Jim Drucker

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Jim Drucker
Born1952 or 1953 (age 72–73)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Alma mater
Known for
SpouseFran Drucker
FatherNorm 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. In 2000 he founded NewKadia.com, the world's largest online-only comic-book seller.[2]

Biography

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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][13][7]

References

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  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ "Comics store zones in on Internet success". 10 January 2012.
  3. ^ David McKibben (August 10, 1996). "Piranha Football--Call Them the Lord's Players". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ Smith, Sam (March 24, 1985). "CBA Boss Shows How to Score with Fans". Chicago Tribune.
  5. ^ a b Rosen, Charley (2011). Crazy Basketball: A Life in and Out of Bounds. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803217935 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b c d Mastrull, Diane (February 22, 2015). "An online comic dealer with a superpowered sales platform". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  8. ^ "The Sporting News; Volume 193". Sporting News Publishing Company. January 23, 1982 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b "World's Largest Comic Book Store - NewKadia.com - Welcomes Shopper #15,000,000 on July 31". Newswire.
  10. ^ Television Guide; Volume 42. Triangle Publications. January 23, 1994 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Cable Television Programming; Issues 186-212. Paul Kagan Associates. January 23, 1993 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "World's Largest Comic Book Store - NewKadia.com - Welcomes Shopper #15,000,000 on July 31". Newswire.