90 Years of Making the Right Calls
November 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Beryl Hager read something about officiating recently that struck him.
People will never forget a bad call, and they’ll never remember a good one.
“That’s the way it is,” the longtime official from Marlette said. “Realistically, everyone makes a bad call.”
But the calls, good and bad, are not what Hager and longtime partner Vern Geister will remember most from their combined 90 years in Michigan high school athletics, which "tentatively" came to an end this fall.
The former high school classmates have a standing dinner double date with their wives. When that time comes, they’ll each celebrate more than four decades as MHSAA officials, including many years working side-by-side on the football field and most recently the volleyball court.
Hager, 74, has been an official since 1967 – a stretch of 46 years. Geister, 81, served his 44th this fall.
Frequently working five days a week over the decades, they've facilitated hundreds of games and benefited thousands of athletes, mostly in the Thumb area. They've officiated Capac’s volleyball invitational over the tenures of three athletic directors. Hager worked basketball games in the school’s Harry C. Moore Gymnasium when Moore was the basketball coach – Moore died in 1986.
“They have just great attitudes. They’re always wonderful with our kids,” Capac athletic director Arnie VandeMark said. “And you just wouldn't believe the stories they told us. They've been here a long time.”
A book full of memories
Hager wishes he’d kept a diary of his officiating career, which began in 1967.
Some of his most vivid memories are perhaps not what you’d expect.
“I saw some dreadful injuries,” he said. “I saw a young man break a thigh bone, and he was in shock and didn't feel any pain. One night at a volleyball match, a girl broke her ankle, came down on somebody’s foot. One night at a basketball game, two guys were playing and one jumped up and the other was behind him, trailing him, and four teeth went flying through the air. The front one came down on his back, the other came down on his face. Both were out.”
But the far greater number of his football, basketball, volleyball and baseball games were without incident – just as an official would have them.
Hager always enjoyed sports. He was involved in Little League baseball and has taught Sunday school at his church for 55 years. Officiating seemed a great way to blend his enjoyment of sports and people.
Plus it worked into his schedule. He could pick up games that didn't conflict with his jobs in farming and later facility maintenance. His son graduated in 1983, and aside from one half of one football game, he didn't miss an event. For a short while at the start, Hager's his wife Lois officiated with him.
He also was among pioneers in one of his sports, officiating volleyball from its MHSAA start in 1976. He’s worked a number of District tournaments and a handful of Regionals over the years – and like many things over 45 seasons, watched that sport come a long way.
“I didn't know anything about it. Nor did anyone else,” Hager said. “It’s changed tremendously in the last 35 years. When we started, if they could get the ball over the net, and hit it back, we were doing really well. Now, one guys told me volleyball is not a game. It’s a science.”
A natural fit
Geister really wanted to coach.
He’d done so for his son’s little league baseball team for five years, but knew his chances to continue were few. At that point in time during the 1950s, nearly all coaches also were teachers.
Before retiring in 1997, Geister worked first in the mobile home industry, then for the Kroger company before serving for more than 16 years as a Sanilac County magistrate. Officiating seemed like the next best way to stay involved with athletics.
“It was kind of a natural thing to get started,” he said.
“I think it makes you feel younger than you really are, just being with the athletes.”
Geister, who had caught for the Marlette baseball team before graduating in 1949, began officiating that sport before picking up football, basketball, softball and eventually volleyball. He got heaviest into that last after a knee replacement in 1997 made it difficult to keep up on the football field and basketball court.
But he did have a chance to officiate at the highest high school level, working the 1983 Class D Football Final at the Pontiac Silverdome between St. Ignace and Mendon. Geister also officiated Semifinals and some high-level baseball playoffs.
One football Regional sticks out most. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port and now-closed Detroit DePorres matched up at Flint’s Atwood Stadium. A storm had come through and dropped a good amount of snow. That was cleared, but a sheet of ice was left behind.
Back then, four people made up an officiating crew – now it is five – which would've made keeping up with the players pretty tough. The good news, perhaps, was that the players had a hard time keeping upright on the slippery turf as well.
Remembering a third partner
Geister said for him, the best part of officiating has been the friends he’s had the opportunity to make and maintain over the years.
They'll always remember a third partner who died in 1978.
Classmate Andy McSkulin had been a freshman at Marlette when Geister was a senior in 1948-49 and a senior when Hager was a freshman. He became an MHSAA official around the same time those two started up.
The three did a number of games together and worked on the same football crew at times. They knew each other well before, but got to know each other even better.
Hager has never gotten riled easily, and gave out only a few technical fouls over the years. But he remembered working a basketball game with McSkulin during which his partner knew Hager was about to assess one – McSkulin “said he could see the fire in my eyes.”
More to come?
For the last 15 seasons, Hager and Geister have worked volleyball matches together. They bring a professional but fun atmosphere to their games.
They’re known for joking with each other. They've never had an argument.
And although Geister doesn't completely agree, Hager said he and his partner’s retirement is only tentative. They've discussed coming back for a few junior varsity or junior high games next fall.
Neither belongs to a local officials association or has a computer. But both have still gotten calls from local athletic directors like VandeMark, who appreciate their knowledge and approach in working their games.
“I think what you enjoy is having the respect of the players and coaches,” Geister said. “I think you get to the point where it’s the pride of feeling you've done your best, done a good job and that they appreciate it.”
PHOTO: Officials Beryl Hager (left) and Vern Geister are congratulated by members of the Capac freshman, junior varsity and varsity volleyball teams while being honored for their combined 90 years of service during a match last month. (Photo courtesy of Capac athletics.)
Friday Nights Always Memorable as Record-Setter Essenburg Begins 52nd Year as Official
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
August 31, 2023
GRAND RAPIDS – All Tom Essenburg could think of was the warmth of a waiting bus.
Five decades later, that's what Essenburg – then a senior defensive back at Holland High School – remembers most about a stormy Friday night before 2,100 thoroughly drenched fans at Riverview Park. He recalls having a solid night from his position in the Dutch secondary. He remembers a fourth-quarter downpour, Holland eventually winning the game and trudging wearily through the lakes of mud to the team's bus.
But what never dawned on Essenburg until much later was that he had been the first to accomplish something only three defenders in the history of Michigan high school football have ever done:
Intercept five passes in a single game.
"I knew after the game that I had a bunch of them, but (at the time) we were in a 0-0 game and my mind was on just don't get beat (on a pass) and we lose 7-0," he said of the Sept. 21, 1962, contest against Muskegon Heights.
It wasn't until the next morning's story in the Holland Evening Sentinel that Essenburg grasped what exactly had happened. He didn't realize until then that he had picked off five passes in all, including two over the last 1:52 that sealed a 12-0 win over Muskegon Heights. One of the interceptions went for a 37-yard touchdown, which Essenburg does vividly remember.
"I remember thinking to myself that I had to score," said Essenburg, who has been involved with high school sports in one fashion or another for more than 60 years. "There was a Muskegon Heights guy who had the angle on me and I pretty much thought I was going to get tackled, but I got in there."
Essenburg's recollection of the first three interceptions is a bit hazy after 61 years, but the next day's newspaper account pointed out one amazing fact. The Muskegon Heights quarterback had only attempted six passes during the entire game, with five of them winding up in the hands of the 5-foot-8, 155-pound Essenburg – who had never intercepted a single pass before that night. He would later intercept two more in the season finale against Grand Rapids Central.
It wasn't until the middle 1970s that Essenburg began wondering where the five-interception performance ranked among Michigan High School Athletic Association records. What he remembers most about the game was the overwhelming desire to find warmth and dry out.
"I just wanted to get to the bus and get warm. We were all soaked," he said. "For me it was like, 'OK, game over.' I was just part of the story."
Curiosity, however, eventually got the better of Essenburg. A decade later he contacted legendary MHSAA historian Dick Kishpaugh, who in an attempt to confirm the five interceptions, wrote to Muskegon Heights coach Okie Johnson, who quickly verified the mark.
It turns out that at the time in 1962, nobody had even intercepted four passes in a game. And since Essenburg's record night, only Tony Gill of Temperance Bedford on Oct. 13, 1990, and then Zach Brigham of Concord on Oct. 15, 2010, have matched intercepting five passes in one game.
Three years after Essenburg's special night, Dave Slaggert of Saginaw St. Peter & Paul became the first of 17 players to intercept four passes in a game.
Essenburg laughs about it now, but his five interceptions didn't even earn him Player of the Week honors from the local Holland Optimist Club. Instead, the club inexplicably gave the honor to a defensive lineman.
It was that last interception Essenburg cherishes the most. His fourth with 1:52 remaining at the Holland 17-yard line had set up a seven-play, 83-yard drive that snapped a scoreless tie. Then on Muskegon Height's next possession, Essenburg grabbed an errant pass and raced 37 yards down the sideline to seal the game with 13 seconds left.
In those days, running games dominated high school football and defensive backs were left virtually on their own, Essenburg said.
"I kept thinking don't let them beat you, don't let them beat you. No one can get beyond you. In those days, once a receiver got in the secondary, they were gone," said Essenburg, who describes himself as a capable defender but no star.
"I wasn't great, but I guess I was pretty good for those days," he said. "I'm proud that I'm in the record book with a verified record."
Essenburg's Holland High School career, which also included varsity letters in tennis and baseball, is part of a lifelong association with prep sports. After playing tennis at Western Michigan, he became Allegan High School's athletic director in 1971 while coaching the tennis team and junior varsity football from 1967-73.
But he's most proud of being a member of the West Michigan Officials Association for the last 47 years. During that time, Essenburg estimates he's officiated more than 400 varsity football games and nearly 1,000 freshman and junior varsity contests. In all, he's worked 83 playoff games, including six MHSAA Finals, the most recent in 2020 at Ford Field. An MHSAA-registered official for 52 years total, he's also officiated high school softball since 1989.
Essenburg also worked collegiately in the Division III Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and NAIA for 35 years, including officiating the 2005 Alonzo Stag Bowl.
Essenburg said the one thing that's kept him active in officiating is being a small part of the tight community and family bonds that make fall Friday nights special.
"I enjoy being part of high schools' Friday night environment," he said. "All that is so good to me, especially the playoffs. It's the small schools and being part of community. I used to say it was the smell of the grass, but now, of course, it's turf.
"I can't play anymore, but I can play a part in high school football in keeping the rules and being fair to both teams. That's what I want to be part of."
While it can be argued high school football now is a far cry from Essenburg's era, he believes his even-tempered attitude serves him well as an official. It's also the first advice he would pass along to young officials.
"My makeup is that I don't get rattled," he said. "Sure, I hear things, but does it rattle me? No. I look at it as part of the game. My goal is to be respected.
"I've never once ejected a coach. It's pretty much just trying to be cool and collected in talking to coaches. It's like, 'OK Coach, You've had your say, let's go on."
While Essenburg is rightly proud of his five-interception record, he believes the new days of quarterbacks throwing two dozen times in a game will eventually lead to his mark falling by the wayside. And that's fine, he said.
"It'll get beaten, no question. It's just a matter of when," he said. "Quarterbacks are so big now, like 6-4, 200 pounds, and they are strong-armed because of weight programs. They throw lots of passes now, so there's no doubt it's going to happen."
Until Essenburg is erased from the record book, he'll take his satisfaction from his connection with Friday Night Lights.
"I love high school sports and being with coaches and players," he said. "My goal was once to work for the FBI or be a high school coach, but now I want to continue working football games on Friday nights until someone says no more."
PHOTOS (Top) Tom Essenburg holds up a copy of the program from the 1962 game during which he intercepted a record five passes for Holland against Muskegon Heights. (Middle) Essenburg, left, and Al Noles officiate an Addix all-star game in Grand Rapids. (Photos courtesy of Tom Essenburg.)