With the festivities surrounding the NBA’s all-star weekend in Orlando, Fla., just dying down, let’s take a look back at one of the more memorable all-star moments of the past few years.
During halftime of the 2007 All-Star Game, legendary NBA referee Dick Bavetta – 67 years old at the time – challenged former NBA superstar and TNT analyst Charles Barkley to a footrace. The race consisted of 3.5 lengths of the regulation-size basketball court, and the winner would receive $75,000 for his charity foundation.
Though Bavetta stood at just six-feet, 156 pounds against Barkley’s six-six, 252-pound frame, Bavetta kept himself in great shape by running up and down the court every night to officiate games.
The referee got out to an early lead in the race, but Barkley closed the gap and took the lead heading into the final half-leg.
Bavetta dove toward the finish, but Barkley won by a nose. The two embraced as the crowd cheered – especially acknowledging the efforts of the referee.
Though this was one of the more lighthearted moments of Bavetta’s career, it was one of the few times he was put in the spotlight. That’s because the job of a referee is to not play a substantial role in the outcome of a game.
Even now, at age 72, Bavetta is regarded as one of the NBA’s top officials. He’s been in the league for 37 years and hasn’t missed an assigned start since joining the professional ranks in 1975.
On Feb. 9, 2006, Bavetta set the record for most games officiated by an NBA referee at 2,135. That total has increased every year since, and he has now officiated over 2,500 consecutive games.
But before he reached the NBA’s officiating ranks, Bavetta was and will always be a Brooklyn boy. He grew up playing basketball in Park Slope, and his talents led him to the Power Memorial Academy, Manhattan – the same school that all-time NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at the time Lew Alcindor) attended, though several years after Bavetta.
From there, Bavetta played ball at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, before graduating in 1962. Though basketball was his true passion, he went on to earn a master’s of business administration in finance from the New York Institute of Finance.
He worked on Wall Street for Salomon Brothers, but he took the advice of his brother Joe, a referee in the American Basketball Association, who told Dick to pursue the exciting career of being a professional ref.
Bavetta’s historic career had modest beginnings. He started officiating games between fellow brokers at the Downtown Athletic Club in Manhattan. From there, he spent a decade calling games in New York’s public and Catholic school system.
In the mid-1960s, he attended his first NBA referee tryout. However, he was rejected based on his small stature. He must not have been too discouraged, because he returned to the tryouts every year for the next eight years. During that time, he officiated games in the Eastern Professional Basketball League.
Bavetta finally received the good news prior to the 1975 season that he had been hired by the NBA. His debut, ironically, came on Dec. 2, 1975 at Madison Square Garden – just a 10-minute drive from where he went to high school.
Not Always Revered
Early on in his career, Bavetta was not revered like he is today. He led the league in technical fouls called and ejections, and he was ranked near the bottom of the league in referee evaluations.
However, he was not content with his performance and took it upon himself to become a better referee. He increased his frequency of officiating games by working in the off-season for the New Jersey Pro League and the Harlem Rucker League. He also studied the NBA rulebook intently.
But his improvement was really turned around by his physical conditioning. He began running six to eight miles per day and taking three-hour power naps so that he not only built up his endurance for late game situations, but he also would be refreshed when a game started.
From then on, his career took off. His most memorable game was when he was forced to officiate on his own after his partner Jack Madden suffered a broken leg. A heated rivalry between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics escalated when two of the league’s top players, Larry Bird and Julius “Dr. J” Erving, began strangling each other on the floor. Bavetta tossed them both out of the game and restored order to both sides.
In 1986, he established the Lady Bavetta Scholarships named after his two daughters, Christine and Michelle. He funds these scholarships out of his own pocket to provide parochial high school scholarships for minority children. He was inducted into the New York CHSAA Hall of Fame in 2000.
When the time comes, it may take a valiant effort to tear the referee shirt off Bavetta’s back. But for now, you can still witness the Brooklynite racing up and down the NBA court to make the precise call.
Play Ball!
Calling all baseball and softball players whose parishes do not have CYO teams!
If you are interested in playing CYO baseball / softball for this coming spring season, contact the CYO office at 1-718-281-9548.
CYO personnel will assist in placing you in parishes that have existing CYO teams. [hr]
CHSAA Playoffs
As the New York and Brooklyn-Queens boys basketball teams battle it out in playoffs, they will head into the quarter-finals of the City Championship Playoffs which will be played on Sunday, March 4, at Fordham University. Finals are set for Sunday, March 11, also at Fordham.[hr]
Holy Cross Wins Diocesan Title
The Holy Cross H.S., Flushing, Knights defeated the Bishop Loughlin M.H.S., Clinton Hill, Lions, 60-57, to win the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens diocesan championship at St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows.
This was Holy Cross’ first diocesan title since 2007. Senior guard Marquise Moore led the Knights (22-4) with 25 pts. Senior forward Mairega Clarke chipped in with 10 pts. and seven blocks.
Senior guard Anthony Libroia finished one assist and one rebound shy of a double-double – recording nine of each in the game.
Loughlin’s Elisha Boone scored a team-high 18 points for the Lions (13-13).
With the win, Holy Cross earned a berth as the top-seeded team from Brooklyn/Queens for the intersectional playoff quarterfinals, March 4, at Fordham University, the Bronx. Loughlin will also head to intersectionals but as the No. 2 seed.