ERNEST C. QUIGLEY
1879 - 1960
Charter Inductee - 1961

To most fans, Ernest C. Quigley was best known as a referee and official, but he also was an outstanding athlete, coach and administrator. After suffering a broken hand n professional baseball, he turned to officiating sports. It would be the start of a long and distinguished career that lasted 40 years. Quigley once estimated he officiated 400 football games, nearly 5,400 major league baseball games and 1,500 basketball contests. He worked three Rose Bowl games and six World Series including the infamous 1919 Black Sox Series. He refereed several NCAA tournaments and the 1936 Olympic basketball finals. On the basketball court, Quigley gained worldwide fame because of his unique method of calling violations. He would point and shout, “You can’t do that” instead of using his whistle. An outstanding four-sport star at Kansas University, Quigley went on to coach football at Central Missouri State University and St. Mary’s Kansas from 1903-1912. He turned to officiating football and baseball in his spare time, and became a National League umpire in 1913. Quigley traveled over 100,000 miles a year as an official before retiring to serve as athletic director at Kansas University from 1944-1950. Also well-known for his radio sports show, Quigley was, for years, the man who announced the pairings for the Kansas state highs school basketball tournaments. Elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a referee in 1961. Born March 22, 1879 - New Castle, New Brunswick, Canada. Died December 10,1960 - Lawrence, Kansas. Graduated Concordia (KS) H.S., 1900; University of Kansas, 1904.