Here are a couple of totally unrelated stories.

It is nearing the end of high school football season and I am running out of football stories, so I am combining two short ones.

It was in the 70s, and four-man crews were the norm, even for varsity games.

I was scheduled to go with a crew to Edmore.

It was a long drive, and the veteran officials in the area had games closer to home. I looked at the crew members who were going with me and realized that most were pretty new officials, like me, and I was the only person who was willing/able to wear the white hat and do the referee position.

I had never worked the referee position before, but the other three guys, I knew, would refuse, so that left me.

I conferred with my mentor, the guy I mentioned before who encouraged me to get into officiating. I was concerned as to which of the other three officials should work which position.

His advice was to have me put the official who I thought had the best judgment as the line judge. His reasoning was that the line judge would have the most visible and possibly controversial decisions to make. He would be covering pass receivers where possible pass interference calls would occur, and also many of his call or no-call decisions would be out in the open for easy criticisms.

So I made my decision … and it turned out to be a bad one.

We were nearing the end of the first half. It was fourth down for the visiting team, and they were going to punt the ball. The line judge was back with the punt returner. I, as the referee, was back with the kicker.

The punter kicked a nice high boot. From my vantage point 40-plus yards away, I clearly saw the kick returner give the signal for a fair catch.

He caught the ball and then proceeded to run with the ball and gained about 25 yards on the return.

Of course, that should have received a flag and a five-yard delay of game penalty from the spot where he caught the punt. My line judge — you know, the one with the “good judgment” — did not throw his flag for the foul.

The home fans are furious and screaming.

So is the home coach.

I went to the line judge and asked, “Did you see the receiver make a fair catch signal?”

He answered, “I didn’t see a signal.”

Now, I was in a real dilemma. I could overrule my partner (never advisable), but I was 40 yards away from the play.

Or, I could allow his non-call to stand, as it was totally HIS call. Besides, he was standing right next to the kick returner.

If I had been more experienced as a referee, I would have overruled him, but I didn’t. I continued to receive well-deserved grief from the fans and the coaches the entire rest of the game.

I do not remember if that call affected the outcome of the game or even which team won.

I do remember the booing we received.

Another memorable experience occurred at the only game I ever officiated in Alma.

Our crew was excited to work the game, as it was two good teams and, if I remember correctly, both were undefeated. The winner was probably going to win the league championship.

This experience had nothing to do with the game, and I can’t remember who Alma was playing nor if they won or lost.

We dressed in a locker room that we were assured would be locked during the game. When the game was over, as we were getting dressed, I saw an open locker with scattered credit cards and a driver’s license lying on the bottom. They belonged to one of us officials.

We began a search and discovered that each of us had our cash stolen. The thieves did not take credit cards, just the cash.

I wear an expensive diamond ring as my wedding ring. It is very special, as it was my father-in-law’s, and he gave it to me a few weeks before he died. I never wore it during games, and always hid it someplace in my gear.

I had worn cowboy boots to that game and had put the ring in the toe of the boot for safe keeping.

Thankfully, the thieves didn’t dump the boot and find the ring.

Well, crime doesn’t pay.

Alma had closed-circuit cameras on the property and the cameras recorded the perps prying open the door to the locker room and entering to do the robbery. They were identified and apprehended and we all got our money back.

Les Miller, of Hubbard Lake, has retired after 53 years officiating multiple sports around Michigan. He can be reached at theoldref@yahoo.com.