David H. Walsh (October 5, 1889 – June 2, 1975) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

. He was born in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

. As an adult, he weighed and was tall. He graduated from Hoboken High School in 1907, Montclair Teachers College (now

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

) in 1911, and the Sargent School of Physical Education in 1914. He began officiating in 1911, starting at high schools and working his way up until he was ranked one of the top six referees in the Eastern seaboard. He also co-authored the first Manual of Basketball Officiating. He was inducted into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 1961 as a referee.

External links

Basketball Hall of Fame page on Walsh
1889 births 1975 deaths Hoboken High School alumni Sportspeople from Hoboken, New Jersey Basketball referees Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Sargent College) alumni {{Sports-official-bio-stub