Earl "Yogi" Strom was an American professional basketball referee for 29 years in the National Basketball Association and for three years in the American Basketball Association.
46 Facts About Earl Strom
2.
Earl Strom was born December 15,1927 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania to Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Max and Bessie Earl Strom.
3.
Earl Strom's father, Max, was a foreman at a bakery, and Earl Strom grew up in the kosher household as the youngest of seven children comprising five boys and two girls.
4.
At Pottstown High School, Earl Strom played football, baseball, and basketball.
5.
Earl Strom officiated high school games for nine years as well as college games in the East Coast Athletic Conference for three years.
6.
Outside of officiating, Earl Strom worked at General Electric in customer relations starting in 1956 and continued in this role through his first stint in the NBA.
7.
Earl Strom felt this "day job" provided security to his family since officiating in the NBA did not at the time.
8.
Earl Strom further developed his skills in the league by learning from other officials such as Mendy Rudolph, Norm Drucker, and Sid Borgia.
9.
Earl Strom ascended to the top of the officiating ladder by the end of his third season in the league as he was assigned playoff games, which was uncommon for lesser experienced referees at the time.
10.
Six years into his NBA career, Earl Strom had worked every playoff game in the semi-finals and finals along with Rudolph.
11.
Earl Strom was involved in one of the most memorable moments in NBA history during the 1965 Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
12.
Earl Strom had made a call that went against the St Louis Hawks and at halftime was called a "gutless bastard" by Hawks general manager Irv Gack at the scorer's table.
13.
Nevertheless, Earl Strom was designated crew chief in 1967 and 1968 when the league hired Dolph Schayes as supervisor of officials for the NBA.
14.
Earl Strom was put in charge of scouting crews, rating referees, and developing the skills of lesser experienced referees as well as working a schedule of games.
15.
Earl Strom had anticipated that the ABA product would be inferior to the NBA, but assumed that the increase in pay would compensate for the level of play.
16.
Earl Strom threw two punches before police officers took the fan away.
17.
Earl Strom was told a contract would be available to sign upon the completion of his twelve-game ABA playoff officiating schedule.
18.
Nucatola told Earl Strom to call back after the conclusion of the 1972 NBA Playoffs.
19.
Earl Strom filed a $275,000 suit against the NBA in December 1972 for breach of an oral contract when John Nucatola told Earl Strom that he could return to the league.
20.
Earl Strom returned to the NBA and was among a regular staff of twenty officials.
21.
Since Earl Strom had left the NBA in 1969, referees now made twice the salary and received pension, health, and insurance plans.
22.
Earl Strom ejected Chicago Bulls mascot, Benny the Bull, in the third game of the 1974 NBA Playoffs series between the Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.
23.
Earl Strom knew what he was trying to do, and when Layden asked why he didn't eject him, Earl Strom replied, "I know what you're trying to do, Frank, but if I've got to stay out here and watch this [BLEEP], so do you".
24.
Earl Strom congratulated Jabbar and gave him the game ball in the locker room.
25.
Earl Strom honored his contract since he felt that it was valid through the season and a strike would be a violation of the contract.
26.
Earl Strom officiated a game in Seattle and inadvertently pushed a woman who approached him at the scorer's table at the conclusion of the game.
27.
Earl Strom went to the referees union to appeal the fine based on the notion that he was trying to defend himself.
28.
The union did not follow through with the appeal, but the fine was rescinded a year later by new commissioner Larry O'Brien and Earl Strom was reimbursed his fine payment.
29.
The game was close at the end and Earl Strom made a last-second call against the Nets, ending the game with a win for Sixers.
30.
Earl Strom's uniform was ripped and he was wearing a big welt over his eye, running to get away from Strom.
31.
Earl Strom was suspended from working any further games in the 1976 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns after Game 2 because the Suns had complained about the foul disparity of the first two games in the series.
32.
Earl Strom wrote a weekly column for newspapers near Pottstown which provided a perspective of the life of an NBA referee.
33.
Earl Strom eventually was fined and worked a couple more playoff games that year.
34.
Earl Strom was concerned about making the correct call after being told by Pacers coach Jack Ramsay and referee Tommy Nunez that Mitchell's shot attempt came after the period expired.
35.
Earl Strom was considered the league's top official in the NBA, receiving 83 out of a possible 193 votes.
36.
Earl Strom was chosen as the best official in the NBA and the top official overall among Bruce Froemming, Jim Tunney, and Andy Van Hellemond.
37.
Earl Strom participated in charitable events, such as being involved in a celebrity golf tournament hosted by Penn State University, and coaching at a basketball tournament run by Celtics great Larry Bird in Indianapolis, Indiana.
38.
Not long before his death, Earl Strom wrote a column for the Reading Eagle and Chicago Sun-Times.
39.
Earl Strom began surgery on the tumor in January 1994, which was successful, but he could not overcome the effects of the cancer and died on July 10,1994.
40.
Earl Strom is a throwback, a reminder of the days when the refs had colorful personalities, the days when war-horses like Mendy Rudolph, Norm Drucker, and a younger Earl Strom were called the father, the son, and the holy ghost.
41.
Earl Strom retired having officiated 2,067 NBA games over 29 years.
42.
Earl Strom was selected to officiate five of the nine NBA Finals that went seven games in 1966,1969,1978,1984, and 1988, and is considered the last of an era for the "charismatic referee" type to officiate in the NBA.
43.
Earl Strom had the highest percentage of road team victories among NBA referees at 42.9 percent.
44.
When Earl Strom started his career in the NBA, he felt the most important aspect was to get the play right.
45.
Earl Strom believed that referee's job was to ensure the game is played correctly, which will allow players to play their particular style.
46.
Earl Strom felt that well-conditioned officials who are able to stay on top of the play would be able to make calls that a third official would be responsible for.