Press Maravich

Press Maravich
Biographical details
Born(1915-08-29)August 29, 1915
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 15, 1987(1987-04-15) (aged 71)
Covington, Louisiana, U.S.
Playing career
1938–1941Davis & Elkins
1945–1946Youngstown Bears
1946–1947Pittsburgh Ironmen
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1947–1949Davis & Elkins (assistant)
1949–1950West Virginia Wesleyan
1950–1952Davis & Elkins
1952–1954Aliquippa HS
1954–1956Baldwin HS
1956–1962Clemson
1962–1964NC State (assistant)
1964–1966NC State
1966–1972LSU
1972–1975Appalachian State
Head coaching record
Overall232–277 (college)
Tournaments1–1 (NCAA University Division)
2–2 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
ACC tournament (1965)

Peter "Press" Maravich (August 29, 1915 – April 15, 1987) was an American college and professional basketball coach. He received the nickname "Press" as a boy, when one of his jobs was selling the Pittsburgh Press on the streets of his hometown of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, an industrial city outside of Pittsburgh. Maravich, Sr. also served in the United States Naval Air Corps during World War II.[1][2]

Maravich graduated from Davis & Elkins College in 1941 and was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He was the father of basketball player Pete Maravich.

Playing and coaching career

Press Maravich was born to Serb immigrants Vojo and Sara (née Radulović) from Drežnica, a village near Ogulin in modern-day Croatia.[3]

After college, he played professional basketball with the Youngstown Bears (1945–1946) of the National Basketball League, and the Pittsburgh Ironmen (1946–1947) of the Basketball Association of America.[4]

Press Maravich's first head coaching job at the college level was West Virginia Wesleyan College, 1949–1950. From there he went on to become head coach of his alma mater, Davis & Elkins, from 1950 to 1952.[5]

Maravich was head coach of the Tigers of Clemson University from 1956 to 1962.[6] He then went to North Carolina State University to be an assistant coach under Everett Case. Maravich took over the head coaching duties when health problems, primarily cancer, forced Case to retire early in the 1964–1965 season.[7] Maravich led the Wolfpack to the Atlantic Coast Conference title that season. Maravich left for Louisiana State University in April 1966 where he coached his son, Pete Maravich.[8] Upon offering the LSU scholarship to "Pistol", "Press" told his boy that if he didn't sign, he should "ever come home again." Pete originally wanted to go to West Virginia University but finally agreed to go to LSU if his dad bought him a car.[9] In spite of coaching his prolific son for half of his coaching career at LSU, Maravich had an overall losing record at the school. Maravich was replaced at LSU by Dale Brown in 1972.[10] He then went on to coach the Mountaineers of Appalachian State, shepherding them through their early years in Division I, before resigning as coach in January 1975.[11] Maravich returned to coaching in the early 1980s as associate head coach at Campbell University.

Death

In the spring of 1985, Maravich was diagnosed with prostate cancer. During a basketball clinic in Israel, signs of his condition appeared when he had begun to urinate blood. Press eventually was persuaded to receive proper treatment for his condition at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, but he canceled before being admitted.[12] On February 11, 1987, Press and son Pete flew to Hanover, Germany, for an experimental treatment that lasted for 11 days; symptoms such as coughing subsided while the treatment had no effect on the cancer.[13] By this time, he became religious and took comfort in reading the bible with his son, even becoming an evangelist.[14] Through the next two months, Press's condition deteriorated while Pete took constant care of him with his sister, Diana. Press Maravich lived his last days in Highland Park Hospital in Covington, Louisiana, where he died on April 15, 1987.[15] "Press" Maravich lived just long enough to see Pete selected as a possible member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but not long enough to see him officially inducted in May 1987. Pete Maravich is quoted as saying "I'll see you soon" to his father immediately after his death;[citation needed] Pete Maravich died nine months later on January 5, 1988.

BAA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played
 FG%  Field-goal percentage
 FT%  Free-throw percentage
 APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1946–47 Pittsburgh 51 .272 .517 .1 4.6
Career 51 .272 .517 .1 4.6

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1949–1950)
1949–50 West Virginia Wesleyan 14–10
West Virginia Wesleyan: 14–10
Davis & Elkins Senators (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1950–1952)
1950–51 Davis & Elkins 18–11
1951–52 Davis & Elkins 19–10
Davis & Elkins: 37–21
Clemson Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1956–1962)
1956–57 Clemson 7–17 3–11 T–7th
1957–58 Clemson 8–16 4–10 6th
1958–59 Clemson 8–16 5–9 T–6th
1959–60 Clemson 10–16 4–10 7th
1960–61 Clemson 10–16 5–9 6th
1961–62 Clemson 12–15 4–10 6th
Clemson: 55–96 25–59
NC State Wolfpack (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1964–1966)
1964–65 NC State 20–4 10–4 T–2nd NCAA University Division Regional Third Place
1965–66 NC State 18–9 9–5 2nd
NC State: 38–13 19–9
LSU Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (1966–1972)
1966–67 LSU 3–23 1–17 10th
1967–68 LSU 14–12 8–10 T–6th
1968–69 LSU 13–13 7–11 T–7th
1969–70 LSU 22–10 13–5 2nd NIT Fourth Place
1970–71 LSU 14–12 10–8 3rd
1971–72 LSU 10–16 6–12 T–7th
LSU: 76–86 45–63
Appalachian State Mountaineers (Southern Conference) (1972–1975)
1972–73 Appalachian State 6–20 3–8 7th
1973–74 Appalachian State 5–20 1–11 8th
1974–75 Appalachian State 1–11 0–5
Appalachian State: 12–51 4–24
Total: 232–277

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ "Press Maravich". bcshof.org.
  2. ^ "Press Maravich's Record vs. Kentucky". bigbluehistory.net.
  3. ^ Politika (January 4, 2018). "Velikan NBA srpskog porekla" (in Serbian). Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "Legends profile: Pete Maravich". NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Federman & Terrill 2008, p. 11.
  6. ^ Reel, Jerome V. (2023). High Seminary: Vol. 1: A History of the Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, 1889-1964. Clemson University Press. ISBN 9781638041054. Press took over as coach in 1956-1957. In his seven years at the helm, Clemson had no winning seasons..
  7. ^ Peeler, Tim (2010). NC State Basketball: 100 Years of Innovation. University of North Carolina Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780807834473.
  8. ^ "LSU Fighting Tigers Coaches". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  9. ^ Kriegel 2007, p. 117.
  10. ^ Riley, Koki (February 22, 2023). "With Pete Maravich's NCAA scoring record in jeopardy, Dale Brown remembers the LSU legend". Lafayette Daily Advertiser.
  11. ^ Harvin, Al (January 14, 1975). "People in Sports". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Kriegel 2007, pp. 279–282.
  13. ^ Kriegel 2007, p. 282.
  14. ^ Kriegel 2007, pp. 282–286.
  15. ^ Kriegel 2007, p. 284.

Sources

Further reading