Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame

April 13, 2015 Hall of Fame Working

DAWAHARES/KHSAA HALL OF FAME
NOMINATION FORM AND INFORMATION

Information about Nominee:

Name: Clarence [Big House] Gaines

Information about Person Making the Nomination:

Name: Art Davis

Address:
Paducah Tilghman HS
2400 Washington Street
Paducah, KY 42003

Category of Nomination:

Athlete, Contributor

Gender:

Male

Minority?

Yes

Primary KHSAA Basketball Region: 1

Secondary KHSAA Basketball Region: 0

Athlete:

High School Attended: Paducah Lincoln

Year of Graduation: 1941

Nominee's Accomplishments at the High School Level in Kentucky:

Gaines was born in Paducah, Kentucky to Lester and Olivia Bolen Gaines. Clarence helped his family by working in a garage while in high school. He attended local Lincoln High School, a member of the Kentucky High School League which was later to merge into the KHSAA. He excelled academically, played basketball, was an All-State football player, and played trumpet in the school band. He graduated as class salutatorian in 1941. Jim Crow Era segregation laws and the suggestions of a family friend led him to attend Morgan State University (then Morgan State College), a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland. He entered in the fall of 1941 on a football scholarship. At Morgan State, Gaines was given his nickname of "Big House": a fellow student saw the 6 ft. 3in., 265 lb Gaines and declared: "You're as big as a house." Gaines played as a lineman for the Bears football team, was a member of the basketball team, and participated in track. Gaines was an All-CIAA selection as a lineman in football all four seasons and twice elected an All-American. When it came to basketball, he said he was "a very average basketball player." In 2004, he explained, "I was an All-America in football, but I was just on the basketball team to have something to do." Gaines graduated from Morgan State in 1945 with a Bachelor's of Science in Chemistry. He intended to go on into dental school, however his college football coach, Edward P. Hurt, suggested that he temporarily go to what was then known as Winston-Salem Teachers College. At the time, the small southern college had one coach for all sports, Brutus Wilson, who was also a Morgan State graduate; Hurt suggested that Gaines would make a good assistant coach. Gaines agreed and went to Winston-Salem. Gaines was to become an ambassador for basketball as a long-time coach, coaching basketball at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) from 1946 to 1993, compiling an 828-447 record. He led the Rams to 18 20-win seasons, eight CIAA titles, and in 1967 led WSSU to a Division II NCAA Championship, making the Rams the first basketball program from a historically black college or university to capture an NCAA national championship. Due to his proficiency as an athletic coach, teacher and humanitarian, Gaines has received numerous awards: CIAA Basketball Tournament Outstanding Coach Award; 1953, 57, 60, 61, 63, 66, 70, 77; CIAA Hall of Fame Inductee, 1975; NAIA Helms Hall of Fame Inductee, 1968; N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, 1978; CIAA Basketball Coach of the Year, 1957, 61, 63, 70, 75, 80; NAIA District 26 Outstanding Coach Award, 1975-78; Paul Robeson Award, 1980; Winston-Salem Urban League Family of the Year Award, 1973; Order of the Long Leaf Pine (N.C.); and the Silver Buffalo Award (Boy Scouts of America) etc. Gaines was named the NCAA Division II (1967) College Coach of the Year. In 1982 Gaines was recognized for his contribution to basketball by being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (named in honor of the inventor of basketball James Naismith) as a coach.