Elliott Van Zandt

Elliott van Zandt was a well-known American coach in multiple sports. He served in the US Fifth Army during World War II, after earning a degree in physical education from Tuskegee Institute. In 1947 he was hired to coach the Italian national basketball team, and he led them at the 1948 Olympics. In 1951 Turkey hired van Zandt to coach their national basketball team, which he also did at the 1952 Olympics.

After the Helsinki Olympics, van Zandt returned to Italy in 1953. He became head coach for the C.U.S. Milano baseball team, a post he held from 1955 to 1958, while also coaching rugby, basketball, and track for the club. From 1956-59, van Zandt also served as the athletic trainer for the prestigious A.C. Milano soccer team. Sadly, Van Zandt died young, on a transatlantic flight from Europe to the United States, when it was rumored that he was seeking a kidney transplant. The Italian Basketball Federation gave a memorial plaque in his honor to the Tuskegee Institute.