Jim Drucker
Jim Drucker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 or 1953 (age 72–73) Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for |
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| Spouse | Fran Drucker |
| Father | Norm Drucker |
Jim Drucker (born 1952 or 1953 (age 72–73))[1] has served as the Commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association, the Legal Correspondent for ESPN, and as the Commissioner of the Arena Football League</ref>. In 2,000 he founded NewKadia.com, the world's largest online-only comic-book seller.[2]
Biography
Drucker was born in Brooklyn, New York. His grandparents emigrated from Ukraine.[1][3] His father, Norm Drucker, was a New York City public school teacher and principal, and then a long-time referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA).[1][4][5][6]
Drucker grew up in East Meadow in Long Island, New York.[1][6][7] He attended SUNY Buffalo, obtaining a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Communication, and then a law degree from Duke Law School.[7][1][6] He taught at the Temple University School of Law.[6][1] He is married to Fran Drucker and now lives in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.[7]
Drucker was commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), a precursor to the NBA G League from 1978 to 1986. There, he negotiated the first contract with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to develop both players and referees. He also created the first-ever big money fan halftime contest, The CBA Million Dollar Supershothalf-court shot.[1][5][6][8]
He was ESPN's on-camera Legal Correspondent from 1989-1994.[9]
He was commissioner of the Arena Football League (AFL) for three seasons, starting in 1994, [6][10][11] during which time, the league expanded from 11 to 18 teams.[6]
In 1999, with his own collection of 850 comic books, Drucker founded NewKadia.com, the world's largest online-only comic-book seller.[6][9][12] In 2017, it sold 250,000 comic books.[1][6] "World's Largest Comic Book Store - NewKadia.com - Welcomes Shopper #15,000,000 on July 31". Newswire.</ref>[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Jesse Bernstein (May 8, 2019). "Jim Drucker’s Life Leads Him From Basketball to Comic Books," Jewish Exponent
- ^ "Comics store zones in on Internet success". 10 January 2012.
- ^ David McKibben (August 10, 1996). "Piranha Football--Call Them the Lord's Players". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Smith, Sam (March 24, 1985). "CBA Boss Shows How to Score with Fans". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ a b Rosen, Charley (2011). Crazy Basketball: A Life in and Out of Bounds. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803217935 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Michael Bradley (July 2019). "Meet Norristown's Unlikely Comic Book Mogul; Jim is the owner and CEO of NewKadia.com, the world's largest online-only comic book retailer". Main Line Today.
- ^ a b c d Mastrull, Diane (February 22, 2015). "An online comic dealer with a superpowered sales platform". Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ "The Sporting News; Volume 193". Sporting News Publishing Company. January 23, 1982 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "World's Largest Comic Book Store - NewKadia.com - Welcomes Shopper #15,000,000 on July 31". Newswire.
- ^ Television Guide; Volume 42. Triangle Publications. January 23, 1994 – via Google Books.
- ^ Cable Television Programming; Issues 186-212. Paul Kagan Associates. January 23, 1993 – via Google Books.
- ^ Puleo, Gary (January 10, 2012). "Comics store zones in on Internet success". The Times Herald. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2020.