INDIANAPOLIS – The Saint Francis University family lost one of its legends Monday with the sudden passing of Wilbur Trosch at the age of 75. A great player – and perhaps an even better storyteller – he helped guide the Frankies to a 54-19 record in his three seasons of collegiate eligibility from 1957-60.
Nicknamed "Tree," he was a big man for his era, as big as most of the great players of the 1950s. Only Wilt Chamberlain and a few others could tower over him and very few had his range or touch of shot. To successfully recruit a player of Trosch's stature ranked as a major coup for the school and by his sophomore year he was a starter and very much the face of Saint Francis basketball nationwide.
The game of basketball is a physical one, there is always contact, holding, pushing, elbowing and while Trosch could do all of that, he had something else that many big men did not have: a jump shot that approached and often passed what we know today as three-point range.
"I had a guard's mentality," he was known to joke. He was a Hughes favorite and later worked for the coach as an assistant, even taking the reins as head coach for a period of time when the dentist became ill.
But it was as a player that he will always be remembered. The centerpiece of the great teams of the late 1950s, he garnered major attention from followers of the college game from around the nation and his Saint Francis teams finished with a .740 winning percentage, the highest in college history. He was later drafted in 1960 as the 13th pick by the NBA's Syracuse Nats (the franchise later became the Philadelphia 76ers) but opted not to go.
He was inducted into the Saint Francis University Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, February 5, 2011.
On November 25, 1960, Wilbur married the love of his life Carmella (Sporio) Trosch. At this time, he began giving back, as both an influential and recognized high school teacher and a highly successful basketball head coach at West MifflinHigh School. Both careers were rewarding and long, stretching to over 30 years.
Wilbur enjoyed golf and gardening. He took extreme pride in any task he undertook and his lawn and garden were the envy of every neighbor. He was a valued friend and role model to anyone who he met. He loved his family and was a friend to so many. He has donated time to helping the Indpls Salvation Army. His words and actions have made a difference in many, many lives, include his favorite motto "Attitude is Everything."
Wilbur is survived his loving wife of 53 years Carmella; brother Thomas; son Daniel Trosch, daughter Sandy (Dan) Walsh and son Eric (Misty) Trosch; loving grandchildren, Columbo, Eric, Kelsey, Garret, Katie and Jacob.
A memorial service will be held in West Mifflin, Pa. at a later date this upcoming summer season.
Visitation will be held on Friday, May 9, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at 11:30 a.m. at Shirley Brothers Fishers-Castleton Chapel, Fishers, Ind. Burial to follow at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens.
