The Bob Beetz Award

Bob Beetz Biography

Bob Beetz started officiating in 1941 at Springfield College in Springfield, MA, where basketball originated.  The original "East Gym" still stands to this day, and Bob took part in a re-enactment of the first game during his 40th year class reunion.  Bob enrolled in basketball coach John Bunn's sports officiating class that year.  John was Bob's class advisor when he earned his Masters Degree, writing a thesis concerning the art of "free throw shooting."  Earlier, John Bunn was coaching at Stanford University.  With the help of Hank Luisetti, they won three consecutive NCAA Championships.  This is where Bob "got the bug", and started officiating intramural and recreation games at and around Springfield College.  Bob didn't limit his officiating to just basketball; he also did football, baseball, volleyball, wrestling, boxing, lacrosse, softball, hockey, and other sports that needed officiating!  This soon led to high school, academy, and small college games.

Soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Bob joined the United States Marine Corps and continued to officiate as time permitted.   Many of the service men were college and professional athletes of many different sports. Ted Williams, one of Bob’s all time favorites was a fellow “marine” in the 3^rd Air Wing Marine Division.  After the war Bob migrated from the East to the West Coast—Modesto for his 1^st job and then eventually to the Bay Area.  Bob has been in the Bay Area since 1949 and continues to reside in Richmond. Bob and his wife Doris owned West Coast Church Supplies for 18 years and Bob managed to put in 1 year of graduate school at the University of California while he worked.  Bob also taught P.E. and coached for 35 years plus “moonlighted” at several other jobs—and of course, officiated several sports (both men & women) at all levels from youth thru the pro ranks.   When the Golden State Warriors originally moved to the Bay Area they played at the Richmond Auditorium and Bob was one of the officials.

Bob Beets died on December 6, 2010 at his home in El Sobrante, CA after an eight year battle with leukemia. For 46 seasons, Bob officiated across 11 sports on all levels with boundless enthusiasm.  He will always be remembered as on the of top football and basketball rules interpreters in the Bay Area. 

It was with great pleasure that the East Bay Basketball Association created the “Bob Beetz Award” to honor EBBOA officials who have given so much to the craft of officiating and to the EBBOA.  There is no better role model for this award than Bob Beetz!