John P. ("Jocko") Collins (November 13, 1905 – March 2, 1986) was a professional basketball referee, and a baseball scout for the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, and Milwaukee Brewers.^[1] He was supervisor of officials for the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 12 years, until he was fired in 1961.^[2] As a baseball scout, he was credited with finding and signing players (and future executives) such as Del Ennis,^[3] Tommy Lasorda, Dallas Green, Bob Bailor,^[4] Dick Allen, and Dave May.^{[citation needed]}

Collins was born in New York City and raised in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia.^{[citation needed]} He attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School and Saint Joseph's College, where he was captain of the baseball and basketball teams and graduated in 1927. He also served as a high school basketball coach and scouted for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. He died in Philadelphia in 1986 at the age of 80.^[4]