Joe Reiff

Joseph Reiff (June 5, 1911 – February 9, 1988) was an American basketball player and referee. He was a three-time All-American center at Northwestern University.

Joe Reiff

Personal information
Born	June 5, 1911 Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	February 9, 1988(1988-02-09) (aged 76)
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Career information
High school	Crane (Chicago, Illinois)
College	Northwestern (1930–1933)
Position	Center
Number	6
Career highlights
2× Consensus All-American (1931, 1933) Third-team All-American – College Humor (1932) Helms Foundation national champion (1931) AAU All-American (1933)

Reiff, a 6'3 (1.91 m) center from Crane Technical High School in Chicago, chose to attend nearby Northwestern University and play for Hall of Fame coach Dutch Lonborg. Reiff led the Wildcats to a Western Conference championship in his sophomore year. Reiff led the league in scoring with a 10.0 average. Northwestern finished 13-1 (11-1 in league play) and would later be retroactively named 1931 National Champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation and Reiff was named a consensus All-American.

In his junior year, Reiff finished second in the conference in scoring to Purdue senior John Wooden. In his senior year, Reiff again led Northwestern to a conference title and led the league in scoring for a second time at 14.0 points per game. He was once again named a consensus All-American^[1]

After graduating from Northwestern, Reiff played for Rosenberg-Avery of Chicago in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and was named to the All-AAU team. He then became a basketball referee in the Western Conference from 1937-1947.^[2]

Joe Reiff was a charter inductee into the Northwestern athletics Hall of Fame, elected in 1984.^[3]