Clarence Edward “Big House” Gaines was born on this day in 1924 in Kentucky. He attended Morgan State on a football scholarship, and he also played basketball. He graduated from Morgan State in 1945, and came to WSSU in 1946 and coached football until 1949. His record was 12-4 during those four seasons.
He met his wife, Clara, in 1948, and they married in 1950.
He later coached basketball at WSSU, for 47 years, with a record of 828-447. He retired after the 1992-93 season. Gaines was also the school’s athletic director for most of that time.
Under Coach Gaines, WSSU won the Division II national championship in 1966-67, going 31-1, led by Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.
Coach Gaines was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1978, and into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Coach Gaines passed away in 2005.
Photo shows WSSU basketball player, Emmitt Gill, and Coach Gaines, in 1961.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
