] and the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1986.[11] In 1977, Tom Gola was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.[12] He was in the inaugural class of Atlantic Ten Legends.[7]
Professional career
Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors (1955–1956, 1957–1962)
After a phenomenal college career, Gola turned pro with the Philadelphia Warriors as a territorial draft pick.[2] He teamed with All-Pros Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston to lead the Warriors to an NBA championship in 1956.[13][14] He gained praise for concentrating on defense, passing and rebounding and allowing the other two to be the chief scorers during these years. It was his job to defend against the other team's best guard, and to be a playmaker on offense for his teammates.[15]
Gola served in the Army from 1956 to 1958, and he did not play in the 1956-1957 NBA season.[13][16] He led the Warriors in assists in the 1957-1958 and 1958-1959 seasons, and was second team All-NBA in 1957-1958.[2]
In 1959, Johnston temporarily retired due to a knee injury and the Warriors added seven-foot superstar Wilt Chamberlain. Again sacrificing himself for his team, Gola helped the Warriors consistently reach the NBA playoffs, but they could not beat the star-studded Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Division during his seasons in the early 1960s even with Chamberlain. During the 1959–60 season, Gola became the first Warrior to have three straight games with a triple-double (the only other being Draymond Green, 2016). On January 10, 1960, Gola recorded 18 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists in a 116–103 win over the New York Knicks.[17]
New York Knicks (1962–1966)
Gola played with the New York Knicks from 1962 to 1966. He led them in assists in 1963-1964.[2]
In 1968, Gola returned to his alma mater as head coach, leading the Explorers to a 37–13 record during his two-year stay. He was called in to pull the program out of trouble after a scandal under prior leadership. He was named Coach of the Year by Philadelphia and New York journalists. He led the Explorers to a 23–1 record during the 1968–69 season, but La Salle had been barred from the NCAA tournament before the season because an alumnus had offered some players "no-show" jobs. Many consider the 1968-1969 La Salle team, which was ranked second in the nation, the greatest team in Philadelphia city college basketball history, though barred from tournament play.[7][18][2][19]
Political career
In 1968, Gola was elected to the Pennsylvania State House as a Republican, representing the Northeast Philadelphia-based 170th District. A change to the State Constitution made earlier that year had reorganized House seats into legislative districts, replacing the old system of allotting seats on an at-large, county-wide basis. This made Gola the first person to represent the newly created district. Ultimately, Gola would not finish-out his first term in the House, opting instead to seek the office of Philadelphia City Controller in 1969. He scored an 80,000-vote victory over Democrat Charles Peruto in the general election, and took office the following January.
Gola was defeated, however, in his bid for a second term in 1973 by Democrat William Klenk. His defeat was part of a broader setback for Republicans in the city that year, as Arlen Specter lost his bid for a third term as District Attorney of Philadelphia.[20] Gola made his final attempt at elected office in 1983, when he sought the office of Mayor of Philadelphia. He came in last in the three-man Republican primary, behind CongressmanCharlie Dougherty and the winner, John Egan, who went on to lose the fall general election to Wilson Goode.[21]
Personal life
Gola was married to Caroline Norris in June 1955, and they had one son, Thomas Christopher.[5]
Wilt Chamberlain said, "'When I was growing up [in Philadelphia], you whispered the name Tom Gola, because he was like a saint....'" The legendary John Wooden said Gola was the "'greatest all-round basketball player....'"[13] Notoriously difficult college coach Bob Knight once asked someone to introduce him to Gola, saying, "'Can you do me a favor, can you introduce me to Tom Gola? He's the only guy that played back then that could play for me now. He was my hero.'"[7] In 2002, he was honored in Madison Square Garden as one of the NCAA tournament’s five greatest players, along with Bill Bradley, Oscar Robertson, Chris Mullin, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[5] The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame states of Gola that he is among a select few to have won NIT, NCAA, and NBA championships.[9]
Tom Gola Plaza, outside of TruMark Financial Center
Tom Gola Plaza, located outside of TruMark Financial Center, features a statue honoring Tom Gola surrounded by a brick walkway with names of doners to the men's basketball team, lights, benches, a small garden, and a historical marker. The Plaza was opened on September 26, 2024, to continue the legacy of Gola after his name was no longer connected to the home of the Explorers.[25]
Tom Gola Way
The driveway in front of TruMark Financial Center was renamed Tom Gola Way in 2024 to honor his legacy.
College basketball achievements
All-District player (four times, 1952–55)
All-State player (four times, 1952–55)
All-America selection (four times, 1952–55)
Consensus All-American (three times, 1953–55)
NIT Championship, NIT Co-MVP (1952)
First alternate to US Olympic Basketball Team (1952)
NCAA championship, NCAA tournament MVP (1954)
College Basketball Player of the Year (1954)
NCAA all-time rebounding leader (2,201)
2,462 points
102–19 (.843) win–loss record
#15 retired by La Salle
Inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016
Pro basketball achievements
NBA championship (1956)
All-NBA second team (1958)
5-time NBA All-Star (1960–1964)
Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (1976)
Other
One of only two players to win an NCAA, NIT and NBA championship
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
