Jump to content

Dick Bavetta

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dick Bavetta
Bavetta in March 2013
Born
Richard William Bavetta

(1939-12-10)December 10, 1939(age 84)
New York City, U.S.
EducationSt. Francis College
SpousePaulette[1]
ChildrenChristine & Michele[1][2]
Basketball career
Personal information
Listed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[3]
Listed weight156 lb (71 kg)[3]
PositionNBAreferee
Officiating career1975–2014
Basketball Hall of Fame

Richard W. Bavetta(born December 10, 1939)[1][4]is an American retiredprofessional basketballrefereefor theNational Basketball Association(NBA). He debuted in the league in1975and never missed an assigned game, and he holds the league record for most officiated games with 2,635.[5]

His game on April 12, 2013, in Washington was his 2,600th consecutive game as an NBA official.

Early life

[edit]

Bavetta was born in thePark Slopeneighborhood ofBrooklyn,New York on December 10, 1939. His father was an officer for theNew York Police Department,and his mother was a homemaker.[1]Bavetta attendedPower Memorial Academyin New York City (the same school future NBA starKareem Abdul-Jabbarattended) and is a 1962 graduate ofSt. Francis Collegein New York[6]and played on the schools' basketball teams.[3]He began officiating after his brother, Joe, who officiated for the American Basketball Association, convinced him that it would be an interesting career.[3]AWall StreetbrokerforSalomon Brotherswith anMBAin finance from theNew York Institute of Finance,Bavetta began officiating games between fellow brokers in the Wall Street League, played at New York'sDowntown Athletic Club,and later worked high school games.[3]For ten years, he officiated Public and Catholic High School leagues in New York and later nine years in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, which later became theContinental Basketball Association.[6]

NBA officiating career

[edit]

In the mid-1960s, he began to attend regional referee tryouts in the hopes of becoming an NBA referee; however, he was rejected for eight straight years due to his small physique and unimposing size.[1]Bavetta was finally hired by the NBA in 1975 following the retirement ofMendy Rudolph.[7]He debuted December 2, 1975 atMadison Square Gardenin an NBA game between theNew York Knicksand theBoston Celtics.His first ten years in the league were tough as he was constantly ranked bottom among NBA referees in performance evaluations and led the league in technical fouls and ejections called.[1]

To improve his officiating, Bavetta refereed games for the New Jersey pro league andRucker LeagueinHarlemduring the off-seasons and studied NBA rulebooks. In 1983, he became the first referee to undergo rigorous physical training. He ran six to eight miles and took three-hour naps every day. His effort paid off when he emerged as one of the best referees.[1]In the 1980s, he was named chief referee, who has the power to approve or overrule calls made by other officials. He was assigned to officiate his first playoff game in 1986.[1]

Bavetta's most memorable game occurred during a 1980s nationally televised contest between thePhiladelphia 76ersand Boston Celtics when he was forced to officiate an NBA game by himself after his partner,Jack Madden,broke his leg in a collision with CelticsguardDennis Johnson.[5][8]At one point in the game, CelticsforwardLarry Birdand 76ersForward (basketball)|Julius Ervingbegan to strangle each other and were ejected by Bavetta. Bavetta believed that this game assisted in the progression of his career in the NBA.[8]

From 1990 to 2000, Bavetta regularly refereed playoff games and was ranked at the top among referees in terms of performance evaluation. In 2000, he was one of the highest-paid referees in the NBA, earning over $200,000 a year.[1]Among those playoff games includedGame 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals,in which Bavetta ruled that a three-point basket made byHoward Eisleyof theUtah Jazzwas released after theshot clockbuzzer sounded and thus would not count. However, television replays onNBCshowed otherwise.[9]Bavetta's career was threatened when he was accidentally hit in the nose by Pacers forwardJalen Rose,who was trying to punch Knicks centerPatrick Ewingduring a 1999 game between theIndiana Pacersand the New York Knicks. Bavetta did not leave the game immediately, opting to wait until later in the day to have surgery. He returned the next day to officiate anAtlanta Hawks-New Jersey Netsgame.[1]

On February 8, 2006, Bavetta officiated his 2,135th NBA game, setting a league record for most games officiated that was previously held byJake O'Donnell.[7]Bavetta said the secret to his longevity was "wearing five pairs of socks", which he claims helped keep his feet in good shape.[7]Contributing to his good health, Bavetta says he runs five to eight miles every day.[7]For his longevity in the league, he has received the nickname "theCal Ripken Jr.of referees ".[1]

During the2006–07 season,Bavetta officiated a December 16, 2006 game between the New York Knicks andDenver Nuggets.The game involved abrawlwhere all ten players on the court were ejected by Bavetta and his officiating crew.[10]The league eventually suspended seven players for a total of 47 games and fined both teams $500,000.[11]

After 39 years of officiating in the NBA, Bavetta officially retired on August 19, 2014, having officiated 2,635 consecutive regular season games.

Charitable works

[edit]

Bavetta is also actively involved in charitable works. He has established and financed the Lady Bavetta Scholarships since 1986 in honor of his daughters, awarded to high school minority children based on their needs.[3][12]He has volunteered since 1992 with Double H Hole in the Woods Ranch working with children and teens with a multitude of medical special needs. He also works with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and serves as the Upstate New York Regional Director for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.[6]

During the2007 NBA All-Star Weekend,Bavetta racedTurner Network Television(TNT) studio analyst and former NBA playerCharles Barkleyfor a $75,000 charitable donation ($50,000 contributed by the NBA and $25,000 by TNT) to theLas VegasBoys & Girls Clubs of America,[13]but lost by a narrow margin.[14]The distance of the race was three and one half full lengths of the court[14](or 329 feet). Bavetta lost the race despite a last-second dive and Barkley running the last portion of the race backwards.[14]The dive resulted in an abrasion injury to Bavetta's right knee.[4]

Controversies

[edit]

Altercations with Earl Strom

[edit]

According toDarryl Dawkins' autobiography, Bavetta was officiating an NBA game during the mid-1970s between thePhiladelphia 76ersandNew Jersey NetswithEarl Stromas his partner for that game.[15]Bavetta overruled Strom on a crucial last-secondpersonal foulcall against the Nets, which would have been a victory for the 76ers.[15]When the game ended and players were walking to their respective locker rooms, the door to the referees' locker room flew open and Bavetta came staggering out.[15]His uniform was allegedly ripped and he was wearing a big welt over his eye, running to get away from Strom.[15]Strom stepped out into the hallway and hollered after Bavetta, "You'll take another one of my fucking calls again, right, you motherfucker?"[15]Strom was fined for the incident.[16]

Bavetta had another altercation with Strom when Strom tried to choke Bavetta before an NBA game in 1989. Strom reportedly apologized within two weeks of the incident.[1][17]

Allegations of game fixing

[edit]

Bavetta was one of three referees for the Game 6 of the2002 Western Conference Finalsbetween theKingsand theLakers.Former refereeTim Donaghyhas alleged that at least one of the referees working this game had subjective motives for wanting the Lakers to defeat the Kings, and made officiating calls to effectuate this outcome.[18][19]NBA rules prohibited active referees from commenting on the situation publicly.The New York Timesreported on June 12, 2008, that theFederal Bureau of Investigationinvestigated allegations that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals had been manipulated to further the series to a seventh game.[20]

In a 2002 article,Bill Simmonsnamed the worst officiated games of the prior four years, alleging that the games involved either extending a series so it did not end quickly or advancing a large market team for the NBA's benefit. All seven games named had been officiated by Bavetta.[21]

Other achievements

[edit]
  • Inducted into the New York City Catholic High School Hall of Fame on June 1, 2000.[6]
  • Received the National Pro-Am Lifetime Achievement Award on October 14, 2002.[6]
  • Inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famein 2015.
  • Was the recipient of the 2016 Jerry Colangelo Award at the Athletes in Action All Star Breakfast, which is held each year during the NBA All Star Weekend.

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghijklCullen, Christopher (March 2008)."Dick Bavetta"(PDF).Current Biography.Vol. 69, no. 3. pp. 3–8. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2008-06-25.
  2. ^"Person of the Week: Dick Bavetta".ABC News.February 10, 2006.RetrievedJuly 28,2007.
  3. ^abcdefDuPree, David (February 19, 2004)."Bavetta proves he's officially capable".USA Today.RetrievedJuly 28,2007.
  4. ^abMisener, Darren (July 19, 2007)."Bavetta vs. Barkley: Sir Charles Reigns".NBA.com.Archived fromthe originalon March 8, 2007.RetrievedJuly 28,2007.
  5. ^ab"Dick Bavetta: A Consecutive Legend".National Basketball Referees Association. February 7, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon January 12, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 12,2014.
  6. ^abcde"Dick Bavetta #27".National Basketball Referees Association.RetrievedJuly 28,2007.
  7. ^abcdSheridan, Chris(February 9, 2006)."At 66, Bavetta to break record for most games refereed".ESPN.com.RetrievedJuly 28,2007.
  8. ^abNance, Roscoe (February 7, 2006)."Whistle-blower Bavetta shows no signs of slowing".USA Today.RetrievedJuly 29,2007.
  9. ^Buckley, Tim (June 19, 2008)."Utah Jazz: Sloan long ago moved on from 1998".Deseret News.pp.2.RetrievedJuly 29,2011.
  10. ^"Nuggets, Knicks in wild free-for-all; 10 players tossed".Associated Press.December 16, 2006.RetrievedJuly 28,2007.
  11. ^"Suspensions total 47 games from Knicks-Nuggets fight".ESPN.com.December 20, 2006.RetrievedJuly 28,2007.
  12. ^"NBA 2008–09 Officials Media Guide"(PDF).NBA.com.RetrievedMay 24,2009.
  13. ^Butler, Sarah Lorge."I'm a Runner: Dick Bavetta".Runner's World.Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2007.RetrievedJuly 29,2007.
  14. ^abcDixon, Oscar (February 19, 2007)."Barkley's race with 67-year-old ref steals show on All-Star Saturday".USA Today.RetrievedJuly 29,2007.
  15. ^abcde"The big dunk".ESPN.com.RetrievedJune 10,2007.
  16. ^Blinebury, Fran (December 13, 1995)."Did NBA give Jake a fair shake?".CBS SportsLine.com.Archived fromthe originalon January 4, 2008.RetrievedJune 10,2007.
  17. ^Heisler, Mark (8 December 1995)."Business as Usual for NBA Referees: Pro basketball: After power struggles, fights and lockouts, they go back to work Tuesday with exception of top official Jake O'Donnell, who retires".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved22 August2019.
  18. ^"2002 Lakers-Kings Game 6 at heart of Donaghy allegations".ESPN. June 11, 2008.RetrievedApril 21,2009.
  19. ^"Delaney: NBA, feds have not contacted me about claim".ESPN. June 12, 2008.RetrievedMay 22,2009.
  20. ^Beck, Howard (June 12, 2008)."The Gravity of Donaghy's Accusations Is Unclear".The New York Times.RetrievedMay 22,2009.
  21. ^Simmons, Bill (June 2002)."Only stupid question is one not asked".ESPN.com.RetrievedMay 3,2012.
[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dick_Bavetta&oldid=1232387925"