| Overall UK Wins: 19 | Overall UK Losses: 4 | Win % 82.6 |
Date of Birth: April 14, 1920
Date of Death: May 7, 2016
Hometown: Camden, OH
Alma Mater: Miami (OH)
For a generalized listing of officials, please consult this page.
Obituary - Dayton Daily News (May 10, 2016)
Veteran Official George 'Red' Strauthers Dies
by Marc F. Pendleton
Longtime local basketball official George "Red" Strauthers died Saturday. He was 96.
He is survived by his wife, Maxine, and daughter Marily Strauthers. There will not be a memorial service.
A Camden native and 1939 Camden High School graduate, Mr. Strauthers officiated basketball for nearly 40 years in the NBA, Big Ten, Southeastern, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley and Ohio conferences. He also was a regular boys high school official and was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association officialsÕ Hall of Fame in 2004.
He retired from officiating in 1986 and was nicknamed "Red" for his red hair, which he wore in a flat top.
"He basically trained me and I officiated quite a bit with him," said friend and fellow official J.D. Thompson, who's in his 47th year of officiating basketball and also is a clubhouse attendant for the Dayton Dragons minor-league baseball team. "He taught me a lot. He was very stern. One thing about him, you didnÕt have to worry about your backside."
Thompson said Mr. Strauthers was ill for several of his final years. Until then, Mr. Strauthers and Maxine had courtside seats for many seasons at Dayton and Wright State menÕs basketball games.
Mr. Strauthers worked Ohio high school basketball and NCAA tournament games, including two Final Fours. Popular basketball coaches of that era such as Bobby Knight (Indiana), John Wooden (UCLA), Adolph Rupp (Kentucky) and Don Donoher (UD) were personal friends of Mr. Strauthers. Knight wrote about him in his book, "My Story."
Mr. Strauthers also worked the infamous Ohio State/Minnesota brawl game in 1972 at Minneapolis in which Buckeyes center Luke Witte was stomped by several Gophers players, including future baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.
Mr. Strauthers was a former business manager at Ray Simons Cadillac and Don Wagner Ford in Dayton. "IÕve been with him through thick and thin," Thompson said. "There arenÕt many around like him anymore."
