Norm Drucker

Norm Drucker (born July 4, 1920 in New York City) was a major influence in professional basketball officiating for over thirty-five years. He refereed in the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1969. In 1969, when the upstart American Basketball Association was raiding the NBA for talent, he, along with three other top NBA "lead" referees—Joe Gushue, Earl Strom and John Vanak—jumped to the ABA with multi-year contracts. As a result, prof... more

Norm Drucker (born July 4, 1920 in New York City) was a major influence in professional basketball officiating for over thirty-five years. He refereed in the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1969. In 1969, when the upstart American Basketball Association was raiding the NBA for talent, he, along with three other top NBA "lead" referees—Joe Gushue, Earl Strom and John Vanak—jumped to the ABA with multi-year contracts. As a result, professional officiating salaries dramatically increased. In the ABA, Drucker officiated and also served as the league's Supervisor of Officials. With the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, Drucker returned to the NBA. He retired as an official in 1977 after having officiated in over 25 NBA and ABA championship-round games and in 3 NBA and 2 ABA all-star games. In his 24-year career, Drucker was well-known for his even-handed officiating for visiting teams in an era when many NBA officials were criticized as "homers" - favoring the home team. On the court,... less