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". 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. 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). Arizin, ironically, had been cut from the La Salle high school team.
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 University Explorers men's basketball team.
Gola was recruited for college by the likes of Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, North Carolina State coach Everett Case, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, but he chose La Salle. He was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NIT tournament. As of 2024, he remains the NCAA all-time rebounding leader with 2,201 career rebounds. His was the first college player to score over 2,000 points and have over 2,000 rebounds. His La Salle teams were 102-19. and the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1977, Tom Gola was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame. He was in the inaugural class of Atlantic Ten Legends. 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.
Gola served in the Army from 1956 to 1958, and he did not play in the 1956-1957 NBA season. He led the Warriors in assists in the 1957-1958 and 1958-1959 seasons, and was second-team All-NBA in 1957-1958. and the Warriors added seven-foot superstar Wilt Chamberlain for the 1959-60 season. 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 finals in 1960 and 1962, during his Warriors 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.
New York Knicks (1962–1966)
Gola played with the New York Knicks from 1962 to 1966. He led them in assists in 1963-1964.
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. 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 Congressman Charlie Dougherty and the winner, John Egan, who went on to lose the fall general election to Wilson Goode.
Personal life
Gola was married to Caroline Norris in June 1955, and they had one son, Thomas Christopher. Gola died on January 26, 2014, thirteen days after his 81st birthday, in Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania.
Legacy
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....'"
Tom Gola Plaza
thumb|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 donors 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.
Tom Gola Way
The driveway in front of TruMark Financial Center was renamed Tom Gola Way in 2024 to honor his legacy.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1955–56†
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|68
|34.5
|.412
|.733
|9.1
|5.9
|10.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1957–58
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|59
|36.0
|.415
|.746
|10.8
|5.5
|13.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1958–59
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|64
|36.5
|.401
|.787
|11.1
|4.2
|14.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1959–60
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|75
|38.3
|.433
|.794
|10.4
|5.5
|15.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1960–61
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|74
|36.6
|.447
|.747
|9.4
|3.9
|14.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1961–62
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|60
|41.0
|.421
|.765
|9.8
|4.9
|13.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1962–63
| style="text-align:left;" |San Francisco
|21
|39.1
|.457
|.758
|7.0
|3.5
|13.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1962–63
| style="text-align:left;" |New York
|52
|35.5
|.460
|.784
|7.1
|4.3
|12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1963–64
| style="text-align:left;" |New York
|74
|29.1
|.429
|.726
|6.3
|3.5
|9.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1964–65
| style="text-align:left;" |New York
|77
|22.4
|.448
|.739
|4.1
|2.9
|7.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1965–66
| style="text-align:left;" |New York
|74
|15.2
|.450
|.781
|3.9
|2.6
|4.4
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|698
|32.3
|.431
|.760
|8.0
|4.2
|11.3
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |All-Star
|4
|17.5
|.414
|.556
|2.8
|1.8
|7.3
|}
Playoffs
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1956†
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|10
|36.0
|.355
|.783
|10.1
|5.8
|12.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1958
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|8
|40.9
|.330
|.745
|10.5
|4.0
|13.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1960
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|9
|37.8
|.412
|.806
|10.6
|5.6
|12.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1961
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|3
|42.3
|.206
|.750
|12.3
|5.0
|9.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1962
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia
|9
|35.1
|.271
|.760
|8.2
|2.7
|6.3
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|39
|17.5
|.336
|.771
|10.0
|4.6
|11.1
|}
Head coaching record
<small>‡ Ineligible for any postseason tournaments</small>
See also
- List of NBA career playoff triple-double leaders
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career rebounding leaders
References
External links
- Basketball Hall of Fame profile
- National Polish-American Sports HOF profile