Alexander Yakovlevich Gomelsky (russian: Александр Яковлевич Гомельский; 18 January 1928 – 16 August 2005) was a Russian professional

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 ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. The Father of Soviet and Russian basketball, he was inducted into 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 ...

in 1995 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007. Alexander Gomelsky was awarded the Olympic Order by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

in 1998. In 2008, he was named one of the

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural sea ...

Club coaching career

Gomelsky began his coaching career in 1949, in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, with the women's team of LGS Spartak. In 1953, he became the coach of Rīgas ASK, leading the team to three Soviet Union League titles (1955, 1957, 1958), and three consecutive European Champions Cups (EuroLeague), from 1958 to 1960. In 1969, he was appointed the head coach of

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

, leading the club to 10 Soviet Union national league championships (1970–1974, 1976–1980), 2 Soviet Union Cups (1972, 1973), and one European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) title in 1971. He also led the club to two more European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) finals, in 1970, and 1973. He also coached in Spain and France shortly before the dissolution of the USSR.

National team coaching career

Gomelsky was the long-time

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

of the senior Soviet Union national team, leading them to 6

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...

titles (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

, 1967,

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, 1979, and 1981), 2

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

titles ( 1967, and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

), and the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

gold medal in 1988. He was originally the Soviet national team

in 1972, and was expected to coach the team at the

1972 Summer Olympic games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, but the KGB confiscated his

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

, fearing that, since Gomelsky was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, he would defect to

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 ...

.Aleksandr "Sascha" Gomelsky
Jewishsports.net. Retrieved on 31 October 2016. The Soviet team, with

Vladimir Kondrashin Vladimir Petrovich Kondrashin (; 14 January 1929 in Leningrad, Soviet Union – 23 December 1999 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a Soviet and Russian professional basketball player and coach. He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007. ...

as their coach, won their first Olympic gold medal that year, after a controversial game against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Awards

For merits in the development of sports and basketball was awarded: *Honored Coach of the USSR: 1956 *Master of Sports of the USSR International Class: 1965 *4× Soviet Union Coach of the Year: 1967, 1977, 1982, 1988 *Honored Coach of the Lithuanian SSR: 1982 *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

: 1982 *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

* 2 Orders of the Badge of Honour *Honored Worker of Physical Culture of Russia: 1993 * Silver Olympic Order: 1998 * Order of Merit (Ukraine): 2003

Career achievements

Club competitions

* EuroLeague: 4 ( Rīgas ASK:

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

) * Soviet League: 13 ( Rīgas ASK: 1955, 1957, 1958 &

: 1970–1974, 1976–1980) *

Soviet Cup The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS ( Moldov ...

: 2 (

: 1972, 1973)

National team competitions

1963 FIBA World Championship The 1963 FIBA World Championship was the 4th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The competition was hosted by Brazil. The Philippines was originally supposed to host the tournament but FIBA ...

: *

EuroBasket 1963 The 1963 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1963, was the thirteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Sixteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation ...

: *

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

: *

EuroBasket 1965 The 1965 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1965, was the fourteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues Results First round Group A – Moscow Group B – Tbilisi ...

: *

1967 FIBA World Championship The 1967 FIBA World Championship was the 5th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Montevideo, Uruguay from 27 May to 11 June 1967. Venues Competing nations Competition fo ...

: * EuroBasket 1967: *

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

: * EuroBasket 1969: * 1970 FIBA World Championship: * EuroBasket 1977: *

1978 FIBA World Championship The 1978 FIBA World Championship was the 8th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by the Philippines from October 1 to 14, 1978 in Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila ...

: * EuroBasket 1979: *

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

: * EuroBasket 1981: *

1982 FIBA World Championship The 1982 FIBA World Championship was the 9th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Colombia from 15 to 28 August 1982. Qualification Venues Competing nation ...

: * EuroBasket 1983: *

EuroBasket 1987 The 1987 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1987, was the 25th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Greece between 3 and 14 June 1987. Twelve national teams entered the ev ...

: *

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Post coaching career

Alexander Yakovlevich Gomelsky gravestone

In his later years, Gomelsky was the president of the

Russian Basketball Federation Russian Basketball Federation (russian: Российская Федерация Баскетбола, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya Basketbola), also known as RBF, is a national governing body of basketball in Russia. It was founded in 1991, and is the ...

and

. In 1995, he was inducted into the

. In 2007, he was enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was named one of the

. The EuroLeague's annual Alexander Gomelsky EuroLeague Coach of the Year award is named after him, and so is

Alexander Gomelsky Universal Sports Hall CSKA Alexander Gomelsky Universal Sports Hall CSKA, also known as USH CSKA, and formerly known as CSKA Palace of Sports, is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena that is located in Moscow, Russia. It is a part of the CSKA Sports Complex. The arena ...

.Professional Basketball Club CSKA Moscow
Cskabasket.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2016. Every year the Gomelsky Cup is organized by CSKA in honor of its legendary coach.

Personal life

Gomelsky's younger brother, Evgeny, is also a well-known

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

, and his son, Vladimir, also worked as a basketball player and coach. His son Gomelsky lexandreran a sports association school in his father name, leading to several female Olympic basketball players. He was survived by his four sons and four grandchildren. His wife Tatiana, also a basketball player and coach, died from cancer.

Bibliography

References

External links

Alexander Gomelsky
at acb.com
Alexander Gomelsky
at halloffame.fiba.com
Alexander Gomelsky
at hoophall.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomelsky, Alexander 1928 births 2005 deaths ASK Riga coaches Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Merited Coaches of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star ASK Riga players EuroLeague-winning coaches FIBA EuroBasket-winning coaches FIBA Hall of Fame inductees International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees Jewish men's basketball players Limoges CSP coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees PBC CSKA Moscow coaches Point guards Russian basketball coaches Russian basketball players Russian Jews Shooting guards Soviet basketball coaches Soviet basketball players Soviet Jews Basketball players from Saint Petersburg Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Spain Soviet expatriate sportspeople in France Deaths from cancer in Russia Deaths from leukemia Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery