Clarence Edward "Big House" Gaines Sr. (May 21, 1923 – April 18, 2005) was an American college men's basketball coach with a 47-year coaching career at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Among his numerous honors for his achievements, he is one of the few African Americans to be inducted as a coach into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Before graduating and becoming a coach, Gaines had a collegiate career as a football player for Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Early years
Gaines was born in Paducah, Kentucky to Lester and Olivia Bolen Gaines. Clarence helped his family by working in a garage while in high school. He attended local Lincoln High School where he excelled academically, played basketball, was an All-State football player, and played trumpet in the school band. He graduated as class salutatorian in 1941.
At Morgan State, Gaines was given his nickname of "Big House": a fellow student saw the 6 ft. 3in., 265 lb Gaines and declared: "You're as big as a house." Gaines played as a lineman for the Bears football team, was a member of the basketball team, and participated in track. Gaines was an All-CIAA selection as a lineman in football all four seasons and twice elected an All-American. When it came to basketball, he said he was "a very average basketball player." He served as football coach for three years (1946–49), and in 1948 was named Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) "Football Coach of the Year" after leading his team to an 8–1 season.
Accomplishments and recognition
As of April 2010, Gaines stands ninth on the NCAA men's basketball coaches win list. When Gaines retired from Winston-Salem State University in 1993, only Rupp had amassed more wins. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
The C. E. Gaines Center (built 1976), an athletic complex on the WSSU campus and home of the basketball team, is named after him.
The Big House Gaines Scholarship was established in 2006 by the Reynolds Rotary Club in recognition of the fact that Gaines was a charter member of that club.
In 2010, the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) established the Clarence "Big House" Gaines College Basketball Coach of the Year Awards for head coaches in NCAA Division I and Division I who might not otherwise receive recognition from "mainstream outlets." The first two awards were presented in 2011.
In 2011, Collegeinsider.com named the Clarence Gaines Award in his honor. It is for the best Division II college basketball coach of each year.
In 2017, the city of Paducah, KY renamed 7th Street Clarence Gaines Street.
Personal
In 1950, Gaines married the former Clara Berry, a teacher of Latin in the local county public school system. They had two children, Lisa Gaines McDonald, a private business consultant and Clarence Edward Gaines Jr., a scout and top advisor for the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks.