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1953–54 La Salle Explorers Men's Basketball Team
The 1953–54 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team represented La Salle University in the 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Ken Loeffler. La Salle won the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament. Season summary Some basketball historians have called La Salle star Tom Gola the Magic Johnson of his day because, at 6-7, he could play all five positions. But not even Magic piled up the kind of numbers Gola did in leading the Explorers to the 1954 national championship - 21.7 points and 23 rebounds per game. Guard Frank O’Hara was Gola’s capable running mate along with five sophomores who played complementary roles. Sophomore Robert Ames, later a CIA official killed in the 1983 bombing of the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, averaged two points and one rebound in 14 games for the Explorers. NCAA tournament *West ** La Salle 76, Fordham 74 ** La Salle 88, North Carolina State 81 ** La Salle 64, Navy 48 *Final Four ** La Salle 69, Penns ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Loeffler
Kenneth D. Loeffler (April 14, 1902 – January 1, 1975) was an American collegiate and professional basketball coach. He was mostly known for guiding the La Salle Explorers men's basketball team to the 1952 National Invitation Tournament and 1954 NCAA basketball tournament titles. After earning a Bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania State University (1920–24) and a short pro basketball career (1924–29), the Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania native began his collegiate coaching career at Geneva College (1928–35). In 1935 he became basketball head coach at Yale University, and also assistant coach to the football and baseball varsity. In seven years at Yale Loeffler put up a 61–82 record. During World War II he served in the U.S. Air Force. After the war Loeffler began coaching pro teams in the Basketball Association of America, first the St. Louis Bombers (1946–48), then the Providence Steamrollers (1948–49). In 1949 he returned to the college ranks when he became head coac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1954 NCAA Basketball Tournament
The 1954 NCAA basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8 and ended with the championship game on March 20 in Kansas City, Missouri. A total of 28 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game. La Salle, coached by Ken Loeffler, won the national title with a victory in the final game over Bradley, coached by Forddy Anderson. Tom Gola of La Salle was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Of note, Kentucky, the top-ranked team in the nation (with a record of 25–0) did not participate in any post-season tournament. Since several key players had technically graduated the year before (when Kentucky was banned from playing a competitive schedule due to the point-shaving scandal a few years earlier), those players were ruled ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Despite the wishes of the playe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Salle University
La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La Salle College was founded in March 1863 as an all-male college by Brother Teliow and Archbishop James Wood of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It was first located at St. Michael's Parish on N. 2nd Street in the Olde Kensington section of Philadelphia. La Salle soon moved to the building vacated by St. Joseph's College at 1234 Filbert Street in Center City, Philadelphia. In 1886, due to the development of the Center City district, La Salle moved to a third location, the former mansion of Michael Bouvier, the great-great-grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, at 1240 North Broad Street. Due to space constraints, in 1930 La Salle moved to its current campus at the intersection of 20th Street and Olney Avenue in the Logan neighborh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1953–54 NCAA Men's Basketball Season
The 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1953, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 20, 1954, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The La Salle Explorers won their first NCAA national championship with a 92–76 victory over the Bradley Braves. Season headlines * The Atlantic Coast Conference began play, with eight original members. * The NCAA tournament expanded from 22 to 24 teams. * Kentucky went undefeated, finishing with a 25–0 record. The Helms Athletic Foundation awarded its national championship to Kentucky rather than to the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament champion, La Salle. It was the fourth and final time that the NCAA champion and the Helms champion differed. Season outlook Pre-season polls The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season. Conference membership changes Regular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Gola
Thomas Joseph Gola (January 13, 1933 – January 26, 2014) was an American basketball player and politician. He is widely considered one of the greatest NCAA basketball players of all-time. Gola was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976 and National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1977. Early life Gola was the third of seven children born to Ike and Helen Gola. Gola's father was a Philadelphia policeman of Polish descent who had changed the family's surname from "Galinsky". Gola was praised as a great all-around player as a high school student at La Salle College High School, where he led the Explorers to a Philadelphia Catholic League Championship. He entered La Salle a year after another Philadelphia basketball Hall of Famer, Paul Arizin, graduated from Villanova. College career (1951–1955) Gola was one of the most talented collegiate athletes in Philadelphia sports history. He came to national attention while playing for his hometown L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning a national championship with Michigan State in 1979, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, leading the team to five NBA championships during their Showtime era. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time. Johnson's career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, three NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank O’Hara
Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure in the New York School, an informal group of artists, writers, and musicians who drew inspiration from jazz, surrealism, abstract expressionism, action painting, and contemporary avant-garde art movements. O'Hara's poetry is personal in tone and content, and has been described as sounding "like entries in a diary".American Council of Learned Societies. "Frank O'Hara" in ''American National Biography''. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) Poet and critic Mark Doty has said O'Hara's poetry is "urbane, ironic, sometimes genuinely celebratory and often wildly funny" containing "material and associations alien to academic verse" such as "the camp icons of movie stars of the twenties and thirties, the daily landscape of social activity in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Ames (CIA Official)
Robert Clayton Ames (March 6, 1934 – April 18, 1983) was an American spy, the Central Intelligence Agency's Near East Director. He was killed in the 1983 United States embassy bombing in Beirut. Early life Raised in Philadelphia he was a 1956 graduate of La Salle University. While at La Salle, he was a member of the La Salle basketball team which won the NCAA championship in 1954 and was runner-up in 1955. Career In 1956, he joined the US Army from which he switched to the CIA, specializing in the Middle East. He rose to become the CIA's chief analyst for the area. Working for the CIA's Middle East Directorate of Operations, Ames is reputed to have made the first high-level penetration of the PLO. It is claimed one of two senior contacts he made was the high-ranking PLO commander Ali Hassan Salameh. Ames was killed on April 18, 1983 when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the United States embassy in Beirut. A total of 63 people were killed in the explosion including Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1983 United States Embassy Bombing
The April 18, 1983 United States embassy bombing was a suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 32 Lebanese, 17 Americans, and 14 visitors and passers-by. The victims were mostly embassy and CIA staff members, but also included several US soldiers and one US Marine Security Guard. It was the deadliest attack on a US diplomatic mission up to that time, and was considered the beginning of Islamist attacks on US targets. The attack came in the wake of an intervention in the Lebanese Civil War by the United States and other Western countries, which sought to restore order and central government authority. Bombing The car bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber driving a van packed with nearly of explosives at approximately 1:00 p.m. (GMT+2) April 18, 1983. The van, originally sold in Texas, bought used and shipped to the Gulf, gained access to the embassy compound and parked under the portico at the very front of the building, where it exploded. Former CIA operativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships (the "Final Four" tournaments), a media panel selects a Most Outstanding Player (MOP). It is usually awarded to a member of the championship team. There have been 12 instances in which the winner was not from the championship team. The last man to win the award despite not being on the championship team was Akeem Olajuwon (Houston) in 1983. Dawn Staley (Virginia) was the only woman to do so, when she won the award in 1991. Past winners An asterisk (*) next to a player's name indicates they did not play for the championship team. NCAA men's Division I MOP award * 1939 – Jimmy Hull, Ohio State* * 1940 – Marvin Huffman, Indiana *1941 – John Kotz (basketball), John Kotz, Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball, Wisconsin *1942 NCAA basketball tournament, 1942 – Howie Dallmar, Stanford Cardinal, Stanford *1943 NCAA basketball tournament, 1943 – Ken Sailors, Wyoming Cowboys basketball, Wyomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Salle Explorers Men's Basketball Seasons
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure 8'' (album) * ''L.A.'' (EP), by Teddy Thompson * ''L.A. (Light Album)'', a Beach Boys album * "L.A." (Neil Young song), 1973 * The La's, an English rock band * L.A. Reid, a prominent music producer * Yung L.A., a rapper * Lady A, an American country music trio * "L.A." (Amy Macdonald song), 2007 * "La", a song by Australian-Israeli singer-songwriter Old Man River Other media * l(a, a poem by E. E. Cummings * La (Tarzan), fictional queen of the lost city of Opar (Tarzan) * ''Lá'', later known as Lá Nua, an Irish language newspaper * La7, an Italian television channel * LucasArts, an American video game developer and publisher * Liber Annuus, academic journal Business, organizations, and government agencies * L.A. Screenings, a tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
