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.
鈥淚 was on the varsity my junior and senior year,鈥� Bainbridge recalled. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
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.
鈥淭ough loss in the championship game, real tough loss,鈥� Bainbridge said.
Bainbridge has great memories of the late Ken Misiak who was the longtime head coach at Geibel.
鈥淚 had a great relationship with coach Misiak,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淗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.鈥�
When Bainbridge graduated from Geibel in 1967 he decided to apply at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
鈥淚 went to Geibel and Saint Vincent was the Catholic college in the area,鈥� Bainbridge explained. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
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.
鈥淭he JV and freshman coach was Harry Miller,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淭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.鈥�
鈥淛oe Prah from St. John鈥檚 was my roommate my junior and senior year,鈥� 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.
鈥淭he head football coach at Saint Vincent was Mike Scatena,鈥� Bainbridge explained. 鈥淗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.鈥�
Saint Vincent football was 4-1 in 1969 and Bainbridge had three interceptions. In 1970, Bainbridge鈥檚 senior campaign, the Bearcats posted a record of 5-2 and recorded four shutouts.
鈥淲e had a pretty good team,鈥� Bainbridge recalled. 鈥淚t was fun, we had a very good coaching staff.鈥�
Bainbridge graduated from Saint Vincent in 1971.
鈥淚 loved going to Saint Vincent,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淚t was a great school.鈥�
After graduating from college Bainbridge got into sales.
鈥淢ost of my business career was in medical sales,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淚 started out in medical sales and worked 40-plus years in medical sales.鈥�
Bainbridge still loved sports and that led him to give basketball officiating a try.
鈥淚 loved basketball and wanted to keep involved with it,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淭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.鈥�
Fate stepped in early in Bainbridge鈥檚 officiating career.
鈥淚 was the poster boy for being in the right place at the right time,鈥� Bainbridge pointed out. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
Bainbridge made swift progress up the officiating ladder.
鈥淚 officiated a good 25 years before giving it up,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淚 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.
鈥淚 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.鈥�
Bainbridge recalled that he came very close to officiating in the NBA.
鈥淲hen I was officiating a college game an NBA scout was in the stands,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淗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鈥檛 going to need the additional officials.鈥�
In 1995 Bainbridge made the very agonizing decision to give up officiating when he was at the top of his game.
鈥淚 was doing some traveling and officiating and was interfering with my full-time job,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥淯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.鈥�
Bainbridge, 70, resides in Pittsburgh with his wife of 18 years, Linda. They have no children.
鈥淚鈥檓 very happy,鈥� Bainbridge said. 鈥溍灞苯� was enjoyable. It was a great ride.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.