Biography
Former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball official William C. Baxter, Jr. was born on May 16, 1940 in Harlem, New York at Columbian Presbyterian Hospital. His parents were Christine Juanita Segee Baxter Phillips and William C. Baxter, Sr. Baxter’s father owned a hat business in New York City. Baxter attended St. Augustine College on a basketball scholarship and received his B.A. degree in physical education in 1962. During the 1960s, he played guard in the summer pro-leagues and began officiating high school games in New York City. In 1972, Baxter passed the examination to become a college referee and began officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). In 1975, Baxter received his M.A. degree in recreation and education from Herbert Lehman College in New York City.
Baxter has worked as one out of approximately twelve African American officials in the New York-New Jersey region. He is also one of the first African Americans to become a basketball official for major college games. Baxter officiated at major annual tournaments for the NCAA. At the same time, Baxter served as Director of Recreation for the Department of Parks and Recreation in the Bronx, New York for thirty-seven years. In 2000, Baxter retired as an ECAC official, but continued to serve as a referee at the high school and junior college levels.
Baxter is married to Thelma Baxter. They reside in Englewood, New Jersey. They have two daughters, Dana and Dawn.