Geibel grad Bainbridge excelled as basketball official
Submitted photo
Geibel graduate Tom Bainbridge officials a college basketball game at California University of Pa.
Submitted photo
Geibel graduate Tom Bainbridge was a basketball official for 25 years.
Former Father Geibel Memorial High School basketball player Tom Bainbridge did something that few people could do. He stepped away from basketball officiating just as he was about to really reach some of his lofty goals.
Bainbridge played hoops at Geibel on a couple of very good teams. In 1965-66 he was on a team that posted a record of 18-5 and 8-0 in the Parochial League. That team suffered a 76-61 loss to St. George in the PCIAA playoffs.
无毛视频淚 was on the varsity my junior and senior year,无毛视频� Bainbridge recalled. 无毛视频淚 played JV ball before that. My senior year, that was a very good team. We had Joe Herchko and Bob Bailor who was a sophomore when I was a senior.无毛视频�
His junior season in 1966-67 Bainbridge came off the bench scoring a total of 64 points as the Gators went 6-0 in the Parochial League and 22-4 overall. They were defeated by Scranton Catholic in the PCIAA championship game 79-70.
无毛视频淭ough loss in the championship game, real tough loss,无毛视频� Bainbridge said.
Bainbridge has great memories of the late Ken Misiak who was the longtime head coach at Geibel.
无毛视频淚 had a great relationship with coach Misiak,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淗e was a great coach and he really got involved with the players, not only from a basketball standpoint, but also the human side. He wanted to make sure we kept up with our studies. I was involved with student council as president and I dealt with him a lot on different issues He was a real good man.无毛视频�
When Bainbridge graduated from Geibel in 1967 he decided to apply at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
无毛视频淚 went to Geibel and Saint Vincent was the Catholic college in the area,无毛视频� Bainbridge explained. 无毛视频淚 applied there. In the summer I was playing at Cameron Court for the summer league. Former Connellsville coach Hal Weightman asked me if I was going to college and I said I applied to Saint Vincent and hoped to walk on for basketball. He said he would call Saint Vincent coach Dodo Canterna about me and he did and that smoothed the way for me to go there.无毛视频�
Bainbridge played on the Bearcats JV squad in 1967-68 which finished 10-10. On a JV squad that was 8-12 in 1968-69 Bainbridge was a top reserve scoring 128 points and grabbing 74 rebounds.
无毛视频淭he JV and freshman coach was Harry Miller,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淭he varsity coach was Dodo Canterna. Harry had played in the NBA, he was a New York native and he ended up in Latrobe. I enjoyed playing for both of them, they were both super guys.无毛视频�
无毛视频淛oe Prah from St. John无毛视频檚 was my roommate my junior and senior year,无毛视频� Bainbridge said.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Bainbridge shifted from basketball to football his junior and senior years at Saint Vincent and became a crackerjack defensive back for the Bearcats.
无毛视频淭he head football coach at Saint Vincent was Mike Scatena,无毛视频� Bainbridge explained. 无毛视频淗e was very involved in Saint Vincent athletics and he saw me playing basketball and he told me he thought I was more suited for football than basketball. I became a defensive back for the football team.无毛视频�
Saint Vincent football was 4-1 in 1969 and Bainbridge had three interceptions. In 1970, Bainbridge无毛视频檚 senior campaign, the Bearcats posted a record of 5-2 and recorded four shutouts.
无毛视频淲e had a pretty good team,无毛视频� Bainbridge recalled. 无毛视频淚t was fun, we had a very good coaching staff.无毛视频�
Bainbridge graduated from Saint Vincent in 1971.
无毛视频淚 loved going to Saint Vincent,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淚t was a great school.无毛视频�
After graduating from college Bainbridge got into sales.
无毛视频淢ost of my business career was in medical sales,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淚 started out in medical sales and worked 40-plus years in medical sales.无毛视频�
Bainbridge still loved sports and that led him to give basketball officiating a try.
无毛视频淚 loved basketball and wanted to keep involved with it,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淭wo years after graduating from Saint Vincent I took the test and became an official. I started out with grade school games, JV high school games and worked my way up.无毛视频�
Fate stepped in early in Bainbridge无毛视频檚 officiating career.
无毛视频淚 was the poster boy for being in the right place at the right time,无毛视频� Bainbridge pointed out. 无毛视频淚 worked a JV basketball game at Saint Vincent and it was a very snowy night. They were playing Geneva College and Vince Jacobs was on the varsity game. It was two-man crews, and the second official did not make it, because of the snow storm. After working the JV game both coaches got together and they had to choose one of the JV officials to work the game. They chose me to work with Jacobs. That was my second year officiating. Both coaches wrote to Dave Fawcett commissioner of Tri-State officials and I ended up having more college games my second year of working than I did high school games.无毛视频�
Bainbridge made swift progress up the officiating ladder.
无毛视频淚 officiated a good 25 years before giving it up,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淚 worked in college in the Pennsylvania Conference and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Conference and then the Northeast Conference and then I was just starting in the Big East when I quit.
无毛视频淚 worked one or two WPIAL championship games and three or four PSAC championship games. My younger brother John, who also officiated, worked a couple of Uniontown-Laurel Highlands games with me. That was fun, it was a great rivalry.无毛视频�
Bainbridge recalled that he came very close to officiating in the NBA.
无毛视频淲hen I was officiating a college game an NBA scout was in the stands,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淗e recommended me for a tryout. That was 1979 and I went to a tryout in Columbus, Ohio. They had an AAU tournament there. I was actually accepted for the NBA. This is when they went to three-man crews. They needed additional referees and then the owners got together that same year in 1979 and decided to go back to two-man crews. I got accepted and about three weeks later I got a notice that they weren无毛视频檛 going to need the additional officials.无毛视频�
In 1995 Bainbridge made the very agonizing decision to give up officiating when he was at the top of his game.
无毛视频淚 was doing some traveling and officiating and was interfering with my full-time job,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频淯nfortunately I had to make a decision, one or the other, and you need to put food on the table. I loved officiating. It was a very tough decision.无毛视频�
Bainbridge, 70, resides in Pittsburgh with his wife of 18 years, Linda. They have no children.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 very happy,无毛视频� Bainbridge said. 无毛视频溛廾悠� was enjoyable. It was a great ride.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.