Joey Crawford watched Philadelphia 76ers games in the 1960s, and unlike most kids in that area at that time, he had no aspirations of becoming the next Wilt Chamberlain or Billy Cunningham. His father, Shag Crawford, was a baseball umpire who worked in the National League for about 20 years. That's why, when watching basketball, Joey was drawn to the referees. It was the family business. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
"My father was a pro and he would be pointing out Mendy Rudolph, Richie Powers, Earl Strom," Crawford said, referring to some of the game's most prominent referees of that era. "I'd just be watching them. And my father, he's hitting me with the sledgehammer: 'You're not gonna play professional baseball'".