Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1985
- Class:
- 1947
Harold Gene “Goose” James came to Marshall to play basketball for Coach Cam Henderson after a West Virginia All-State career at Stonewall Jackson High School in Charleston, but only got to play one season before being called into service for World War II. The 6-foot-4 center returned to Marshall just in time to play a major role in the Thundering Herd’s NAIB National Championship run in 1947. Early that season, Marshall showed its potential by winning a tournament in Terre Haute, Ind., hosted by Coach John Wooden and the Indiana State Sycamores, downing the host school 66-58 in the semifinals before topping Xavier in the championship game. Marshall would go on to receive a bid to the NAIB National Tournament (now NAIA) and go on a run of five wins in six days to take the crown, with James, guard Andy Tonkovich and forward Bill Toothman being named to the All-Tournament Team, while James, Tonkovich and Bill Hall were all named NAIB first team All-Americans.
As a senior the following season, James was named captain of the All-Tournament Team at the Helms Foundation Los Angeles Invitational Tournament as Marshall took the crown by beating West Texas State, Idaho and Syracuse. Marshall advanced once again to the NAIB National Tournament, winning a first-round game over Peru State (Neb.) before falling by two points to San Jose State. By the time his career was complete, James had scored 1,092 points – an average of 12.6 points per game – during his three years of competition on the Marshall varsity. After graduating, James played two seasons with the New York Knicks and another year with the Baltimore Bullets in the National Basketball Association. James was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1973 and into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985.
