Before They Tooted Whistles, Football 2011

Before They Tooted Whistles . . .

Would you like to see a story about someone who played in the Public, Catholic or Inter-Ac
leagues and is now a referee (assuming I did one on him)? Send me a note at silaryt@phillynews.com.
Thanks,
Ted

Check out this story on former Judge basketball player (and TRUE character) Ernie Gallagher, a prominent football referee.

LITTLE ERN
GALLAGHER BRINGS JUDGE GOOD CHEER

Jan 10, 1985

By TED SILARY, Daily News Sports Writer

Admittedly, there's no way 5-5 guard Ernie Gallagher can be numbered among the top 13 basketball players at Father Judge High.

In late November, however, when coach Bill Fox finalized his roster, he would have slashed his wrists before he would have slashed Ernie Gallagher.

"Little Ern," as he's known, became a fixture at Judge basketball games as early as the 1974-75 season, when he was a second grader at St. Martin's Grade School and Fox was the first-year varsity coach.

If you attended a game at Judge that season, or during the next five or six, you have to remember him.

Ernie Gallagher was the little kid who would race onto the court the instant halftime began, literally snatch the game ball from the referee's hands and proceed to engage a similarly pint-sized buddy in a spirited game of one-on-one.

Little Ern, adorned in Coke bottle-thick glasses, knew nothing of layups. About the closest distance he'd launch from was 25 feet, and he'd have to wind up for the shot by holding the basketball virtually below knee level.

Any time Ernie connected, you would have thought Judge had just won the Catholic League championship.

"If he didn't make one, he wouldn't leave, either," Fox said, laughing. ''The refs would have to chase him off the court. "

Ernie Gallagher became enamored of Judge 's program partially by accident. His late father, Ernie Sr., was a freshman and junior varsity official and he used to drag Ernie along to the games he worked, many of which happened to be at Judge .

Before long . . .

"I used to go into school and say I had an appointment at the eye doctor's, so I could get out at 2:30 and my father could pick me up on the way to Judge ," Ernie said. "Nah, I never had to go to the eye doctor. I'm sure (school officials) knew what I was up to, but they never said anything. One time I did it about four weeks in a row. I couldn't help it, though. I just loved being at Judge .

"After my father worked the freshman games, I'd find a way to get to the JV and varsity games. Coach Fox or coach Fehrle (former JV coach Tim Fehrle) would take me home. They were always looking after me. "

The bond between Gallagher and the Judge coaches, especially Fox , intensified seven years ago, when Ernie's father, a former Philadelphia A's batboy, was shot to death, while bartending, in the aftermath of a disturbance in The Huddle in Olney.

It became forever solidified three years ago when Ernie's mother, Virginia, passed away because of complications from having diabetes for more than 30 years. Ernie even lived for a month at Fox 's house before he left to rejoin his brother, Timmy, a '79 Cardinal Dougherty graduate, and his sister, Missy, an '83 Little Flower graduate, in the family's house on Rosalie Street.

"It was great of coach Fox to do that for me," Ernie said. "My mother died the first week of school in ninth grade and when he went out of his way to treat me so well, I knew I'd made the right move coming to Judge .

"I remember when I was in maybe fourth grade and my mother got sick during a game one night. Father Murray (former athletic director Rev. Joseph Murray) rushed over and made sure she was all right. "

Although Judge does not, by design, draw students from St. Martin's (it did at one time), Ernie Gallagher liked the place so much, he made sure the appropriate strings were pulled to get him there.

Basketball-wise, most of Ernie's contributions are limited to yelling and clapping and the slapping of backs. But when he does get into a game - like yesterday, when the Crusaders steamed past Towson (Md. ) Catholic, 72-51 - the atmosphere is electrically charged.

"Everyone knows he's out there, let's put it that way," Fox said.

"I thought my chances to make the team would be slim," said Ernie, who had been part of the program as a freshman and sophomore, but not as a junior. ''One day in practice at the end of November, coach Fox said to call him that night. I was pessimistic, kind of worried.

"He said, 'What do you think about playing on the team? ' I said I would love it. He said, 'You won't play much. ' I said, 'That's all right. I just want to be there, to have fun and help us out any way I can. ' '

"In all my years here, the 10 to 12 most talented kids haven't made Judge 's basketball team," Fox said. "It's probably that way at every high school in the country. Like (Nevada-Las Vegas coach) Jerry Tarkanian says, all you need is eight good players and four kids who will cheer their butts off.

"I always say, I only keep seniors if they contribute something. Well, Ernie contributes an awful lot. He's probably the most popular kid in the school and many of his best friends are on the team. We love having him and he loves being here. "

Fox's three favorite Ernie Gallagher stories date back to his grade school years.

One night, after Judge lost a home game, Little Ern stormed downstairs and proceeded to berate the referees, directing most of his wrath at Bill ''Dapper" Walsh.

"Dapper hardly listened, so Ernie kicked him," Fox said.

Another time, Roman Catholic visited Judge when Bill "Speedy" Morris, arguably, was at the height of his coaching popularity.

"Right before the game," Fox said, "Ernie walks over to Speedy and says, 'Hey, Speedy Gonzalez, you're going to lose tonight. ' "

And then, there was the time Judge's freshmen played Roman's freshmen in a Sixers preliminary at the Spectrum. With 10 seconds left, Roman is leading by six and Tim Fehrle, looking for late-game humor, tells Ernie to hop on the nearby press-table phone and get the heat turned on.

"I don't know why, but it was freezing in there," Fox said. "So Ernie picks up the phone and dials a number and a phone about 15 feet away starts ringing. This monstrous security guard picks it up and Ernie yells, 'Turn up the heat in this place! That's why we lost! ' The guy says, 'Who's this? ' Ernie says, 'It's Ernie! Just turn up the heat! '

"Ernie's still hollering at the guy and everyone's rolling and the guy catches on. He comes down and takes the phone out of Ernie's ear and Ernie puts up his dukes, like he's ready to fight the guy. Then he jumps over the press table and runs back to the bench. "

Hardly a game goes by when someone doesn't come up to Ernie Gallagher and say they remember his halftime antics.

"I say, 'Oh, yeah? How you doing? ' " Ernie said. "Hey, that was a long time ago. I can't remember everybody. "

Although Ernie Gallagher has yet to score this season (one stat man says he's 0-for-6 from the field), the day or night undoubtedly will come and the house undoubtedly will come down.

"As soon as I get in, the coaches start yelling at me to shoot," said Ernie, who missed a right-corner jump shot in yesterday's game. "Against Ryan, I had an open shot, but I kept dribbling. "

And how will the big moment hit him?

"If I score in a home game, and there's a lot of people here," Ernie said, "it will probably be the best feeling of my life. "

He deserves it.