Norm Drucker
Norm Drucker entered the world on the 4th of July 1920 in New York City. He grew up in Brooklyn and learned basketball from the first generation of superstars. Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush hosted his high school team starting in 1937. That era lacked a three-second rule and allowed goal tending. His team reached the quarterfinals during the 1938 season. Drucker attended City College where he played as a five foot eleven guard. Coach Nat Holman led the varsity team after Sam Winograd coached him as a junior varsity freshman. The 1941-1942 City College team ranked number three in the country. They lost to Western Kentucky 49, 46 in the National Invitation Tournament. World War II interrupted his college career in January 1943. He served three and a half years before being discharged as a first lieutenant. After the war he earned a bachelor's degree in science from CCNY.
Drucker played professionally for the Troy Celtics in the New York State Professional Basketball League. The team nicknamed him Reindeer and called him the fastest man playing basketball today. He later joined the Trenton Tigers in the American Basketball League. Their 1946-47 championship team won the title. Two years after his professional play ended he refereed one NBA game. In 1953 he moved up to the NBA with a full schedule of games. Even after becoming an NBA referee he remained a teacher and administrator in the New York City School System. His income from the NBA was meager compared to his teaching salary. Drucker began officiating AAU high school collegiate and American Basketball League games in 1949. Working a full 70-game season would net a rookie referee $2,450 in 1953. That amount was 29% less than the 1953 U.S. median family income of $4,000. For most officials their NBA refereeing was simply a second job.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Drucker faced what the press called a heated feud with legendary Boston Celtic coach Red Auerbach. His second ejection of Auerbach in a one-month period led to the coach's three-game suspension by NBA president Maurice Podoloff on the 13th of November 1961. The environment for officials was dangerous during this era. On the 24th of February 1964 in Los Angeles Drucker was mauled and kicked as he left the dressing room at halftime. He continued playing despite the injuries. A fan ran onto the court in Detroit on the 15th of November 1958 and took a punch at Norm Drucker after a two-point Piston loss. Security for NBA officials remained lax as late as 1964. A fan tangled with referees Norm Drucker and Richie Powers after San Francisco defeated St. Louis in a playoff game. In Syracuse during the 1950s fans would run up and down the sidelines screaming You SOB you stink. Drucker noted that when he and his officiating partner left the court after a Syracuse loss they wrapped their belts around their fists for protection.
In 1969 when the American Basketball Association raided the NBA for talent Drucker jumped leagues along with Joe Gushue Earl Strom and John Vanak. Their contracts were the first multi-year officiating contracts in pro basketball history. His total salary as a referee and Supervisor of Officials included a $25,000 signing bonus. This amount was more than double the average NBA player's salary in 1969 which stood at $35,000. It made him the highest paid referee in the history of basketball at that time. Within a year all other pro basketball officials benefited as their salaries more than doubled. Officiating professional basketball evolved from a part-time second job to a full-time career. The league promoted the quality of its officials which improved the ABA's credibility. As a by-product this enhanced the public's interest in and respect for referees. Drucker also served as a Supervisor of Recreation for New York City's school system where he established sports programs mainstreaming blind children with sighted friends.
Drucker holds the distinction of being the only referee ever to eject Wilt Chamberlain from an NBA game. He called three technical fouls on Chamberlain on the 3rd of January 1962. Fellow referee Earl Strom gave Chamberlain the first technical foul. Drucker came in with a second technical because Chamberlain said Strom must be betting on the game. Drucker added a third technical for Chamberlain's profane response to the second technical. Chamberlain otherwise played every minute of every game that season except for the eight minutes and 33 seconds after his ejection. This was the only time in 14 years that Chamberlain was disqualified from an NBA game whether by personal fouls or technical fouls. Chamberlain saved Strom from an angry crowd of St. Louis Hawks fans coming toward Strom by lifting the referee up and carrying him to the locker room. The New York Times reported these details about the historic ejection.
After retiring as a player in 1977 Drucker became the NBA's Supervisor of Officials. He supervised and taught other referees for 10 seasons including four as the ABA's Supervisor of the Officials from 1969 to 1973. As the NBA's Supervisor he publicly advocated the adoption of the ABA's three-point basket. The NBA adopted the three-point basket in 1979. He also pushed for the use of three referees per game which the league adopted for the 1978, 79 season. During his tenure he created the first formal pro basketball referee training program when the NBA contracted with the Continental Basketball Association. By 2000 nine of the 12 referees who officiated the NBA Finals were graduates of the CBA training program. He instituted the first professionally administered psychological profiling for NBA referees to evaluate personality traits common among great officials. Drucker observed that a middle- or lower-rung basketball player seems the type who becomes a good referee because they have the loner temperament needed.
Drucker retired to East Norriton Township Pennsylvania and died on the 6th of February 2015. He is buried in the Montefiore Cemetery in Jenkintown Pennsylvania. In 1986 he was inducted into the CCNY Athletic Hall of Fame. He received induction into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994 for his officiating career. That same year he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. His son Jim Drucker served as commissioner of two professional sports leagues including the Arena Football League from 1994 to 1996. The NBA honored him as an All-Star referee in the first three NBA Legends Games. He hit All-Star Coach Red Auerbach with a technical foul in the 1984 game eliciting laughter from players and renewed anger from Auerbach. Drucker's 24 consecutive seasons of officiating remained the longest string in pro basketball history during the era of only two referees per game. His total of 38 NBA and ABA championship round games officiated stood as the second highest in pro basketball history at the time of his retirement.
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Common questions
When and where was Norm Drucker born?
Norm Drucker entered the world on the 4th of July 1920 in New York City. He grew up in Brooklyn and attended Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush starting in 1937.
What were the salary details for Norm Drucker when he joined the ABA in 1969?
His total salary as a referee and Supervisor of Officials included a $25,000 signing bonus which made him the highest paid referee in basketball history at that time. This amount was more than double the average NBA player's salary in 1969 which stood at $35,000.
How did Norm Drucker eject Wilt Chamberlain from an NBA game?
He called three technical fouls on Chamberlain on the 3rd of January 1962 after Chamberlain claimed fellow referee Earl Strom must be betting on the game. This ejection marked the only time in 14 years that Chamberlain was disqualified from an NBA game whether by personal fouls or technical fouls.
Why was Norm Drucker involved in dangerous incidents during his refereeing career?
The environment for officials was dangerous during this era with security remaining lax as late as 1964. On the 24th of February 1964 in Los Angeles Drucker was mauled and kicked as he left the dressing room at halftime yet continued playing despite the injuries.
What major changes to officiating did Norm Drucker implement as NBA Supervisor of Officials?
Norm Drucker publicly advocated the adoption of the ABA's three-point basket which the league adopted in 1979. He also pushed for the use of three referees per game which the league adopted for the 1978, 79 season and created the first formal pro basketball referee training program when the NBA contracted with the Continental Basketball Association.