Paul ‘Herky’ Rubincam Jr., an accomplished player and athletic director who was inducted into the Coatesville High School Hall of Fame in 2006, died on Feb. 7 at 89, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Rubincam grew up in Coatesville, where he worked at his father’s gas station. That is where he got his nickname Herky, which is short for Hercules, as he believed as a boy he was as strong as the mythical hero due to his oversized persona. 

In high school, he quickly became an all-state basketball player. He continued his playing career at Lawrenceville School and later the University of Pennsylvania. 

In 1960, he graduated from Penn’s Wharton School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He never left the school until he retired in the 1990s. He served as an assistant coach on the men’s basketball team, assistant dean of admissions, and director of athletics and recreation, among other positions. 

He was later executive director of Big 5 men’s basketball for over a decade. 

He was called a “gigantic figure in our history” by Penn officials. 

Read more about Paul Rubincam in The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

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