Tag Archives: Referee
Mendy Rudolph
Mendy Rudolph (Pro basketball. Born, Philadelphia, PA, Mar. 8, 1938; died, New York, NY, July 4, 1979.) During most of his record 17 seasons in the league, Marvin Rudolph was the N.B.A.’s best-known referee. Rudolph joined the league in 1958 and worked 2,113 games during his career, including appearances in 16 straight N.B.A. championship series […]
Pat Kennedy
Pat Kennedy (Basketball. Born, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 28, 1908; died, New York, NY, June 16, 1957.) Starting a career in 1928 that made him the most famous basketball referee of his time, Matthew P. Kennedy was, to say the least, flamboyant. Kennedy would rush across the court pointing at the miscreant when a foul was […]
John Nucatola
John Nucatola (Basketball. Born, New York, NY, Nov. 17, 1907; died, Scotch Plains, NJ, May 8, 2000.) When seasons were shorter than they were to become, John Nucatola averaged over 100 games per season as a college (1934-59) and professional (1946-54) basketball referee. For many years, Nucatola also worked high school games in the New […]
John J. O’Brien
John J. O’Brien (Pro basketball. Born, Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 4, 1888; died, Rockville Centre, NY, Dec. 9, 1967.) Although he was successful in other fields, John J. O’Brien was devoted to basketball. O’Brien was an energetic and efficient organizer who helped form the Interstate pro league (1914) at age 26 and served as its president […]
Richie Powers
Richie Powers (Basketball. Born, New York, NY, Oct. 14, 1930; died, Allentown, PA, July 31, 1998.) A colorful but inconsistent referee, Richard Powers refereed in the N.B.A. for 23 seasons (1956-79). Powers worked three All-Star Games (1961, 1970, 1973) and 25 times in the N.B.A. championship final series. Among those final series games was Game […]
Norm Drucker
Norm Drucker (Pro basketball. Born, Brooklyn, July 4, 1920.) A player for Nat Holman at City College, Norman F. Drucker became much better known as a pro basketball referee. Drucker served in the U.S. Army for three years during World War II and played professionally in the original A.B.L. with Trenton (N.J.) and Troy (N.Y.) for […]
Bill Chadwick
Bill Chadwick (Hockey. Born, New York, NY, Oct. 10, 1915; died, Cutchogue, NY, Oct. 24, 2009.) Known affectionately as “the Big Whistle” to generations of Rangers fans, William Chadwick holds many unique distinctions, chief among them being that he was the first American-born referee in the National Hockey League. In 15 seasons, he worked over […]
