George Zeppos

Regarded as one of the legendary basketball officials in Berks County history, officiating for an extraordinary 39 years from 1957 to 1995. In addition to his officiating career, he was an outstanding basketball player for two decades. Zeppos led the Reading Hellenic (Greek) Hoopsters to a Pennsylvania state title in 1951 and was named an All-East Greek Olympic star at St. Nicholas Arena in New York City. He played on six city championship teams, including Crystal Restaurant, Denny’s Café, Charmers Corner, Keystone Furnace, Reading Eagles Home, and Gaenzles, and was also a Military All-Star while stationed at Fort Bliss in the 1950s. He coached the JCC basketball team for eight years, winning four Mid-Atlantic club championships and earning a second-place national finish in Canton, Ohio, and a fifth-place finish in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Zeppos also served as a baseball scout for the Washington Senators. As an official, he worked in the East Penn, Central Penn, and Chest-Mont leagues, officiated four district championship games, and was a college official for 15 years at schools including Albright, Lehigh, and Princeton. A member of the Reading-Berks Basketball Old-Timers, he is one of only six officials in Berks County history to officiate in five decades, spanning the 1950s through the 1990s. He was honored by the BCBOA for 25 years of service and by IAABO for 20 years of distinguished service. The late Steelton High School coach Marty Benkovic once called Zeppos “the most courageous official in the state.”

Deceased