George Raveling, arguable one of the most important figure in the history of Washington State Cougar athletics has died. He was 88.
Raveling was head basketball coach at WSU from 1972-1983. That included the time that I was there. I got to interview him when I took the TV class.
Raveling led the Cougars to two NCAA tournament appearances. Raveling was also the first African-American coach in what became the Pac 12.
After leaving Pullman, he had coaching stops at Iowa and later USC.
Raveling was reportedly a key player in getting Michael Jordan to sign a deal with NIKE for a brand of basketball shoes, a revolutionary move in the world of athletic apparel.
He also had the original script for Martin Luther King's speech for the 1963 March on Washington. Raveling had worked security at the event.
Raveling played basketball at Villanova from 1957-1960.
Raveling was inducted into basketball's Naismith Hall of Fame in 2015.
1 comment:
Great tribute Mike. He was a great coach.
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