George H. Hoyt (August 9, 1883 – November 11, 1962) was a

basketball referee In basketball, an official (usually called a referee) enforces the rules and maintains order in the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the g ...

. He was nicknamed "Mr. Basketball" in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, having officiated games in the region for 34 years. He often officiated two games a day at both the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

level. Hoyt was a proponent of developing a uniform set of rules and procedures, and wrote ''The Theory and Practice of Basketball Officiating'', a

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

discussing many refereeing distinctions, including the difference between Eastern and Western referees.

Biography

Hoyt was born on August 9, 1883, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. After years of officiating both

and

games, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a referee in 1961. He was an early proponent of the more open style of play that later became common in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, creating rules to discourage defensive holding and free up offensive players. He helped found the Eastern Massachusetts Board of Approved Basketball Officials and served as its president for two years. While serving as Chief of Officials for the Eastern Massachusetts High School Basketball Tournament (becoming Honorary Chief Official on retirement), he helped establish the New England Interscholastic Basketball Tournament. Hoyt died on November 11, 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, George 1883 births 1962 deaths Basketball referees College men's basketball referees in the United States Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Boston