Elmer Gross

Elmer Gross (1917-2007)

Teams coached: Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State record: 80-40 (.667)
Overall record: 80-40 (.667)

Career Accomplishments:

• NCAA National Championships:  0
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  2  (1952, 1954)
• NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  1  (1954)
• NCAA Tournament Final Four:  1  (1954)
• NIT Championships:  0
• NIT Appearances:  0

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1950-1954	Penn State
1945-1950	Penn State (asst)

Elmer Gross Facts

• Dr. Elmer Gross
• Born January 31, 1917
• Died June 29, 2007
• Hometown: Homestead, Pennsylvania
• Alma Mater: Pennsylvania State University (BA, 1942; MA & PhD)
• Gross graduated from Munhall HS (PA) and then played at Penn State for head coach John Lawther
  • Served as team captain in 1942, helping lead the Lions to their first ever NCAA Tournament
• After getting his bachelor’s, Gross joined the US Army and served in France and Germany in WWII
  • Participated in the Allied invasion of Normandy (commonly known as D-Day)
  • Wounded at Saint-Lô in 1944; was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart
• Returned to PSU to earn his master’s degree and begin his brief but successful coaching career
• Spent five seasons as an assistant coach under Lawther before taking over as head coach in 1950
  • Went 80-40 in five seasons at the helm, going to the NCAA Tournament twice
  • Led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Final Four in 1954 before retiring from coaching
• Gross earned his doctorate and worked as a full professor at Penn State for many years, retiring in 1978
• Passed away in 2007 at the age of 90 near his nursing home in Sun City, Arizona
  • Survived by 3 daughters, 2 sons, 2 stepdaughters, 10 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren

Elmer Gross Coaching Tree

• John Egli (Penn State)
• Bill Gibson (South Florida, Virginia, Mansfield)