La Salle University La Salle University Digital Commons La Salle Basketball Media Guides University Publications 1968 La Salle Basketball 1968-69 La Salle University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/basketball_media_guides Recommended Citation La Salle University, "La Salle Basketball 1968-69" (1968). La Salle Basketball Media Guides. 12. http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/basketball_media_guides/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at La Salle University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in La Salle Basketball Media Guides by an authorized administrator of La Salle University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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" — O 0J (1) O QJ (D O O QJ , ,oo CO CO —i CO — CO CO CO CO GO co GO — o> u Lj U ID o O^C3 T'-L.Li_co rco r l-i-C3C3 lJ- 00 CO to IX) Stan Joe Bernie Bill Larry Ken Ed oland Bob Stan Greg Fran YK, i—i d N, Db C 3C 0J E zz>-tZ~^oZ- .^5 Occ C QJ tm m Z Z g 2 QJ > —I <x COCOCO—iTCNJCOCM»-HCNJCM i »-« —, SrHMrHfonro- co cm co cm cm cm LA SALLE COLLEGE 1968-69 BASKETBALL HANDBOOK Table of Contents Section I—The 1968-69 Season Varsity Roster Inside Front Cover The La Salle Story Inside Back Cover 1968-69 Varsity Schedule Back Cover Season at a Glance 2 Players' Pronunciation Guide 2 Tom Gola, Head Coach 4 James J. Henry, Athletic Director 6 Athletic Department Staff 6 Coach's Prospects for the Season 8 Profiles of the Explorer Players 10 Opponent X-Rays 17 Freshman Roster and Schedule 56 Section II— Past Records Year-by-Year Explorer Summary 28-29 All-Time Leading Scorers and Coaching Records 28-29 1967-68 Season in Review 36 Last Year's Game-by-Game Scoring Chart 38 1967-68 Statistics, Results 39 1967-68 Big Five Standings 39 All-Time Individual and Team Records 40 Tournament Records (Holiday) 42 """"!"! Tournament Records (Post-Season) 43 Explorer Century Marks; National Rankings 45 Series Records vs. All College Opponents 46 La Salle's 1967-68 All-Opponent Team 46 Year-by-Year Explorer Results 49 (Cover Design by Jack Boyle: Coach Tom Gola and Explorer veterans Larry Cannon, Bernie Williams and Stan Wlodarczyk) Photography by Charles F. Sibre This handbook is dedicated to the members of the Press, Radio and Television corps by La Salle Coliege's News Bureau with the cooperation of the College's Department of Athletics. For further information, please call, write or wire: I ROBERT S. LYONS, JR. Sports Information Director La Salle College News Bureau Philadelphia, Penna. 19141 Office Phone: (Area Code 215) Victor 8-8300, Ext. 286 *f±(»'i Home Phone: CApital 4-4776 Limited quantity of Handbooks available to the Public at 50< each. 1 1968-69 SEASON AT A GLANCE LOCATION: 20th St. and Olney Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19141 TELEPHONE: (Area Code 215) Victor 8-8300 HOME COURT: The Palestra, University of Pennsylvania Campus, 34th and Spruce Sts. (Capacity: 9,200) COLORS: Blue and Gold TEAM NICKNAME: Explorers UNIFORMS: Home—White with Blue and Gold Trim; Away— Blue with Gold trim 1968 ENROLLMENT: 6,400 (Day and Eve.) COLLEGE FOUNDED: 1863 CONFERENCE: Middle Atlantic Conference (University Division) PRESIDENT: Brother Daniel Bernian, F.S.C., Ph.D. ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: James J. Henry (Villanova, '30) ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: John J. Conboy (La Salle, '50) SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR: Robert S. Lyons, Jr. (La Salle, '61) HEAD BASKETBALL COACH: Thomas J. (Tom) Gola (La Salle, '55)— First Year FRESHMAN AND ASSISTANT VARSITY COACH: Curtis E. (Curt) Fromal (La Salle, '65)—First Year ASSISTANT COACH: David A. (Lefty) Ervin (La Salle, '68)— First Year TEAM PHYSICIAN—Dr. Eugene Gallagher ATHLETIC TRAINER: John Greer EQUIPMENT MANAGER: Charles M. Loughran 1967-68 TEAM RECORD: Won 20, Lost 8 HIGHEST 1967-68 HONOR: Won Middle Atlantic Conference title; com- peted in NCAA, 1st round game (lost to Columbia, 83-69) LETTERMEN LOST: (2) 6-3 Dave Ervin and 6-4 Dave Bednarik LETTERMEN RETURNING: (6) 6-8 Ed Szczesny, 6-6 Stan Wlodarczyk, 6-5 Larry Cannon, 6-3 Bernie Williams, 6-0 Roland Taylor, 5-11 Fran Dunphy CHIEF SOPHOMORE PROSPECT: 6-7 Ken Durrett NEW OPPONENTS FOR 1968-69: Detroit, St. Francis (Pa.) and Baltimore (all series resumed); Hofsira (first meeting). 1968-69 CAPTAIN: Game Captains PRONUNCIATION GUIDE MICHUDA MI-SHOE'-DUH SZCZESNY CHEZZ'-nee WITALEC wi-TA'-lick WLODARCZYK la-DAR'-zak The 1968-69 Season 1 . Tom Gola . LaSalle's All Time All American Comes Home As M Explorers' Coach Thomas J. (Tom) Gola, everybody's All American who led La Salle's basketball team to its greatest heights in the mid-1950s, makes his collegiate coaching debut at his alma mater during the 1968-69 season. For the 35-year-old Gola, who has established himself as a genuine Philadelphia folk hero, it is expected to be another niche in a brilliant career that has included stardom in the National Basketball Association, success as a Pennsylvania State legislator and a sound insurance and real estate business in nearby Fort Washington, Pa. Perhaps the finest all-around schoolboy star in Philadelphia's history, Gola scored 2,222 points at La Salle High under coach Charlie (O'Bie) O'Brien, who called him "the greatest player since the end of the center jump." He was everybody's All American three years at La Salle College under coach Ken Loeffler. He helped lead the Explorers to the National Invitation Tourney crown as a freshman in 1952, the NCAA title in 1954 and the NCAA runnerup slot to San Francisco and Bill Russell in 1955. La Salle won 102 games and lost only 19 during Tom's career. Gola's collegiate scoring and rebounding feats as an Explorer will probably never be surpassed. He finished with 2,461 points (20.8 ppg.) and 2,201 rebounds and grabbed just about every honor available at some point or another during his brilliant 121 game career that has gone down in La Salle's history as the Glorious Gola era. As a freshman, Tom was co-MVP of the NIT with teammate Norm Grekin. As a junior, he was Player of the Year. He is a member of the Hall of Fame at the new Madison Square Garden. He was selected to Sport Magazine's All Time All Ameri- can quintet and the Helms College Basketball Hall of Fame. Temple coach Harry Litwack called him "ab- solutely the greatest player I've ever seen." After his graduation in 1955, Tom played in the NBA for a decade with the old Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knickerbockers. Named five times to the All Pro team, Tom scored over 8,000 points during his career and helped lead the Warriors to the world champion- ship in his rookie season, 1956. His pro career was interrupted for two years of U.S. Army service. Gola retired from the NBA after the 1966 season and was elected that November to the Pennsylvania State Legislature from the 170th District. Re-elected this November, he is a member of the Cities and Counties, the Higher Education, the Labor Relations and the Municipal Corporations Committees. Although this will be his first official year in organized coaching, Gola is no stranger to teaching the finer points of the game. He has participated in numerous clinics, both professional and collegiate. As a pro "coach," he is unbeaten in two games, having taken over the Knickerbocker reigns twice for Eddie Donovan. Much in demand on the banquet circuit, Gola handled color on Philadelphia 76ers radio broadcasts last year. An excellent golfer, Tom resides in northeast Philadelphia with his wife, Caroline, and nine-year-old son, Thomas Christopher. ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT STAFF JAMES J. HENRY Director of Athletics It might be considered somewhat ironic that James J. Henry should be Director of Athletics at La Salle College, a school that has not had a varsity football team since 1941, for football has played a great part in Jim Henry's life. Before being graduated from Villanova in 1930, Henry received All American honorable mention at end, and when he came to La Salle in 1930 he was named line coach, then head coach in 1940 and 1941.