USA Team Handball, Team Handball Community Mourns the Passing of Bruce Mosberg

Bruce Mosberg, a well-known member of the team handball family in the United States, passed away on Tuesday, December 19. Mosberg was 67 years old.

Mosberg, a native of Guilderland, New York and a Syracuse University graduate, most notably served as a referee, having officiated both domestic and international tournaments. He discovered this aspect of handball as an administrator of the Empire States Games.

During the 1990’s, he refereed at the 1985 World Games for the Deaf hosted in Los Angeles, and was named to the officiating staff for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2001, he was assigned to work the Women’s World Junior Championships by the International Handball Federation. 

As the referee chair for the United States Team Handball Federation, Mosberg was a mainstay of the USTHF National Championships and served as the referee clinician for the Northeastern Team Handball Conference. Most recently, he carried out the responsibilities of Director of Officials for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, held in Los Angeles.

Also serving as an event organizer, Mosberg was a force behind the scenes, not only in assisting with various tournaments, including international events on US soil, but also in his efforts to grow the sport, and develop new referees to represent the United States on the international level. 

Words from Bruce’s Referee Friends:

“While the refereeing gave Bruce visibility for many clubs, coaches and players, in fact it was his great strengths as administrator, organizer of events, and instructor which made him so valuable and appreciated.  Bruce was consistently helpful and pragmatic.  His friendly and cheerful personality made him popular and effective. His emphasis was always on getting the job done, without making a big deal about his own role. 

Dear Bruce, we hope you have felt appreciated during your decades of hard and successful work for our handball sport, but we do not want to fail in making sure that your special efforts are known also to those who may not have had the pleasure of knowing you and benefitting from your hard work.  RIP!