David H. Walsh

Enshrined 1961
Born: October 5, 1889
Hoboken, NJ
Died: June 2, 1975

In a basketball career that spanned nearly five decades David Walsh was a dedicated teacher, coach and official. Coaching Demarest High School from 1911 to 1933, Walsh's team won the 1924 New Jersey State Championship. He began officiating in 1911 and blew the whistle for high school, college, and pro teams. In 1914 he became a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL) and limited his officiating to college games alone. A popular referee, he ranked among the top referees along the Eastern seaboard by a national panel of sportswriters. Walsh, a member of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) from 1922 to 1956, supervised officials for the ECAC and co-authored the first Manual of Basketball Officiating.