Elmer Gross (January 31, 1917 – June 29, 2007) was an American

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 (appro ...

player and coach. Dr. Gross was a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of physical education at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

and earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from the university. He was a key figure as both a player and coach on Penn State's two basketball teams (1942 and 1954) to finish a season ranked in the nation's top 10 and was part of the Nittany Lions' first three NCAA tournament appearances.

Coach

Gross coached

for five seasons, from 1950 to 1954, posting an 80–40 record and a 66.7 winning percentage, tied for the best mark among Penn State coaches that served more than one season. He guided the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances. The first, in 1952, made him the first coach in the NCAA Tournament to have also appeared as a player. He capped his coaching career by guiding All-American Jesse Arnelle and the Nittany Lions to the 1954

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

. Penn State posted an upset of eighth-ranked

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and ended Notre Dame's 18-game winning streak to advance to Kansas City where they eventually finished third after a loss to eventual champion LaSalle. Penn State rebounded to defeat

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and claimed the No. 9 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. Gross took the reins of the Penn State program from his mentor, John Lawther, whom he played for and served under as a graduate assistant coach for five seasons. Known for the masterful use of his bench and a full-court press which vexed opponents, Gross also implemented an opportunistic fast-break offense which saw the Nittany Lions top 1,000 points for a season for the first time in 1950.

Player

Also a standout player, Gross lettered three seasons for the Nittany Lion basketball team from 1940 to 1942. He was a captain and leading scorer for the 1942 team that was Penn State's first to reach the NCAA Tournament and finished with an 18–3 record and No. 10 national ranking in the final Dunkel Index.

Professor

Upon his retirement from coaching in 1954, Gross earned his Doctor of Education degree and continued to teach at Penn State until his retirement as a full professor in 1978.

Military service

Before beginning his coaching career, Gross was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and served in France and Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, participating in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies of World War II, Allies invaded German military administration in occupied Fra ...

. He was wounded in 1944 and awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

for his actions in battle at

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach This is a list of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament regional championships by coach. The current names of the NCAA tournament regions are the East, Midwest, South, and West. The winners of the four regions are awarded an NCAA Regiona ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Elmer 1917 births 2007 deaths American men's basketball coaches United States Army personnel of World War II Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Penn State Nittany Lions basketball players Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coaches Sportspeople from Homestead, Pennsylvania Basketball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American men's basketball players United States Army officers Military personnel from Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen