West Michigan Mourns Longtime Mentor
June 25, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As quickly as June has come to an end, summer soon will give way to another highly-anticipated football season in the Grand Rapids area – but also one that undoubtedly will feel like someone is missing for the many officials who learned from Carl Paganelli.
The longtime high school, college and professional official died May 21 at age 82 after fighting cancer, and was laid to rest May 29 in Wyoming, near Grand Rapids, where he lived most of his life.
Paganelli’s most high-profile on-field work likely came during his time in the former USFL, World Football League and Arena Football League. More of his 58 years in the game came as supervisor of officials in the Mid-American Conference, Arena League and during the initial campaign of the XFL. His three sons Carl Jr., Perry and Dino all have gone on to officiate in NFL Super Bowls.
Those impressive notes were mentioned most when Carl Sr. died. But his influence on the high school game was similarly substantial and should continue through those he mentored during nearly 60 years as part of the West Michigan Officials Association – which referred to him as “one of the founding fathers of officiating in West Michigan” in announcing his passing.
Paganelli was an MHSAA registered official for 36 football seasons through fall 1998, and also for 24 basketball seasons through winter 1987-88. Also during the 1990s, Caledonia native Mark Uyl began a multi-sport officiating career that would carry him in part to two baseball College World Series. He got to know Paganelli well through wearing the stripes and while also serving as athletic director at his alma mater and then Middleville Thornapple Kellogg on the way to becoming an MHSAA assistant and now executive director.
“Carl was one of the greatest officiating mentors that there’s ever been, and what made Carl most unique in that area was the fact he would go out and watch a junior high game Thursday in Grand Rapids, see a new official, and give that official the same time and care and detail that he would when he was supervisor of officials for the MAC or evaluating NFL officials,” Uyl said.
“To him, an official was an official. He was there, and he wanted to help you get better.”
As noted in his obituary, Paganelli was considered the “godfather of Grand Rapids area officials” and has been credited by numerous NFL officials for his guidance over the years. He was inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame and also into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame twice – solo in 2008 and with his three sons as the “Paganelli Team” in 2018.
Carl Sr. with his sons was among presenters when more than 1,200 officials from across the state poured into Grand Rapids during July 2013 for the first Officiate Michigan Day. His local footprint also includes a substantial presence at Grand Rapids Community College, where the foyer of the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse is named after the family and a scholarship in their name is presented annually to a student-athlete. Paganelli Sr. had attended Grand Rapids Junior College in 1954 and 1955. He also served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and later sat on the Wyoming City Council.
PHOTO: Carl Paganelli speaks to an audience during Officiate Michigan Day in 2013 as part of a roundtable with his three sons.
Sullivan Returns to Court After Coaching, Sees Game In New Ways as Official
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
February 6, 2024
Gary Sullivan is getting a whole new perspective on basketball.
After 25 years of coaching the game on several levels – including the last six as the boys varsity coach at Blissfield Community Schools – Sullivan has replaced his school logo with stripes and a whistle. He’s enjoying his second basketball career, this time as a referee.
“I’m having a good time,” said Sullivan, who will retire this month as a teacher at Blissfield. “I’ve had fantastic experiences so far. I hope it stays that way.”
Sullivan is an Ohio native, having grown up just across the state line and attended Evergreen High School. After graduating from the University of Toledo, he landed a teaching job at Blissfield. Early on, he took a stab at officiating basketball.
“(Former Blissfield baseball coach) Larry Tuttle got me into it,” he said. “I did a few middle school and some junior varsity games. Then, when I became an athletic director pretty early in my career, I gave officiating up.”
He started coaching along the way, from youth sports to middle school basketball. He took over as the Blissfield varsity coach in 2016-17
After winning seven games over two seasons with an experienced roster, Blissfield rebounded with 12 wins in 2018-19 and 19 in 2019-20 – the most for Blissfield since 1992.
The Royals won Lenawee County Athletic Association and Division 2 District titles in 2021. The LCAA title was the first for the Royals since 2003, and the District championship was the first for the school since 2004. He won 60 games in all and earned two county Coach of the Year awards.
He stepped down as basketball coach two years ago.
It wasn’t long and he was being courted to help tackle the referee shortage in Michigan and across the country. His brother, Terry, is a basketball official in the Jackson area.
“When I was finished coaching, I started thinking about it again,” Sullivan said. “My brother does a ton of officiating in the Jackson area. He told me, ‘Just do it. It will be fun. What else are you going to do in the middle of the winter? You might as well referee.’ It gives you a chance to still be involved in the game.”
Initially, Sullivan figured he’d officiate a few middle school and junior varsity games. Once he got his feet wet and adjusted to life with the whistle, however, he was hooked.
“Last year was my first year – that was my intention, do middle school and some JV, maybe a couple of days a week,” he said. “Before I knew it, they were assigning me games left and right. The more I did it, the more I liked it. By the end of the year, they had the chance to assign a couple of varsity games. No one complained too awful bad, and they gave me a few more.”
With his basketball background, Sullivan found being a referee an outlet for his competitive nature.
“Being around basketball has made it much easier for me than someone who just comes in and, ‘Hey, I’ll try to do this,’ he said. “You are competing with yourself a little to make the right call and keep the game flowing along.”
There have been a few unexpected moments in the transition from coach to referee.
For one, Sullivan said, being on the court is a completely different perspective than being on the sidelines.
“It is so much faster when you have to run and follow that person than it is when you sit there and watch it,” Sullivan said. “When you have to run, get to your primary spot, then keep the peripheral vision going to watch everything, it's much faster, more difficult than I ever anticipated.”
Sullivan said certain aspects of the game are different, too.
“As a coach, I always anticipated what I thought was going to happen,” he said. “In your mind you know someone is going to travel, then as soon as they travel, you are yelling ‘Travel!’ As an official, it is better to be a second late and be correct than a second early and be wrong.
“To me, the toughest transition has been to slow down, wait for the actual play to let itself run its course. Make sure it really was a foul. Think about it. Don’t get in a rush to make the call.”
He’s grateful to other area officials who have helped him learn the tricks of the trade during either formal training sessions or by example. He’s had the chance to review some of his games on film, which has helped him dissect the game from a new angle. He’s also learned from coaching to block out fans and people from the crowd who might disagree with a call.
“I have not had a negative experience yet from a fan,” he said. “As a former coach, I put myself on double probation – I dished out enough that maybe I’m a little more tolerant than some other officials. That’s just my personality at this point.”
This year Sullivan has had a full schedule of middle school games plus about a dozen girls varsity basketball games and a handful of boys varsity games. The most recent was Friday in Ottawa Lake in front of a big crowd watching rivals Whiteford and Summerfield.
“That was a ton of fun – full house, competitive game. I was glad to be a part of it,” Sullivan said.
There’s another bonus to being an official. When the game is over, he can go home and sleep. No more late nights watching film or scouting for the upcoming opponent.
“My cats are much happier,” he said. “I’m not waking up at 4:30 in the morning and watching a film, then going back to bed. It’s fun. I’m enjoying it.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Official Gary Sullivan monitors the action while working a boys basketball game at Ottawa Lake Whiteford. (Middle) Sullivan directs his team from the sideline during his tenure as Blissfield’s boys basketball coach. (Top photo by Mike Doughty; middle photo courtesy of the Adrian Daily Telegram.)