Celebrity Graveland

February 11, 1967 – March 4, 1990

Casual sports fans may not immediately know the name Hank Gathers, but fans of college basketball likely know it too well. Gathers was a standout power forward at Loyola Marymount University during the late 1980s. He led the nation in both scoring (32.7 points/game) and rebounds (13.7/game) his junior year for the Lions. In a December home game during his senior year, Gathers collapsed on the court. After seeing doctors, he was diagnosed with a heart condition and given a regimen of medications. He missed two games and, when he returned, claimed the medication had a negative affect on his performance. His dosage was adjusted down over the following weeks and it’s believed he refused to take the meds at all on game days. He continued; however, to play well over this stretch. On March 4th, 1990, during a West Coast Conference Tournament game against Portland, Gathers collapsed again. This time, he never got up.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Eric Wilson “Hank” Gathers, Jr. spent his youth avoiding trouble on the streets by committing himself to basketball. It worked out on all fronts and he was recruited to play college ball at the University of Southern California. Gathers had an average Freshman season, but the team struggled. Following the firing of the USC coach after the season, Gathers transferred to nearby Loyola Marymount. In his brief collegiate career, Gathers was named Conference Player of the Year, two times Conference Tournament MVP as well as a number of All-American honors. He set WCC records in several scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage categories.

His death shocked the sport and his story (as well as teammate Bo Kimble’s left-handed-free-throw tribute to his friend during the 1990 NCAA Tournament) became one of the most tragic and memorable moments in the history of the sport.

Burial

Mount Lawn Cemetery – Sharon Hill, PA

Specific Location

Section S/G, Lot #362, Grave 2; Enter the south garden and take the first right until you reach a small circle drive. Hank is buried on the southeast side of this circle.

This entry was posted on January 29, 2024 at 9:46 am and is filed under Mount Lawn Cemetery with tags Basketball, Mount Lawn Cemetery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.