Officials

Harry Forrester

Year Inducted: 1982

Category: Officials

Schools / Organizations: Quincy College
(Effingham) St. Anthony High School
IHSA

Biography: Harry Forrester of Champaign is a distinguished official in Illinois High School basketball circles. Forrester worked the final IHSA one-class state championship game – Thornridge 52, Oak Lawn 50 – in 1971 and the following year worked the first game of the first IHSA Class A tournament at Champaign. Harry also worked the 1970 state tourney. Forrester coached basketball at Effingham St. Anthony, Quincy College and Tuscola.  At Quincy College in 1956, Harry coached one of the first predominantly black teams in the state’s university history.  It was while at Tuscola he started a Biddy Basketball program and with his son Gary officiated all the league games. During his career Forrester worked 15 IHSA regionals, seven IHSA sectionals, four IHSA super-sectionals and the three IHSA state finals. Forrester also worked the first IBCA All-Star game in 1975 at Normal. In 1972 he began a three-year term as an official in the state junior college championships. Forrester has worked tournaments at Champaign, Decatur, Normal, Pontiac, Mattoon, Olney, Breeze, Danville, Jamaica, Springfield and for the Meridian and Little Okaw conferences. Forrester listed his reason for retiring from officiating as, “I wanted to go out while still at the top of my game.”  Harry Forrester died on July 16, 2008.