Refereeing My First Varsity High School Football Game
Mark Baltz, RefReps’ CFO and co-founder, has spent a lifetime officiating baseball, basketball, and football, including 25 years in the NFL. In this blog series, he reflects on his journey through high school, college, and professional officiating, offering insights to help fellow officials develop their craft. Here is the next entry in the series of his story:
Friday, November 4, 1966 — Almost 60 Years Ago
As a college freshman at Ohio University, I was enrolled in a Sports Officiating 101 class at 18 years of age. It was a semester-long course, with the first half focused on football and the second half on basketball. With a passing grade, everyone in the class received their license from the State of Ohio to officiate.
At the time, Ohio University and Ohio State University were the only two schools in Ohio offering a curriculum in sports officiating. Ohio U. was also one of the few schools on the Midwest collegiate scene to offer such a program.
I enrolled in the class at the encouragement of my high school coach, PE teacher, and mentor. He had observed me making a valiant attempt to officiate Physical Education classes as a gym leader and asked me one day after class if I had ever thought about taking an officiating class at Ohio U. in the fall.
He, too, was a high school football and basketball official, but also served as our high school baseball coach, where I observed him, Billy Martin-style, coaching our baseball program.
My immediate reply was, “The way you treat officials…why would I want to do that!?”
I eventually gave in and enrolled in Officiating 101 that fall.
Deep down, I really did enjoy what little I knew about being an official, and almost 60 years later, here I am. My teacher and mentor who pushed me along and encouraged me is still with us today at 95, and we still talk frequently. I can’t thank him enough for seeing a little potential in me and encouraging me to give this great avocation a try.
Officiating 101 at Ohio University
Mr. A. H. “Jack” Rhoads was my instructor at Ohio University, and his best friend, Chalmers Hixson, taught a similar officiating course at Ohio State University. They were VERY competitive and wagered each semester over which one of them would have the most students pass the course and venture into the world of sports officiating.
Rhoads always won.
My semester, the class was full of Ohio University football and basketball players—other than me. The head football and basketball coaches encouraged many of their players to take the course, if for no other reason than to learn the rules, and they did just that.
At the end of the semester, I was the only member of the class who actually ventured off into the world of officiating, and that’s kind of where this whole story started.
Midway through the first semester, in late October, I passed the football portion of the class and the state exam and immediately became a licensed football official in Ohio, ready to conquer the world.
Little did I know what was about to happen.
The Call for My First Varsity Game
The following week, Mr. Rhoads called me on a Wednesday and asked if I was available Friday night to be the fourth official on his crew for a varsity game at McConnelsville High School.
They needed a field judge (FJ), which is a position on the line of scrimmage opposite the head linesman.
Now, Mr. Rhoads had officiated nearly 50 years—and wore the white hat as the referee. His umpire, Kermit Blosser, was the golf coach at Ohio University as well as an assistant football coach. Their head linesman, Tony Reis, was an administrative vice president at the university.
Between the three of them, I know they had logged nearly 150 years.
Was I ever in for a treat in my first game—a REAL game, and at the varsity level.
As we all know, it takes a little luck in this avocation, and I wasted very little time in my short career reaching that first goal.
Friday Night in McConnelsville
I met my crew at Grover Center, the gym at Ohio University, for our hour-long trip down the road.
It turned out to be a rather cool, damp, and drizzling evening, but we made it there and pre-gamed a little bit. Mostly, though, I heard about the other three’s exciting weeks at Ohio U. in their various positions.
We dressed in a dinky locker room and headed to the field, only to find out that we had just ONE game ball for the evening.
You can figure out, I’m sure, what I had in store for me for the next 1½–2 hours.
Besides being the field judge on the line of scrimmage, opposite the head linesman, I served double duty as the ball boy, fetching the ball and getting it back to the umpire, who quickly dried it and spotted it for the next down.
I found out real soon that my three brethren were enjoying the evening—not moving much and admiring the “kid” busting his butt in his first assignment.
Needless to say, I enjoyed every minute of it.
Who, in officiating, at age 18 and newly licensed, was given the opportunity to do what I was doing on this dreary Friday evening?
You can probably guess the remainder of the story of the game, as it wasn’t much different from what I have already mentioned. Not much action. Very few flags. A 6–3 score, featuring one touchdown with a failed extra point and one field goal, with the home team coming away with the victory.
About That Game Check...
After the game, we all showered, and the home school’s athletic director came into the locker room.
He had only three checks. As I later found out, the school had only hired three officials for the game. I was the extra man Mr. Rhoads and his crew had brought along.
Now, if you had a crew of three and all of you were nearing 70, wouldn’t you bring along a “kid” to make you look good?
I would do it all again tomorrow. After all, I experienced what very few officials get the opportunity to do: work their very first assignment at the varsity level.
Here I am, almost 60 years later, helping oversee RefReps, reaching out and helping other young men and women get their officiating careers started—not knowing where it may lead them.
The Real Winner That Night
We made it back to campus, and Mr. Rhoads fulfilled his promise of taking care of me.
We stopped at the local BBF—Burger Boy Food-O-Rama, a 1960s competitor of McDonald’s—on the outskirts of Athens. He reached into his wallet and bought me a burger and a Coke.
With a handshake, a thanks, and a “Well done on your FIRST-ever varsity assignment,” I was still on cloud nine.
The REAL winner that night was ME. No questions asked.
I had the honor of working with three classy, elderly gentlemen who took an inexperienced youngster under their wing and gave him the gift of an unforgettable experience.
You see, when Mr. Rhoads reached into his wallet to buy my “dinner,” his game check fell out of his wallet and onto the floor. I picked it up for him and handed it back, smiling from ear to ear.
His check for working that varsity football game, in the cold, damp, crappy weather? $15.00.
I didn’t get a game check that night. I got a burger, a Coke, and something worth a whole lot more: my first varsity football game and an experience that helped start a nearly 60-year journey in sports officiating.
Looking back now, after more than 5,000 football and basketball games, an NFL officiating career, and the opportunity to help the next generation of officials through RefReps, it’s funny to think about just how early in the journey I really was.
That Monday, November 7, 1966, I still had to report back to class. The football portion of Sports Officiating 101 was over. Basketball 101 was about to begin.
I had no idea where either sport would eventually take me, but that’s a story for another day…one you might read soon!
Until next time,
Mark Baltz
If you’re looking to find out more about our team and experience, including Mark, visit our About Us page.
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