Richard F. "Richie" Powers (October 14, 1930 – July 31, 1998) was a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1979. He worked 25 NBA Finals games, including the triple-overtime Game 5 contest in the 1976 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics, considered "The Greatest Game Ever Played" as well as three All-Star Games. Following his career in the NBA, Powers was a sportscaster for...
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Richard F. "Richie" Powers (October 14, 1930 – July 31, 1998) was a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1979. He worked 25 NBA Finals games, including the triple-overtime Game 5 contest in the 1976 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics, considered "The Greatest Game Ever Played" as well as three All-Star Games. Following his career in the NBA, Powers was a sportscaster for WABC-TV.
Powers attended St. John's University and played baseball under Frank McGuire. Before joining the NBA, Powers worked as a minor league baseball umpire, reaching the Eastern League.
Powers officiated the triple-overtime Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals, which was notable for controversial moments involving Powers during the overtime periods. With the score tied 101–101 in the first overtime, Boston's Paul Silas stole the ball with three seconds remaining and attempted to call a time-out towards Powers. Boston had no timeouts remaining,...
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