Retired Villanova professor and Hall of Fame basketball referee Dr. Hank Nichols was remembered this week.
The former St. Davids resident who set the standards for officials nationwide died March 27 at age 89, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Dr. Nichols “not only improved the profession of officiating but improved the game of basketball,” said colleagues at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Dr. Nichols was also an English teacher, minor league baseball player, coach, mentor, and Marine veteran.
He came to Villanova University on a baseball scholarship in the 1950s and returned to Villanova in 1970 as a professor.
From 1970 to 1990, Dr. Nichols became a Hall of Fame referee on basketball courts around the world, including two Olympic Games, one European championship game, and a record six college men’s national championships.
In 1986, he became the NCAA’s first coordinator of men’s basketball officials and then rules editor.
He’s called fouls on star players such as Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and Bob Lanier.
He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012, and into Halls of Fame by Villanova, the Philadelphia Big 5, Greater Buffalo, Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Bishop Duffy High School.
Read more about the life of Dr. Hank Nichols in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
