Amory “Slats” Gill (May 1, 1901 – April 5, 1966) will forever be remembered for his tenure as basketball coach at Oregon State. The school’s arena bears his name.
Born in Salem in 1901, Gill earned his nickname at age 12 due to his slight frame, which caused a friend to liken him to a picket fence. He played both baseball and basketball at Salem High School and played in the state’s first two championship games. Salem won in 1920. He was named All-Tournament first team in both seasons.
Gill then attended what was then known as Oregon Agricultural College and played both baseball and basketball, finding his greatest success on the hardwood. In his three varsity seasons, 1921-24, the Beavers were either third or second in the Pacific Coast Conference’s Northern Division.
Following graduation, Gill spent one year coaching high school in Oakland, California, then returned to Cortvallis as an assistant coach. In 1928, he was promoted to head coach at the age of 27 and stayed in that position until 1964. He also coached the baseball team from 1932 to 1937.
In his 36 seasons as basketball coach, he won 599 games and took the Beavers to the NCAA Tournament Final Four twice, in 1949 and 1963. OSU won the Pacific Coast Conference title five times.
Following his retirement, he became athletic director and served in that capacity until passing away in 1966 at age 64.
Gill was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Oregon State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.