Gonzaga Athletic Hall of Fame
After Vermillion completed four outstanding varsity seasons at Gonzaga, a local sports columnist described him as “one of the smartest, toughest reboundingest basketballers the Zags ever had.” Vermillion demonstrated his toughness early in life by overcoming a major back injury suffered in a riding accident. Unable to play high school basketball until his senior year, he led Fort Benton to the Montana State Tournament championship game. In 1951, he enrolled at Gonzaga in time to help coach Hank Anderson register 19 wins in his first year. Hank was appreciative. “He carried the load in my first four seasons. Jerry’s right up there among the best players in my 21 years at Gonzaga.” Before he graduated, the lanky Vermillion held virtually every individual record for scoring and rebounding. Nearly 40 years later Vermillion was still among Gonzaga’s all-time scorers with 1,547 points and remained first in rebounds with an all-but-unmatchable 1,670.
