Obituary: McCandless Resident, Revered High School Basketball Coach

Elmer Guckert is remembered by the hundreds of young men he coached in basketball, swimming, cross-country and baseball while teaching physical education and health in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Guckert, of McCandless, died June 6 of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 84.

One student who perhaps remembered him the most is former University of Pittsburgh basketball star Sam Clancy.

Clancy played for Guckert's 1976 Fifth Avenue High school basketball team which went undefeated and won a state championship.

"That team meant a lot to him," said Guckert's daughter, Sarah Rizzitano of Ross. "He wore that championship ring from 1976 all of the time, so we put it in his casket."

Years later, Clancy stayed in touch with his former coach. 

"I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for 'Guck.' He meant everything to me,"Clancy told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He was like a second father to me." 

"He never raised his voice and never got out of hand coaching," Clancy told the P-G. "I could take hard coaching. He coached with a firm hand, but not too firm."

Rizzitano said Clancy would visit his former coach at a retirement home, and even went with him to watch his grandson, Anthony, play sports.

"As the Alzheimer's progressed, he would recognize fewer and fewer people," Rizzitano said. "But Dad always knew Sam."

Guckert was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He also served as PIAA official for basketball, baseball and softball. 

Guckert was preceded in death by his wife, Gloria. In addition to his daughter, he is survived by three other children, Kathy Allison of Hickory, N.C., Karen Morris of Ben Avon Heights and Jim of Cranberry; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

He is interred at Allegheny County Memorial Park.

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