.png) | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1915-08-29)August 29, 1915 Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 15, 1987(1987-04-15) (aged 71) Covington, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1938–1941 | Davis & Elkins |
| 1945–1946 | Youngstown Bears |
| 1946–1947 | Pittsburgh Ironmen |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1947–1949 | Davis & Elkins (assistant) |
| 1949–1950 | West Virginia Wesleyan |
| 1950–1952 | Davis & Elkins |
| 1952–1954 | Aliquippa HS |
| 1954–1956 | Baldwin HS |
| 1956–1962 | Clemson |
| 1962–1964 | NC State (assistant) |
| 1964–1966 | NC State |
| 1966–1972 | LSU |
| 1972–1975 | Appalachian State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 232–277 (college) |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (NCAA University Division) 2–2 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| ACC tournament (1965) | |
Peter "Press" Maravich (August 29, 1915 – April 15, 1987) was an Americancollege andprofessionalbasketball coach. He received the nickname "Press" as a boy, when one of his jobs was selling thePittsburgh Press on the streets of his hometown ofAliquippa, Pennsylvania, an industrial city outside ofPittsburgh. Maravich Sr. also served in theUnited States Naval Air Corps duringWorld War II.[1][2]
Maravich graduated fromDavis & Elkins College in 1941 and was a member of theAlpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He was the father of basketball playerPete Maravich.
Press Maravich was born toSerb immigrants Vojo and Sara (née Radulović) fromDrežnica, a village nearOgulin in modern-dayCroatia.[3]
After college, he played professional basketball with theYoungstown Bears (1945–1946) of theNational Basketball League, and thePittsburgh Ironmen (1946–1947) of theBasketball Association of America.[4]
Press Maravich's first head coaching job at the college level wasWest 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 theTigers ofClemson University from 1956 to 1962.[6] He then went toNorth Carolina State University to be an assistant coach underEverett 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 theWolfpack to theAtlantic Coast Conferencetitle that season. Maravich left forLouisiana State University in April 1966 where he coached his son,Pete Maravich.[8] Upon offering theLSU scholarship to "Pistol", "Press" told his boy that if he didn't sign, he should "never 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 byDale Brown in 1972.[10] He then went on to coach theMountaineers ofAppalachian 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 atCampbell University.
In the spring of 1985, Maravich was diagnosed withprostate cancer. During a basketball clinic inIsrael, signs of his condition appeared when he had begun tourinate blood. Press eventually was persuaded to receive proper treatment for his condition atMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, but he canceled before being admitted.[12] On February 11, 1987, Press and son Pete flew toHanover,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 inCovington, Louisiana, where he died on April 15, 1987.[15] "Press" Maravich lived just long enough to see Pete selected as a possible member of theNaismith 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.
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | ||||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | ||||
| FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||||
| APG | Assists per game | ||||
| PPG | Points per game | ||||
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–47 | Pittsburgh | 51 | .272 | .517 | .1 | 4.6 |
| Career | 51 | .272 | .517 | .1 | 4.6 | |
| 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 | |||||||||
Press took over as coach in 1956-1957. In his seven years at the helm, Clemson had no winning seasons..
· Basketball Reference