Red Mihalik
1916–1996 (age 80)
Basketball referee
Biography
Red Mihalik cultivated a love for basketball in his youth, eventually rising through local and collegiate circles to become one of the game's most respected referees. His calm demeanor, deep knowledge of the rules, and unwavering fairness earned him assignments at pivotal national tournaments and early NBA contests.
In subsequent decades he shaped the profession, mentoring younger officials and helping to modernize rules enforcement ahead of his 1981 induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.