Offered is a 1954 trophy presented to LaSalle College’s men’s basketball standout Tom Gola. The award bears the legend “President’s Award to The Outstanding Athlete of LaSalle College 1954 Thomas J. Gola” engraved on a 2 x 4-inch gold metal plaque mounted on the wood base of a 24-inch high trophy. The top of the trophy is capped with a 7½-inch gold metal figure of a basketball player with his right arm raised above his head holding a basketball. The statue is set atop a 6-inch gold metal cup, which is itself mounted on a 7-inch gold metal column. The column is mounted on a 4½-inch brown wood oval base flanked with two 3-inch gold metal eagles with wings spread high. Gola guided the LaSalle Explorers to the 1952 NIT National Championship and the 1954 NCAA National Championship, as well as runner-up in the 1955 NCAA National Championship tournament. He averaged 20.9 points and 19.0 rebounds during 115 games and remains the NCAA All time rebounding leader with 2,201 career rebounds. He was inducted into the La Salle Hall of Athletes in 1961 and the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1986. 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 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. The school's Tom Gola Arena was named after him. This item comes with a LOA from the Tom Gola Estate.

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