Career
Gold, a 6"5 forward from Benton, Kentucky, played at Mississippi State from 1960 to 1963, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to three shared or outright Southeastern Conference titles playing for coach Babe McCarthy. Gold averaged 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for his career. In his senior year, Gold was captain of the first Mississippi State basketball team to compete against African-American players.
After turning down National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament invitations in previous years, Coach McCarthy and his team accepted a bid to the 1963 National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament (the school"s first), where they faced an integrated Loyola of Chicago team
The Bulldogs had to sneak out of the state to play the game, as they defied an order from Mississippi governor Ross Barnett. Gold"s pregame handshake with Loyola star Jerry Harkness was the subject of a photograph that was heavily circulated in newspapers across the United States.
Following the conclusion of his collegiate playing career, Gold turned to coaching. He became the freshman coach at his alma mater and ultimately an assistant to his mentor Babe McCarthy.
After McCarthy resigned in 1965, Gold was named head coach at the age of 23.
Gold coached the Bulldogs for five years, compiling a record of 51–74 and resigned in 1970. Gold next coached at Paducah Junior College in Paducah, Kentucky, then took the reins at Mercer in 1973. However, he resigned at the end of his only season there, a successful 16–8 campaign.
Collegiate coaching record
After leaving Mercer, Gold became a school administrator in his native Kentucky.
He was enshrined in the Mississippi State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. Gold died on April 14, 2011 following a long illness.