Egidio Ghirimoldi

Egidio Ghirimoldi was a true pioneer of Italian basketball. He played in the early 1920s with the Pro Italia team, then began a career as a coach, winning four Italian women’s championships. In 1932 in Napoli, in the presence of HRH The Prince of Piedmont, with the Gioiosa Milano team, he won his first national women’s title. Over the next three years, Ghirmoldi spent coaching the women’s team of the Canottieri Milano and won another three Top League titles. In 1933 he was appointed a FIBA referee for Europe and, until 1949, in addition to the 1936 Berlin Olympics (where he was awarded a diploma of merit), he officiated more than 70 international games including three European Championships and two Universiades.

In 1935 Ghirmoldi wrote a technical manual entitled: Pallacanestro (Basketball), a very important book for all passionate basketball players. In 1955 he became a Knight of the Italian Republic and in 1982 he was awarded the CONI Golden Star.