Presented is a 1986 Tom Gola La Salle University – Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame Award. The 2 x 12½ x 16-inch award features a wood frame with an 8¼ x 12-inch silver metal plaque mounted on a blue velvet interior background. Engraved in black at the top center of the plaque is an illustration of Gola in a dress shirt, tie and jacket in profile. Below the engraved portrait is the legend, “The Big 5 Hall of Fame Award Presented to Tom Gola La Salle 1969, 1970 Inducted on January 21, 1986” engraved in black. The classic Philadelphia Big 5 logo is engraved in black in the lower left and lower right of the plaque. As the Philadelphia Big 5, which includes La Salle University, University of Pennsylvania, St. Joseph’s University, Temple University and Villanova University, was founded officially as an organized “City Series” in 1955, Gola and his La Salle Explorers teams of the early 1950’s did not participate (he graduated in the spring of ’55). However, 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, which led to his induction in the Philly Big 5 hall in 1986 at the famed Palestra on the Penn campus in Philadelphia. (Please note that there are minor scratches on the velvet in the upper left corner, and some minor white discoloration at the upper right center of the silver metal plaque.) This item comes with a LOA from the Gola family.

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