Tragic Story of Hank Gathers: Legacy, Heartbreak & Inspiration

On March fourth, nineteen ninety was a day that left the basketball world stunned when one of the most dominant basketball players in college basketball history, who was a powerhouse on the court and a force of nature who defied expectations in the record books, collapsed on the court and never got up again, as Hank Gathers of Leola Mayormount passed away at the age of twenty three. Today, we're going to tell you a story of his talent, his friendship, and the legacy he left behind that continues today in one of the greatest what if stories of all time. Today on Daily Sports History, Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. And the trivia question to listen out for today is who is the only head coach to win a WNBA and NBA championship. Listened throughout the episode hear the answer and if you miss it, I will give it to you at the very end. He was born Eric Wilson Gathers Junior, but better known as Hank, and he grew up in the projects of Phillies and to stay out of trouble, he played basketball growing up with his longtime friend Bo Kimball, who took Philadelphia's basketball scene by storm. Playing at Dobbin's Technical High School, they made it to the Philadelphia Public League Championships in back to back years, but finally winning the fight their senior year, and they were highly recruited throughout the country both Hank and his friend Bo, and they both decided to go to southern California to play for Stan Morrison. However, despite showing flashes as a freshman, he struggled to find his footing and after this first season, his coach was let go and he decided to look somewhere else to go, and he didn't have to look very far as across the city. At Loyola Mayor Mount, which is also in Los Angeles, he joined a former NBA champion and Paul Weshead, who won an NBA championship with Magic Johnson and Kareem al del Jabbar. Despite winning a championship, he was quickly let go by the La Lakers and had bounced around multiple places and ended up at Loyola Marrimount, where he had found a new kind of offense and he became known as the Guru of Go, meaning they would go fast and go hard and constantly be running on fast breaks and this was exciting as he had pitched this to Bo and Hank, telling them they would each to score over twenty points a game as the team would score well over one hundred points every game, which is unusual in college basketball, especially at the time. And it took a while for Hank to really get his footing with Loyola getting in shape. But he was standing at six seven and two hundred and ten pounds, which on the shorter side for a center power forward type position, but he was all muscled and he could outrun anyone in the gym, which led him to score and rebound like crazy, and in the ninety season, he became the first player in Division one history to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding, averaging thirty two point seven points a game, making him one of the most dominant players on the court, and his buddy Bo Kimball averaged over sixteen points that year as well, and the team averaged over one hundred points a game, being the number one scoring team in the nation. But sadly, they lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as they were a twelve seed versus number five Arkansas, and Hank was getting looked at by the NBA and there was conversations that he could potentially just go in the first round that year. He wanted to come back and see what he could really do with this team with another year and a chance to do something in the NCAA tournament. But the problem was the nineteen eighty nine season started out rough as on December ninth, nineteen eighty nine, Hank was still dominating on the court like he did the year before, but in a game versus UC Santa Barbara Gathers fainted on the court. The fans and the crowd that had all been cheering grew silent as they watched one of the most dominant players in the nation fall down. Now, they took him to the hospital and they found out that he had a condition called hyperthyretic cardiomyopathy, a disease where the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick and it leads to irregular heartbeat, making it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively, and the condition is often a silent killer, and many athletes can perform at high levels even though they're at risk for Hank this was just a warning sign of things that might come. Despite this scare, he was determined to make it back to the court. He didn't want to let his diagnosis in this medical condition He's had his entire life that hasn't affected him until this point changed who he was. He was later given some baterer blockers to help manage his heart beat and help his condition, but the problem was this made him tired and zapped him of all his energy. He was an explosive, high flying dunking athlete and that's what made him so great was his energy and his DaMina, and it took out what made him amazing. So against the advice of all his doctors, he started to experiment with his doses of his beta blockers and take half. This allowed him to be a little slower but still make it through his season and he became that dominant player he was throughout the rest of the season, and this led to one of Leola Marramount's best seasons. They finished twenty six and six, reaching number twenty one in the AP rankings, and only lost one game in their conference and they led and they were heading into their conference tournament to see who would get the automatic bid to make it to t double A tournament, where in the semi finals they faced off against Portland. This was a highly anticipated game, as whoever won this would go to the finals to get that coveted automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. On the court, Hank looked like he always did. He was possessed doing his best scoring in rebounding he had done all season, and with LMU leading after the first half, Hank was still motivated to make sure they made it to the finals of the championship. After a rebound, Gathers was racing across the courts in typical fashion, the defense set up when something went wrong. Without warning, Hank suddenly collapsed on the floor. His body crumbled beneath him, and Arena fell into a stunned silence. The moment was surreal, and the players on both teams froze, unsure of what they just witnessed. The teammates rushed by his side while frantically calling for help. The trainers and the medical staff there quickly got him ready to be transported to the hospital as fast as possible, where he would be pronounced dead upon arrival. His heart condition had caused him to suffer a fatal arrhythmia in a sudden abnormal rhythm that led to cardiac arrest and tragically he was dead. Hank Gathers, one of the best college basketball players of all time, had passed away while playing the game he loved. News of the has just sent shockwaves through the world. He was just twenty three years old, about to take his team into the NCAA tournament and go on to play in the NBA and meet a millionaire. And who knows how good he could have been in the NBA. He could have been game changing for the NBA with his style and power. But all were left with is what if the game was called and no team was awarded to win. But given the success that ELMU had, they were able to get a bid into the nineteen ninety Cuba Tournament. The question was where are they actually going to play? And the team wanted to honor Hank's memory as they knew he would not want them to give up. He never gived up and his friend Bo really took the team on his back to see what they could do, and in their first game in the tournament, on his first foul shot, he went up to the line versus New Mexico State, and he was a right handed shooter, but he went up there and shot with just his left hand, which is something Hank did as he struggled with his strength with free throws, so he would shoot just one handed with his left hand and was starting to see success with that. And this was a nod to Hank, who was not only his teammate but was like a brother to him. They'd have been together growing up since back in Philly. They would go on to win this game and then beat Michigan in the second round, making to the Sweet sixteen, and they would beat Alabama in a close matchup, scoring only sixty two points, which was the lowest they had scored by over thirty points that season. The lowest previously was ninety. But they were able to eke it out and make it to the Elite eight, which is as far as Loyola Marramount had ever gotten in the NCAA tournament, but sadly they would lose to the eventual champs UNLV, but it was a run that will be remembered forever by Leola Marramount. Following this, Bo Kimball would make it to the NBA and Eventually, Paul west Head would bounce around to different sports and would make it to the WMB where he would win a WNBA championship, becoming the only coach to ever win an NBA and WNBA championship, and LMU would retire hanks strict number forty four jersey it would never experience anywhere close to the success they had during hank Gathers time. In the following years, more awareness has been given out to heart conditions for athletes, More screening tests have been done to prevent tragedies that had occurred that cut Hank's life short, and so it's quite possible that Hank's life, though it ended tragically, he may have saved other athletes lives through these testings. We don't really know for sure, but I'm willing to bet he definitely has saved some lives and his legacy goes beyond just the court as he's won. I want to thank you to listening to today's daily sports history. This world really pulls at my heartstrings as my son has a heart condition. He's only eleven months old and yet he's had two heart surgery, including an open heart surgery, and as of now, the doctors think he's going to be okay to live a full life, and maybe what Hank went through led to the doctors being able to find my son's condition and be able to save his life. So it means a lot to me this story. When you look into Hank's life, everyone says nothing but glowing things, as he was a great person as well as a great basketball player. And it was a sad story to tell, but one that means a lot to more than just basketball fans. And please, if you enjoy today's episode, follow us on socials. We're on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok Blue Sky check us out. We'll post pictures and videos for all our episodes so you can get even more content and come back tomorrow for more daily sports history. And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question, who is the only head coach to win an NBA and WNBA championship? The answer is Paul Westhead, who won a championship with the Lakers and the Phenus Mercury as well as leading Hank Gathers to some of the best college performances we've ever seen.