Lawton’s legacy as parent, official is one of integrity

I had the good fortune as a high school basketball coach to spend time with recently retired Bangor Daily News advertising executive Wayne Lawton.

Wayne’s son Brian, a professional golfer, spent four years in our basketball program at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor.

Like his dad, Brian was quite a shooter. Wayne and his lovely wife Anne didn’t miss a game during Brian’s tenure with the team. In fact, one night I had to travel with the Lawtons all the way to Deer Isle for a game because I missed the bus in order to keep a medical appointment. They gladly picked me up and we made our way to the coastal wayward haunt.

I first met the Lawtons when I helped my girlfriend babysit his growing family in their Lincoln Street home.

Years later, I would get to know Wayne as a high school basketball official – he was one of the state’s finest – and as that coach-official relationship developed, I would quickly learn that he was good for several reasons.

First of all, Wayne knew the game inside and out. As a former star player for the Bangor Rams, Wayne knew the many nuances of the game, and he also knew how to interpret the rules and the regulations of the fast-paced sport by adding a dose of common sense to the proceedings.

Wayne had a unique knack for covering all the bases of basketball, and he combined all of that with an authoritative style that everyone in the building knew who was in charge: the officials on the floor.

Although I always knew who was calling the shots when Wayne Lawton officiated our games, I enjoyed his take-charge attitude – I really did.

I didn’t fully appreciate this man, however, until I watched him and his wife conduct themselves in basketball settings as parents.

As a longtime coach, I kept parents at arm’s length, primarily because some parents cannot make the proper differentiation between parents and friends. Although the Lawtons were friendly, they knew that I was unlikely to give any parents much room when it came to crossing the line between professionalism and friendship.

As coach, I was at a decided disadvantage because of my history with the family. As parents, they never crossed that line.

Nothing made the Lawtons prouder than the accomplishments of their son Brian.

Brian was one of those kids who always aimed to please. After finishing school, Brian became a pro golfer, and nothing made his family happier than to watch him excel in all that he set out to do.

I look back fondly on my years at Bapst, in large part due to the quality of parents such as Wayne and Anne Lawton, who supported the school and Brian’s teachers and coaches without fail, regardless of where their beloved son stood with issues of playing time or recognition. That, in and of itself, is no small task. And that type of loyalty is not something we see much of in a lot of programs statewide.

30-Second Time Out

As a Boston Red Sox fan, I’m confused by the notion that Sox skipper Terry Francona can speak to the issue of reminding an injured rookie such as Jacoby Ellsbury about the importance of playing through a groin injury while not addressing similar problems with veterans such as J.D. Drew.

Does this selective discipline make him a so-called true players’ manager?

It does give this old coach pause for concern.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net