In 1961, Tobey became the first Jew to be elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Known as the Coach of Coaches, Pep Tobey actually celebrated two successful careers: one as a coach and one as a referee.

As a basketball official, he refereed every important professional game in New York City from 1918 to 1925. During the next 20 years, he was in demand to referee major contests throughout the country. He retired from officiating in 1945 as "one of the top officials of all time," according to the Basketball Hall of Fame. His book, Basketball Officiating, was the first important treatise on the task of refereeing. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a referee.

In 1946, Tobey turned exclusively to teaching and coaching—his day jobs during most of his officiating years—and amassed more than 700 coaching victories. As a high school coach, his teams had a 367-130 win-loss record. His college teams were 348-210.

Players and assistant coaches who developed into Pep Tobey's most prominent coaching protégés include Lou Carnesseca, Honey Russell, Don Kennedy, Tom Carmody, George Wolf, Bo Adams, and Jim McDermott.