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Petar "Press" Maravich (August 29, 1915 – April 15, 1987) was an American
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
and
professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach. He received the nickname "Press" as a boy, when one of his jobs was selling the ''
Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...
'' on the streets of his hometown of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, an industrial city outside of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Maravich, Sr. also served in the
United States Naval Air Corps A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guar ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Maravich graduated from
Davis & Elkins College Davis & Elkins College (D&E) is a private college in Elkins, West Virginia. History The school was founded in 1904 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. It was named for Henry G. Davis and his son-in-law Stephen B. Elkins, who were ...
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

Maravich was the son of
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
immigrants Vajo and Sara (née Radulović) from Drežnica, a village near
Ogulin Ogulin () is a town in north-western Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the ...
in modern-day
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
. After college, he played professional basketball with the
Youngstown Bears The Youngstown Bears were a basketball team based in Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is ...
(1945–1946) of the National Basketball League, and the
Pittsburgh Ironmen The Pittsburgh Ironmen were a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association). The team was based in Pittsburgh and played at Duquesne Gardens. They ended their only season in the BAA i ...
(1946–1947) of the
Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...
. Press Maravich's first head coaching job at the college level was
West Virginia Wesleyan College West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist E ...
, 1949–1950. From there he went on to become head coach of his alma mater, Davis & Elkins, from 1950 to 1952. He had previously served as an assistant under Red Brown from 1947 to 1949. Maravich was head coach of the Tigers of
Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...
from 1956 to 1962. He then went to
North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...
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. Maravich led the Wolfpack to the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
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that season. Maravich left for
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...
in April 1966 where he coached his son, Pete Maravich. Upon offering the LSU scholarship to "Pistol", "Press" told his boy that "If you don't sign this ... don't ever come into my house again.". Pete originally wanted to go to the West Virginia University but finally agreed to go to LSU if his dad bought him a car. (Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich.) 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 Dale Brown (born 2 November 1956) is an American writer and aviator known for aviation techno-thriller novels. At least thirteen of his novels have been ''New York Times'' Best Sellers. Early life Brown was born in Buffalo, New York, and was ...
in 1972. He then went on to coach the
Mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...
of
Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Doug ...
, shepherding them through their early years in Division I, before retiring from coaching in 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 Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...
. During a basketball clinic in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, 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. On February 11, 1987, Press and son Pete flew to
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, for an experimental treatment that lasted for 11 days; symptoms such as coughing subsided while the treatment had no effect on the cancer. 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 Covington is a city in, and the parish seat of, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part o ...
, where he died on April 15, 1987. "Press" Maravich lived just long enough to see Pete selected as a possible member of the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
, 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; Pete Maravich died nine months later on January 5, 1988. Both "Press" and his son became born-again Christians late in their lives.


BAA career statistics


Regular season


Head coaching record


College


Further reading

* * * *


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maravich, Press 1915 births 1987 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American people of Serbian descent Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Pennsylvania Clemson Tigers men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Davis & Elkins Senators men's basketball coaches Davis & Elkins Senators men's basketball players Deaths from cancer in Louisiana Deaths from prostate cancer Detroit Eagles players High school basketball coaches in the United States LSU Tigers basketball coaches NC State Wolfpack men's basketball coaches People from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Ironmen players Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area United States Naval Aviators West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats basketball coaches Youngstown Bears players Guards (basketball) Military personnel from Pennsylvania