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Earl " Yogi" Strom (December 15, 1927 – July 10, 1994) was an American professional basketball referee for 29 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and for three years in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Strom is credited as one of the great referees in the history of the NBA and was known for his flamboyant style and ability to control the game. Nicknamed "The Pied Piper", the assertive Strom made foul calls with his whistle by using a "tweet-pause-tweet-tweet" tune and pointing at the offending player. In addition to calling fouls with flair, he was known for ejecting players from games with style and he sometimes supported his rulings with physical force.
Over the course of his career, he officiated 2,400 professional basketball regular season games, 295 NBA playoffs games, 7 All-Star games, and 29 NBA and ABA Finals. For his extensive contributions to the game, Strom was posthumously elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
After finishing high school in 1945, he joined the United States Coast Guard towards the end of World War II.Strom et al., 89 Returning from service, Strom attended Peirce College (now Pierce College) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1951. Following school, the young Strom continued participating in sports and played for a local semi-professional basketball team in his early 20s. During a basketball game, he had an argument with a referee and the referee said "Look, you're not much of a player, and you've got a pretty good mouth on you, so why don't you think about taking up refereeing?" Following the advice of the referee, Strom decided to get into officiating. He officiated high school games for nine years as well as college games in the East Coast Athletic Conference for three years.Strom et al., 95
In 1952, he married Yvonne Trollinger, and the couple went on to have five children. Outside of officiating, Strom worked at General Electric in customer relations starting in 1956 and continued in this role through his first stint in the NBA.Strom et al., 43 He felt this "day job" provided security to his family since officiating in the NBA did not at the time.
In 1959, Strom refereed the first NBA game Wilt Chamberlain played against Bill Russell, and he called the last game they played against each other ten years later. Early in longtime referee Joey Crawford's career he was paired with Strom in a game where Crawford ejected a coach two minutes into the game. Strom berated Crawford during halftime, with "every name in the book", and told Crawford, "'I like that you have guts, but you've got to have smart guts like me.'"
Six years into his NBA career, Strom had worked every playoff game in the semi-finals and finals along with Rudolph.Strom et al., 127 In fact, the former was assigned to any seventh and deciding game in a series during this time. He was also involved in one of the most memorable moments in NBA history during the 1965 Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. In the seventh and final game, the 76ers trailed the Celtics 110–109 with five seconds left. The 76ers had possession of the ball and attempted to inbound the pass as the Celtics' John Havlicek tipped the pass thrown by Hal Greer and preserved the Celtics victory. Celtics' radio announcer Johnny Most made his most fabled call: "Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!"Strom et al., 82–83 And all this while, Strom had officiated the game in a Orthopedic cast as he had broken his hand while punching a fan during an altercation at a game the previous night.Strom et al., 81–82
Lured by Borgia, who jumped from the NBA to the ABA to become supervisor of officials, Strom and three other officials—John Vanak, Norm Drucker, and Joe Gushue—met with acting ABA Commissioner Jim Gardner during the summer of 1969. The ABA accepted Strom's demands of a $25,000 per year salary, a $25,000 signing bonus, and a health insurance and pension plan. As the four officials left for the ABA in 1969, it brought reform to NBA referees in terms of compensation and benefits. Regular officials in the NBA were offered contracts and salaries increased significantly.Strom et al., 140–141 Additionally, medical and pension plans were provided for the officials.
Not long after, he was fined by the league again. Following an exhibition game that Strom officiated between the Virginia Squires and Kentucky Colonels, he told a Philadelphia reporter that he had just seen the greatest player alive, referring to Julius Erving.Strom et al., 148 While Erving was a very influential player in his era, the president of the Colonels, Mike Storen, complained that Strom was promoting players. The league fined Strom $50, but he sent $100 to Commissioner Jack Dolph saying, "The first fifty dollars is for the fine and the second fifty dollars is because I'm tellin' ya' he is the greatest."
Strom met with Nucatola and discussed salary and benefits.Strom et al., 160 Strom was told by Nucatola that he would be getting a $25,000 salary and was guaranteed a job in the NBA for the start of the 1972–73 NBA season through a handshake agreement although no contract was signed. Strom was told a contract would be available to sign upon the completion of his twelve-game ABA playoff officiating schedule. Strom called the league to ask why he was not scheduled to officiate after his guaranteed schedule of games and was told by Norm Drucker, then supervisor of officials for the ABA, "You know the reason. They know you're going back to and they told me not to assign you any more playoff games."Strom et al., 161
Strom filed a $275,000 suit against the NBA in December 1972Strom et al., 163 for breach of an oral contract when John Nucatola told Strom that he could return to the league. The league filed preliminary objections to have the suit dismissed, but were overruled by the court. The NBA then moved for summary judgment which was denied. Concerned that there could be legitimate action taken, the NBA decided to give Strom his job back if he dropped the suit.Strom et al., p.166 Strom agreed to the terms and signed a contract before the start of the 1973–74 NBA season.
Strom ejected Chicago Bulls mascot, Benny the Bull, in the third game of the 1974 NBA Playoffs series between the Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.Strom et al., 174 Strom had ejected head coach Dick Motta after receiving a second technical foul for storming onto the court to argue with referee Don Murphy. As Motta left the court, Benny charged onto the court after Murphy and made obscene gestures to both officials, prompting the ejection. It is believed to be the first time a mascot was thrown out of an NBA game in history.
During a game in 1982, Frank Layden, then head coach of the Utah Jazz, had seen enough of his team's poor performance and wanted an early exit. Layden verbally abused Strom so he could get ejected from the game. Strom knew what he was trying to do, and when Layden asked why he didn't eject him, Strom replied, "I know what you're trying to do, Frank, but if I've got to stay out here and watch this shit, so do you." After Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach confronted Strom in the hallway near the locker rooms and told Strom, "That was the worst officiated game I ever saw!", referring to the fact that the Lakers shot 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to the Celtics' 1. Strom stared back at Auerbach and said, "Arnold, you're showing all the class I knew you always had."
The Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls played a game in the late-1980s that Strom officiated. Chicago's Michael Jordan attempted a slam dunk on a fast break and was undercut by an Atlanta player.Strom et al., 203 Strom called a flagrant foul and a player on the Atlanta bench yelled at Strom, "Ah, you're just protecting the superstars" to which Strom replied, "Damn right I am, you eliminate these guys from the game and we're all out of work." Strom officiated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final game during the 1989 NBA Finals. Strom congratulated Jabbar and gave him the game ball in the locker room.Strom et al., 187
After fifteen days and two rounds of the playoffs, the referees union, the National Association of Basketball Referees, was recognized as a bargaining agent for officials and playoff salaries increased from $150 a game to $750, $850, and $950 for the final three rounds of the playoffs.Strom et al., 184 During the strike, Strom was officiating a playoff game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets in Denver, Colorado, and was notified at the conclusion of the game of a death threat against him phoned in to McNichols Arena at halftime.Strom et al., 182
Strom was officiating an NBA game during the mid-1970s between the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets with Dick Bavetta as his partner for that game. The game was close at the end and Earl made a last-second call against the Nets, ending the game with a win for Sixers. Suddenly Dick Bavetta ran across floor to the scorer's table, saying, "No! No! I got a push off against George McGinnis!" Strom then challenged Bavetta, "Are you overruling my call? I got pushing off right here!" Bavetta insisted, which reversed Strom's call and the Nets wound up with the victory. With the game over, players were walking to their respective locker rooms when the door to the referees' locker room flew open and Dick Bavetta came staggering out. His uniform was ripped and he was wearing a big welt over his eye, running to get away from Strom. Strom stepped out into the hallway and hollered after Bavetta, "You'll take another one of my fucking calls again, right, you motherfucker?" Strom was later fined for the incident.
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. In the first two games, the Celtics attempted 58 free throws while the Suns had 44.
Strom wrote a weekly column for newspapers near Pottstown which provided a perspective of the life of an NBA referee.Strom et al., 206 In the spring of 1979, Strom criticized Chicago Bulls team management, in particular president Jonathan Kovler, over the firing of head coach Larry CostelloStrom et al., 207–208 after 56 games. While this incident was occurring, shortly after, Strom was involved in a shoving match with a fan and security officer following a game played in Phoenix, Arizona.Strom et al., 208 These incidents led to Strom being suspended the remainder of the 1979 NBA Playoffs and was required to apologize to Kovler.Strom et al., 209 In order to keep his job, Strom assured the league that there would be no animosity directed towards the Bulls and decided to discontinue writing his weekly column.
During the early 1980s, The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with Strom to get a perspective on the life of an NBA referee for an article.Strom et al., 210–211 The sports reporter met Strom in a hotel lobby and was later joined by Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach, John Killilea. The three of them discussed referees and life in the NBA. When the article was published, the reporter wrote that he and Strom were joined by an assistant coach, whom Strom had bought a drink, and the tendencies for Strom to go into pressboxes to drink a cup of coffee and to talk with spectators that he knew in the stands. While the league had approved the article, Strom was fined $2,000 and suspended a portion of the playoffs.
During the mid-1980s, Strom had a couple incidents with team personnel being in the referees' locker room, which was against league rules. In 1985, Dallas Mavericks owner Don Carter entered the locker room and accused Strom of having a vendetta against Dick Motta, coach of the Mavericks.Strom et al., 214–215 The next year during the 1986 NBA Playoffs game between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics at Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, Hawks coach Mike Fratello was attacked by a fan. Fratello walked into the officials locker room and reported the incident to Strom. Strom eventually was fined and worked a couple more playoff games that year.
Nearly halfway through the 1987–88 NBA season, Strom was fined $150 for reversing a field goal that San Antonio Spurs' Mike Mitchell made at the end of the half against the Indiana Pacers.Strom et al., 219–220 Strom was concerned about making the correct call after being told by Pacers coach Jack Ramsay and referee Tommy Nuñez that Mitchell's shot attempt came after the period expired.
Strom's final game was Game 4 of the 1990 NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers played June 12, 1990, in a game that saw Strom correctly wave off Trail Blazers Danny Young's half-court heave that would have sent the game into OT, had it come before the buzzer.
During his career in the NBA, Strom was given the nickname of the "Road Ref" by Harvey Pollack, a statistician for the Philadelphia 76ers.Strom et al., 56–57 Throughout the year, Pollack noted how many times the home or visiting team was victorious and who were the officials working the game. Strom had the highest percentage of road team victories among NBA referees at 42.9 percent. This was the result of Strom refusing to favor the home team and letting the fans sway his decisions.
When Strom started his career in the NBA, he felt the most important aspect was to get the play right.Strom et al., 220 Instead of selling a bad call, he felt that officials should admit their mistake, and get the call right. To get plays called correctly, he brought up the idea of limited use of instant replay for shots made at the end of a period ("") and three-point attempts.Strom et al., 240 The NBA eventually adopted the use of instant replay for end of the period field goal attempts and fouls at the start of the 2002–03 NBA season. Strom believed that referee's job was to ensure the game is played correctly, which will allow players to play their particular style.Strom et al., 202–203
As the NBA began to evolve, Strom opposed the addition of the third official in NBA game for one season, the 1978–79 NBA season, and later in its present form since the 1988–89 NBA season.Strom et al., 198–199 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.Strom et al., 199
Pottstown High School created the "Earl Strom Financial Aid Scholarship", which is awarded to a member of the senior class who has been accepted by an accredited college. The Earl "Yogi" Strom Sportsmanship Award was created in 1995, and is presented by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association's Pottstown Chapter to an area school displaying outstanding courtesy and sportsmanship.
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