2020 Holiday Auction Closing December 12-13
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/12/2020
Presented are a 1989 Philadelphia Basketball Hall of Fame award and a 2004 Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame award, both presented to former LaSalle High School, LaSalle University and Philadelphia Warriors star Tom Gola, in two separate items. The first item in this award is 9 x 9½ x 13½ wood and Lucite award features three clear Lucite panels etched with the image of a basketball and a net rising out of the wood base. The top center of the base features a 1½ x 5-inch gold metal plaque engraved in black with the caption “Tom Gola 1989 Philadelphia Basketball Hall of Fame April 24, 1989”.
The second item is a 9 x 12-inch black Lucite plaque with a 7 x 10-inch black metal plaque on the face engraved in gold with the legend “Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Tom Gola Charter Class Inducted February 9, 2004”. At the center of the plaque is engraved a Liberty Bell silhouette and the caption “Philadelphia Hall of Fame” both in gold. Please note that there is a 4-inch scratch across the upper left center of the black metal plaque, and smaller scratches in the upper left corner and the lower right. After a phenomenal Philadelphia high school and college career during which he led his hometown LaSalle Explorers to the 1952 NIT Championship and the 1954 NCAA Championship, Gola turned pro with the Philadelphia Warriors as a territorial draft pick. He teamed with All-Pros Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston to lead the Warriors to an NBA championship in 1956. Gola then played with the New York Knicks from 1962 to 1966. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 26, 1976. 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.