Clarence 'Big House' Gaines, 1923-2005: legendary basketball coach at Winston-Salem State University

Clarence "Big House" Gaines, the legendary former Winston-Salem State University's men's basketball coach and director of athletics, died April 18. He was 81.

Gaines' 47-year legacy of contribution to WSSU included 828 wins, eight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) conference championships and a national title. Gaines finished his coaching career in 1993 as the second all-time winningest coach, and today is ranked fifth in that category. Gaines produced the first player, Cleo Hill, from a historically Black college and university to be drafted in the National Basketball Association's first round. Under his leadership, Winston-Salem State became the first HBCU to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association championship when his team captured the 1967 college division (now NCAA Division II) title. His coaching influence guided basketball legends such as Earl Monroe, who was selected as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players of all time. Gaines also earned a place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Gaines was very involved with youth throughout Winston-Salem, the state of North Carolina and beyond. He was thunder and administrator of the WSSU National Youth Sports Program, a sports and academic enrichment program that still impacts the lives of hundreds of youth each summer. He served as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and was also a cofounder of the Winston-Salem Youth Baseball League.

WSSU recently honored Gaines during the Rams' Living Legend Benefit, a gala to raise funds for the Clarence "Big House" Gaines Endowed Scholarship. In addition, an autobiography of Gaines' life was recently released titled They Call Me, Big House. And just last month, "They Call Him Big House," a video tribute to Gaines, produced by Jackson Group Interactive, won a Bronze Telly Award, the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions.

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