Press Maravich

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Press Maravich

| image = Press Maravich (Taps 1959).png

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|8|29}}

| birth_place = Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|4|15|1915|8|29}}

| death_place = Covington, Louisiana, U.S.

| alma_mater =

| player_years1 = 1938–1941

| player_team1 = Davis & Elkins

| player_years2 = 1945–1946

| player_team2 = Youngstown Bears

| player_years3 = 1946–1947

| player_team3 = Pittsburgh Ironmen

| player_positions = Guard

| coach_years1 = 1947–1949

| coach_team1 = Davis & Elkins (assistant)

| coach_years2 = 1949–1950

| coach_team2 = West Virginia Wesleyan

| coach_years3 = 1950–1952

| coach_team3 = Davis & Elkins

| coach_years4 = 1952–1954

| coach_team4 = Aliquippa HS

| coach_years5 = 1954–1956

| coach_team5 = Baldwin HS

| coach_years6 = 1956–1962

| coach_team6 = Clemson

| coach_years7 = 1962–1964

| coach_team7 = NC State (assistant)

| coach_years8 = 1964–1966

| coach_team8 = NC State

| coach_years9 = 1966–1972

| coach_team9 = LSU

| coach_years10 = 1972–1975

| coach_team10 = Appalachian State

| overall_record = 232–277 (college)

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record = 1–1 (NCAA University Division)
2–2 (NIT)

| championships = ACC tournament (1965)

| awards =

| coaching_records =

}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.bcshof.org/halloffamers/maravich1978.htm|title=Press Maravich|work=bcshof.org}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/CoachesOpposing/PressMaravich.html|title=Press Maravich's Record vs. Kentucky|work=bigbluehistory.net}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/395827/Sport/Sportske-price/Velikan-NBA-srpskog-porekla |author=Politika |author-link=Politika |title=Velikan NBA srpskog porekla |access-date=2020-06-27 |date=2018-01-04 |language=sr}}

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.{{cite web |title=Legends profile: Pete Maravich |url=https://www.nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-pete-maravich |website=NBA.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026191744/https://www.nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-pete-maravich |archive-date=26 October 2021}}

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.{{sfn|Federman|Terrill|2008|p=11}}

Maravich was head coach of the Tigers of Clemson University from 1956 to 1962.{{cite book |last1=Reel |first1=Jerome V. |title=High Seminary: Vol. 1: A History of the Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, 1889-1964 |date=2023 |publisher=Clemson University Press |isbn=9781638041054 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YiDpEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT459 |quote=Press took over as coach in 1956-1957. In his seven years at the helm, Clemson had no winning seasons..}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Peeler |first1=Tim |title=NC State Basketball: 100 Years of Innovation |date=2010 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=9780807834473 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q54G4au5drsC&pg=PA88}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/louisiana-state/coaches.html|title=LSU Fighting Tigers Coaches|publisher=sports-reference.com|access-date=July 29, 2018}} Upon offering the LSU 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.{{sfn|Kriegel|2007|p=117}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Riley |first1=Koki |title=With Pete Maravich's NCAA scoring record in jeopardy, Dale Brown remembers the LSU legend |url=https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/lsu/2023/02/22/pete-maravich-dale-brown-remembers-lsu-legend-as-ncaa-record-may-fall/69921580007/ |work=Lafayette Daily Advertiser |date=February 22, 2023}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Harvin |first1=Al |title=People in Sports |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/14/archives/people-in-sports-press-maravich-resigns-post.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 14, 1975}} 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.{{sfn|Kriegel|2007|pp=279-282}} 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.{{sfn|Kriegel|2007|p=282}} By this time, he became religious and took comfort in reading the bible with his son, even becoming an evangelist.{{sfn|Kriegel|2007|pp=282-286}} 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.{{sfn|Kriegel|2007|p=284}} "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|date=February 2024}} Pete Maravich died nine months later on January 5, 1988.

BAA career statistics

class="toccolours" style="font-size: 90%; white-space: nowrap;"
colspan="6" style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid #aaa;"\| Legend
style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"\| GP \| Games played
style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"\| FG% \| style="padding-right: 8px" \| Field-goal percentage
style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"\| FT% \| Free-throw percentage
style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"\| APG \| Assists per game
style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"\| PPG \| Points per game

class="toccolours" style="font-size: 90%; white-space: nowrap;"

colspan="6" style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid #aaa;"| Legend

style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| GP

| Games played

style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| FG%

| style="padding-right: 8px" | Field-goal percentage

style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| FT%

| Free-throw percentage

style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| APG

| Assists per game

style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| PPG

| Points per game

=Regular season=

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
Year ! Team ! GP ! FG% ! FT% ! APG ! PPG
style="text-align:left;"\| 1946–47 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Pittsburgh \| 51	.272	.517	.1	4.6
style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\|Career \| 51	.272	.517	.1	4.6

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"

Year

! Team

! GP

! FG%

! FT%

! APG

! PPG

style="text-align:left;"| 1946–47

| style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh

| 51

.272

.517

.1

4.6

style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career

| 51

.272

.517

.1

4.6

Head coaching record

=College=

{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats

| conference = West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

| startyear = 1949

| endyear = 1950

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1949–50

| name = West Virginia Wesleyan

| overall = 14–10

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = West Virginia Wesleyan

| overall = 14–10

| confrecord =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Davis & Elkins Senators

| conference = West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

| startyear = 1950

| endyear = 1952

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1950–51

| name = Davis & Elkins

| overall = 18–11

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1951–52

| name = Davis & Elkins

| overall = 19–10

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Davis & Elkins

| overall = 37–21

| confrecord =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Clemson Tigers

| conference = Atlantic Coast Conference

| startyear = 1956

| endyear = 1962

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1956–57

| name = Clemson

| overall = 7–17

| conference = 3–11

| confstanding = T–7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1957–58

| name = Clemson

| overall = 8–16

| conference = 4–10

| confstanding = 6th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1958–59

| name = Clemson

| overall = 8–16

| conference = 5–9

| confstanding = T–6th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1959–60

| name = Clemson

| overall = 10–16

| conference = 4–10

| confstanding = 7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1960–61

| name = Clemson

| overall = 10–16

| conference = 5–9

| confstanding = 6th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1961–62

| name = Clemson

| overall = 12–15

| conference = 4–10

| confstanding = 6th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Clemson

| overall = 55–96

| confrecord = 25–59

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = NC State Wolfpack

| conference = Atlantic Coast Conference

| startyear = 1964

| endyear = 1966

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference tournament

| season = 1964–65

| name = NC State

| overall = 20–4

| conference = 10–4

| confstanding = T–2nd

| postseason = NCAA University Division Regional Third Place

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1965–66

| name = NC State

| overall = 18–9

| conference = 9–5

| confstanding = 2nd

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = NC State

| overall = 38–13

| confrecord = 19–9

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = LSU Tigers

| conference = Southeastern Conference

| startyear = 1966

| endyear = 1972

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1966–67

| name = LSU

| overall = 3–23

| conference = 1–17

| confstanding = 10th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1967–68

| name = LSU

| overall = 14–12

| conference = 8–10

| confstanding = T–6th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1968–69

| name = LSU

| overall = 13–13

| conference = 7–11

| confstanding = T–7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1969–70

| name = LSU

| overall = 22–10

| conference = 13–5

| confstanding = 2nd

| postseason = NIT Fourth Place

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1970–71

| name = LSU

| overall = 14–12

| conference = 10–8

| confstanding = 3rd

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1971–72

| name = LSU

| overall = 10–16

| conference = 6–12

| confstanding = T–7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = LSU

| overall = 76–86

| confrecord = 45–63

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Appalachian State Mountaineers

| conference = Southern Conference

| startyear = 1972

| endyear = 1975

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1972–73

| name = Appalachian State

| overall = 6–20

| conference = 3–8

| confstanding = 7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1973–74

| name = Appalachian State

| overall = 5–20

| conference = 1–11

| confstanding = 8th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| season = 1974–75

| name = Appalachian State

| overall = 1–11

| conference = 0–5

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Appalachian State

| overall = 12–51

| confrecord = 4–24

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record End

| overall = 232–277

}}

References

Sources

{{cite book |last1=Kriegel |first1=Mark |title=Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich |date=2008 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9780743284981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MGYPsUCi63MC&pg=PA117}}
{{cite book |last1=Federman |first1=Wayne |last2=Terrill |first2=Marshall |title=Pete Maravich: The Authorized Biography of Pistol Pete |date=2008 |publisher=Tyndale House Publishers |isbn=9781589975354 |url=https://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/firstchapters/978-1-58997-535-4.pdf}}