Hoop ref Chesley once saved day for 2 teams Recently honored official recovering from surgery

Longtime eastern Maine high school basketball official Roger Chesley is recovering from prostate cancer surgery at his Corinth home.

Roger was recently honored for his 35-year membership in the International Association of Approved Basketball Offocials Board No. 111, the referee group serving the eastern Maine region. Although he retired from active officiating 10 years ago, Chesley will long be remembered for his classy court demeanor and his ability to officiate the tough games.

These days, Roger owns the Chesley Auction Gallery in Corinth, and as head auctioneer, he lends the same professionalism and class to the Saturday evening proceedings that he did to the high school games he officiated for so many years.

The 1962 Easton High School graduate was quite a hoopster in his youth, and he takes pride in his daughters’ and his granddaughter’s natural athletic ability. He has witnessed almost as many of their games as he’s officiated those of others.

I first met Roger when I began coaching high school basketball in Maine in the fall of 1976. I was always impressed with his approach to games. Always the first to arrive on the scene, Roger came prepared. He always had an extra whistle and the accompanying lanyard. If you looked in his gym bag, you could find an extra net or two, another ref’s shirt, extra socks, and even an extra towel for a companion who may have forgotten his own.

Roger had a tremendous sense of humor, but once the games began, he was all business. He always chewed gum while he worked, and his distinctive travel call was known far and wide.

I have one special memory of Roger Chesley which occurred one February night during my tenure as boys varsity basketball coach at Penquis Valley High School in Milo.

Our regular-season home contest that year with Schenck High School of East Millinocket had been snowed out, and the only compatible day which fit both of our schools’ schedules was the Monday before the tournament began.

Schenck was already a lock for the postseason, as they usually were in those days, but we needed to beat them to secure the eighth spot in the Heal Point standings. Back then, only eight teams made the tournament. No play-ins or two-thirds rule in the 1970s.

When the original contest fell to inclement weather, we notified both referees of our intent to reschedule the game. Problem was, we scheduled the makeup an hour earlier than our usual 7:30 p.m. starting time. Our athletic director, Francis “Stub” Foss, took care of all the details – as he always did. What a great guy he was – and both of the original refs were notified of the change.

This is where the trouble started.

When both teams took the floor and began their warmup routines, only one referee made his way out of the officials’ locker room in the junior high section of the school.

Uh, oh, I’m thinking. We’ve got trouble.

The attending official, Bob Cimbollek of Bangor, stood patiently at the scorer’s table, waiting for his partner to arrive.

He never did.

As we got closer to game time, we considered using one of the junior varsity refs, who, quite frankly, was not ready for such a big game.

Then, we spotted Roger Chesley in the bleachers. He was in Milo attending the game with Mike McGuire, who, at that time, was coaching the Central High School boys varsity hoop team.

As memory serves, Bob Cimbollek and Stub Foss first approached Roger and asked him if he would be willing to work.

“I don’t have my stuff, fellas,” he said. “By the time I drive home and get it and come back, the game will be over.”

Roger had on a pair of sneakers – the pair he always wears – a sweatshirt, and a pair of corduroy pants. Cimbollek had an extra IAABO shirt, which proved to be a little small, and, like most traveling refs, Bob had an extra whistle and lanyard.

The available equipment was the finishing touch in our argument to Roger. He redressed and worked one of the best basketball games the Penquis faithful have ever witnessed.

Schenck beat us on a George Hobbs putback at the gun. We had the game won when Ron Marks’ team missed a long shot. The rebound hit Steve LeVasseur on the shoulder – yes, he’s the same one who currently coaches the Wolverines – but Hobbs had the presence of mind to grab it and lay it in.

Game over. What a defeat for our guys.

If we had won, we would’ve had to play a tough Orono Red Riot team, the No. 1 seed in the EM Class B tourney. We never got the chance.

Years later, the pervasive memory of that night is the fact that Roger Chesley worked the game in corduroys and sneakers so all parties would have two experienced officials on the floor, instead of one.

Get well soon, Roger. Your kindness gave all of us the chance to participate in a thrilling high school basketball game, one they’re still talking about in the Penquis region.

NEWS columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net