William Homer Fuller (January 9, 1920 – March 25, 2007) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played in the National Basketball League for the

Oshkosh All-Stars The Oshkosh All-Stars were an American professional basketball team based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Founded in 1929 by Lonnie Darling, the team was a member of the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League, a forerunner t ...

during the 1944–45 season averaged 5.3 points per game. At

Texas A&M University–Commerce Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the inst ...

he played basketball and tennis. After college, Fuller tried to join the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

but was denied due to vascular problems in his legs. He became a school teacher in the

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

area while also coaching and refereeing high school basketball and football. He moved up the ranks in education to become a Deputy Assistant Superintendent, retiring in 1981. Fuller also refereed collegiately for the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

and holds the distinction of being on the officiating crew of the first college football game in the

Houston Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

References

1920 births 2007 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Dallas College football officials College men's basketball referees in the United States College men's tennis players in the United States Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Texas High school football coaches in Texas Methodists from Texas Oshkosh All-Stars players People from Red River County, Texas Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men's basketball players 20th-century Methodists {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub