Joe Baldwin steps away from basketball after more than 40 years as an official

SIKESTON -- For over 40 years, Joe Baldwin has been a fixture on high school basketball courts all across southeast Missouri, officiating thousands of games with a flamboyant style that could only be his.

However, when the 2016-17 high school basketball tips off in November, Baldwin will be watching from the sidelines, deciding to hang up his whistle after three back surgeries in the last 10 years.

"It was time," Baldwin said. "I'll miss basketball, there's no doubt, but I have to look out for my health in the long run."

Baldwin got the refereeing bug early on, calling games in high school PE classes before moving on to Southeast Missouri State University where he officiated intramural basketball games through his senior year.

"My sophomore year through my senior year I always got to call the (intramural) finals," Baldwin said. "It was always a frat team against an independent team and the finals were played at Houck. It was kinda fun, exciting stuff."

After graduating from college, Baldwin started teaching fourth grade to eighth grade PE and health at New Madrid County R-1. He also coached junior high basketball for 25 years and girls basketball for seven years. But when he wasn't coaching, he was calling basketball games.

"I got into reffing basketball, volleyball and baseball when I first started teaching in 1972," Baldwin said. "Ted Mauk and Donnie Westmoreland got me going calling basketball games. They took me under their wings."

__First games__

Baldwin said he remembers his first-ever game vividly, a junior varsity game between Scott County Central and Kelly.

"I never will forget it because I called a technical foul for a Kelly player reaching across the (inbounds) line and slapping the ball out of the inbounder's hand," Baldwin said.

His first varsity game also is burned into his memory, thanks to an inadvertent whistle.

"My very first varsity game, I called at East Prairie and I filled in for Ted Mauk, and it was Donnie Westmoreland and I," Baldwin said. "East Prairie was pressing and Scott City had the ball and about the time they threw it, Scott City wanted a timeout and through all the wham bang, they stole it and put it back in a basket and I tooted my whistle for a timeout."

Baldwin said he ended up getting a letter from Jack Miles of the Missouri State High School Activities Association telling him he erred and that the whistle stopped play.

"I did err," Baldwin said. "Right out of the chute a young guy is going to make some mistakes but you learn from it. And I've had a few more since then too, but they didn't involve making a basket or anything. But those things, I don't forget them."

In this Dec. 27, 2007 photo, official Joe Baldwin watches the action between Bloomfield and Portageville in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat)

In this Dec. 27, 2007 photo, official Joe Baldwin watches the action between Bloomfield and Portageville in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat)

__Memorable games and players__

Officiating in thousands of games, Baldwin has many memories of games and players. He officiated in state championship games both in Springfield and later when they were moved to Columbia. He has been a part of many rivalry games, like Sikeston and Cape Central, Sikeston and Charleston and Notre Dame and Cape Central.

Baldwin recalled the epic Bernie and Portageville games of the early 1990s and the Dexter and Bernie rivalry games.

"It never did fail, Jerry Dement and I, every Friday in January, about a week before the Stoddard County finals, Dexter and Bernie would play and we would have that game every year either at Dexter or Bernie," Baldwin said. "Then we would have them again the next Friday night in the finals of the Stoddard County Tournament because they would almost always be playing each other.

"But all those games. All those schools are rivals. They are just fun to be a part of."

Baldwin has not only been a part of memorable games but has seen some of the area's top talent over the last 40 years. Names like Tyler Hansbrough and Otto Porter as well as others like Sikeston's Fred Towns and Undra Lane.

"There was Gregg Holifield down at Senath," Baldwin said. "I did some of his games when he played and he was a good player and they had some good teams down there. I called when Caruthersville had Joe Cagel. You had those Portageville guys when Jim (Bidewell) won those four state tournaments in-a-row and they had awesome players like the (Jamie) Booker kid and the (Antonio) Sykes kid.

"Every team around here has had good players. And the coaches were good, too. You go back to Dexter with coach Jim Hall. Jim was easy to call for, but they all were once you got to know them a little bit."

__Fans and falls__

No matter what sport is being played, officials are scrutinized by coaches and fans and Baldwin was no stranger to it. But Baldwin took it in stride, like one encounter with a fan during the Tri-County Tournament in Cooter.

"We were coming off the court at halftime and guy came up and said 'Hey, you need these glasses,' so I just took his glasses and took them on into the room where we dressed and kept them until the ball game was over," Baldwin laughed. "I guess the principal gave them back to him when the night was over."

Sometimes it wasn't the fans as much as the cheerleaders that made themselves known during the game. One such game for Baldwin happened in Bloomfield in the 1970s when the Wildcats were hosting Parma.

"I was the trail official, because I was on the opposite side of the scorers table. The ball got stolen and I had to stop, reverse and go back the other way so I could be the lead. I took off down the court and fell down because I was tripped by a cheerleader. I rolled on the floor and I got up and the guy made the basket, he wasn't fouled. But I got up and everyone was pointing to this one girl over here saying 'she did it, she did it,'" Baldwin laughed. "Sometimes (the cheerleaders) kinda get in the way. I've run into my share. Three or four maybe."

Baldwin said Bloomfield was a fun place to call a game as the gym had "great atmosphere." Others like Sikeston's Field House and bigger gyms in Jackson, Cape Central and New Madrid County Central gives the officials plenty of room to work.

Not all gyms were like that though.

"I've called The Pit down at Delta C-7," Baldwin said. "You didn't have any room there to call a game. I think you would have been able to call better from the stage than out there on the floor. They finally got a new gym but that sure was a home court advantage for the Chargers down there."

__Changes in the game__

The game is much different than when Baldwin first started calling games in 1972. One of the bigger changes is the three-point line which came into play in the mid-1980s. But that wasn't the biggest change, according to Baldwin.

"I tell you what really helped out a bunch was alternating possession," Baldwin said. "They did away with every jump ball and that really sped the game up."

When Baldwin first started officiating, on every jump ball call the teams would go to the nearest circle located in the free throw lanes, line the players up and throw up the jump ball. That was later replaced by the alternating possession rule.

Baldwin said the game has also sped up, but that the institution of three-man crews was beneficial to officials.

"When we went to a three-man crew that has really helped us old guys out," Baldwin said. "It has extended our calling career for sure and plus it is a better game with three calling instead of two. It made it a whole lot better."

Baldwin said when he started there were two-man crews doing both the junior varsity game and varsity game. But they always tried to get every call right.

"You would work just as hard in the JV games as you would the varsity games. You had to work. Not just go out there and put on a show for everybody. It's a job," Baldwin said. "You just had to be strong, be fair and be consistent. And try to get every call right. We didn't get them all right but I don't think we missed that many either."

__Back problems__

The wear and tear of many years running up and down the court began taking its toll on Baldwin, forcing him to have back surgery in 2006 and another in 2014.

Then in May of this year while umpiring baseball, Baldwin began noticing he couldn't run very well and knew something was wrong. After making it through districts and a sectional game, Baldwin returned to the doctor and was told it was time to have another surgery.

"When I found out I needed another surgery I made the decision not to call basketball anymore. It is probably time, maybe past time according to some people," Baldwin laughed.

Baldwin had the surgery on June 29 to repair two herniated discs and is recovering. He is planning on continuing to officiate volleyball this fall and baseball in the spring.

When it comes to basketball season though, Baldwin isn't sure what he will do.

"I'm going to miss it because it is all I've done all these years," Baldwin said. "I really enjoyed it and I hope the coaches and players enjoyed me as much as I enjoyed them."