Richie Powers

Infobox Person
name = Richie Powers


image_size = 250px
caption = Powers officiating the 1976 NBA Finals
birth_date = 1930-10-14
birth_place =
death_date = death date and age|1998|7|31|1930|10|14
death_place = Allentown, Pennsylvania
education =
occupation = NBA referee (1956–1979)
title =
spouse =
parents =
children =
nationality = USA
website =

Richard F. "Richie" Powers (October 14cite web|title=KNOWN DECEASED BASKETBALL INDIVIDUALS
url=http://www.apbr.org/deceased.html|last=Grasso|first=John|coauthors=Robert Bradley, Bill Hoover, and David Bender|publisher=The Association for Professional Basketball Research|accessdate=2007-08-19] , 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"cite web|title=Greatest Game Ever|url=http://www.nba.com/suns/history/greatestgame_azcentral.html|last=Young|first=Bob|publisher="The Arizona Republic"|date=2001-06-03|accessdate=2007-08-19] as well as three All-Star Games. Following his career in the NBA, Powers was a sportscaster for WABC-TV.

Early life and career

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.

NBA career

1976 NBA Finals

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, which if recognized, would have resulted in a technical foul and free throws awarded to Phoenix. However, Powers did not acknowledge Silas's request for the time-out as time expired in the overtime period. Mendy Rudolph and Rick Barry, color commentators for the CBS Sports telecast, were quick to note that Silas was signaling for a timeout at the end of the first overtime but Powers ignored the request.cite episode| title = Game 5| series = | airdate = 1976-06-04] Boston went on to win the game in the third overtime period.cite web|title=Triple-OT Classic Highlights Boston's 13th Title |url=http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19751976.html|publisher=National Basketball Association|accessdate=2007-08-19] According to the Suns organization, Powers later told a Phoenix golf professional that he didn't want to see the championship decided on a technicality. Angered over the incident, Al Bianchi, then-assistant coach of the Suns, ordered a ring in which the words "Fuck You, Richie Powers" were inscribed.

Powers was also attacked in the same game by an irate Celtics fan on the court after making the decision to put one second back on the game clock following a made bank shot by the Celtics' John Havlicek at the end of the second overtime that put Boston up by one point. The game clock expired as Havlicek made the field goal and fans at the Boston Garden stormed onto the court assuming the game was over. Rick Barry and play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger were quick to note on the telecast of the game that two seconds remained, but Powers made the decision that one second remained in the second overtime period after order was restored in the arena.

Firing

Powers was fired from the NBA in 1979 by then Supervisor of Officials, Norm Drucker, over two incidents that took place in 1978. In a February 1978 game between the New Jersey Nets and Atlanta Hawks, Powers told coaches Kevin Loughery and Hubie Brown that they could play zones defenses to avoid being badgered by the coaches. One sportswriter in the arena reported this to the league which resulted in Powers being suspended for three weeks and fined $2,500. In a November 8, 1978 game at the Spectrum, Powers hit both Kevin Loughery and then rookie Bernard King with their third technical fouls, over the "limit" of two prescribed by an unwritten rule although Powers claims he was not reminded that each person was hit with a previous technical foul by the two other officials working the game with him. This resulted in Powers being fined and suspended again.

Later life

After leaving the NBA, he became sportscaster on WABC-TV in New York, New York.cite news|title=Former NBA referee Richie Powers dead at 67|url=http://robots.cnnsi.com/basketball/nba/news/1998/08/05/news.powersobit.html|publisher=CNN Sports Illustrated|date=1998-08-05|accessdate=2007-08-19] Richie Powers was a long time member of Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York.Fact|date=August 2007 He later died of a stroke in 1998 in Allentown, Pennsylvania at the age of 67.

Further reading

cite book
last = Powers
first = Richie
coauthors = Mark Mulvoy
title = Overtime!: An uninhibited account of a referee's life in the NBA
publisher = McKay
year = 1975
doi =
isbn = 0679505458

References

* [http://www.referee.com/sampleArticles/2001/SampleArticle0101/longwaydown/longwaytext.html A Long Way Down] "Referee" Magazine, July 1991