It was the fall of 1994 and I was at my first semester at WKU. I was BROKE. I mean had a $1.50 to my name and living off of the noodles. My good friend Chris had told me if I would take him home on the weekends I could officiate little league basketball. I agreed. I was calling a girl's basketball game. I think they were 7 and 8 year olds, so you can imagine the high level of skill. I think it was the 4th quarter and the score was 6-4 or something like that. Basically all I had done was run up and down the court called 54 walking violations (I was giving them four and five steps), and hundreds of out of bounds calls.
As per the norm there had been a turnover and I was the trail official, when somehow the ball was turned back over and the fastbreak had started towards me. I was about halfway between center court and the top of the three point line, and for some reason I decided to start backpedaling. (Get your Kleenexes.) Apparently the foul line reached up and grabbed my foot. I tumbled head over heels all the way back to where the pads were on the wall in the middle school gym. As soon as I got right side up I began to watch the action, I did have my duty to perform after all. The girls were standing laughing their heads off except for one. She was eyeing the ball in the other teams hand. She hit the ball clean, but knocked it directly on the foul line. From my posterior I blew the whistle, and made the call. The crowd stood and gave me a standing ovation. I finished the game, but that was the end of my basketball officiating career.
I was told by many parents in the stands if they had video cameras I would be a very rich man from America's Funniest Home Videos. Ok, that's it for now. . .til next time . . whenever that is . . .
"Chuck"
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