David "Dave" Tobey enshrined as a referee in 1961

David "Dave" Tobey

Enshrined 1961
Born: May 1, 1898
New York, NY
Died: July 25, 1988

Dave Tobey refereed every important pro game in New York City between 1918 and 1925. In 1926, Tobey officiated Syracuse University vs. West Point, a game that featured the great Vic Hanson opposing All-America John Roosma, two future Hall of Famers. Many coaches witnessed this important and well-publicized game and Tobey became much in demand. From 1926 to 1945, he officiated the first game to experiment with a three-man crew (Georgetown vs. Columbia), the initial East-West game, three Army-Navy tilts and countless Madison Square Garden events. In 1945, Tobey announced his retirement to devote all of his time to teaching and coaching. After leaving officiating, Tobey was selected as one of the top officials of all time by a nationally recognized panel of sportswriters. Tobey wrote articles for Scholastic Coach and authored Basketball Officiating one of the first books on his profession.