PCN
DONATE CART
Sign InRegister
Politics & Policy History & Culture PA Sports & PIAA State Championships Battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania's Neighborhood America's 250th in Pennsylvania Civics 101 Weather World
Schedule Shop About Donate Contact
Programs Politics & Policy History & Culture PA Sports & PIAA State Championships Battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania's Neighborhood America's 250th in Pennsylvania Civics 101 Weather World

Cart

SCHEDULE
08:00 PMA Pennsylvania Soldier in the South Pacific during WWII: America 250 Celebration
08:30 PMThe Canneries of York County: America 250 Celebration
09:00 PMHistory of the Penn State Blue Band: America 250 Celebration
09:30 PMThe Nile Swim Club: America 250 Celebration
10:00 PMPA Commonwealth Court Session (5.07.25)
12:20 AMPA Commonwealth Court Session (11.06.24)
03:30 AMJournalists Roundtable
04:00 AMOn the Issues: Hospitals and the PA Budget

ADVERTISEMENT

PCN app
PCN app
Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook
You are here: Home / Archive PA Books / PA Books: “Mr. All-Around: The Life of Tom Gola”

PA Books: “Mr. All-Around: The Life of Tom Gola”

Mr. All-Around: The Life of Tom Gola book cover

Tom Gola is a Philadelphia Big Five basketball icon. He led La Salle to the NIT championship in 1952 and the NCAA championship in 1954, and holds the NCAA record for most rebounds in a career. Gola also helped the Philadelphia Warriors win the NBA championship as a rookie in 1956 and was named an All-Star five times before retiring in 1966. But Gola also had many amazing achievements as a coach. His La Salle Explorer teams were a large part of the national basketball landscape. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976. In Mr. All-Around, avid sports fan and reporter David Grzybowski provides a definitive biography of Gola. He uses exclusive interviews he conducted with Gola in 2013 and features anecdotes by many figures of Philadelphia and basketball history, including John Cheney, Fran Dunphy, and Lionel Simmons. After the NBA, Gola transitioned to a second career as a politician, serving as Pennsylvania State Representative and Philadelphia City Controller. His dedication to public service involved joining politician Arlen Specter on a campaign that revolutionized political marketing within Philadelphia.

David Grzybowski is a former television news reporter for WPHL in Philadelphia, where he covered the 2015 Papal Visit by Pope Francis, the annual Philadelphia Mummers parade, and the 2016 Democratic National Convention as well as the 2016 Villanova Wildcats NCAA championship run. He was also a reporter at WNCN in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he covered the 2017 University of North Carolina's NCAA championship title run, as well as Hurricane Matthew.

Description courtesy of Temple University Press.

Watch PA Books and more PA History and Culture on cable and the PCN Select Streaming Service.

ABOUT PCN
About
History
Our People
Awards
Privacy Policy
Certifications
WATCH PCN
How to Watch
Schedule
Channel Listing
Stream Now
Subscribe
Shop PCN
CONNECT
Careers
Contact Us
FAQ
Request Coverage
Support
Satellite Truck
Production Truck
PROGRAMS
Politics and Policy
History and Culture
Sports
Gettysburg Collection
FOLLOW US
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

For closed captioning issues, please call 717-730-6000 or email closedcaption@pcntv.com
©2025 Pennsylvania Educational Communications Systems. All rights reserved.