FARMINGTON – Paul Sproul is as much a part of youth basketball in Franklin County as that bouncy round orange thing is.

Known better as “Bucky,” Sproul has been refereeing basketball since 1955 and, at age 71, he doesn’t appear to be taking off the black and white striped shirt that has become a wardrobe staple anytime soon.

“When I quit,” he says with his typical toothy grin, “that’s when I die.”

At only 5-feet 5-inches tall, Sproul clearly was not cut out to be a hoop star. But, in the early 1950s while serving in the Air Force, he got into refereeing and found he liked it.

When he began college in Farmington at what was then known at the Farmington Normal School, Sproul brought his passion for calling the shots with him.

In 1955, he refereed his first game of hundreds in Franklin County when the high school teams from Stratton and Rangeley faced off. He is still out there.

While the job has given him sore legs, weary eyes and an earful of the usual taunts tossed at referees, it has also given Sproul his identity.

He referees today for young players whose grandparents he once kept in check on the court. He remembers when girls used to get a jump ball at center court after every basket and when the full-court press came to Maine in the late 1950s.

When he retired from teaching in 1987, it just gave him more time to devote to basketball, whether it was refereeing or watching his favorite college team, Duke, on television.

He supplements the small purse he picks up for working games by working part time as a custodian for SAD 9. He also lines all the district’s athletic fields.

He loves to travel and along with his wife, Janette, has been to Tibet, Spain, China and Hungary. He’s currently visiting Ireland.

While his devotion is to refereeing games in Franklin County, Sproul worked as a referee at Maine Principals’ Association basketball games until seven years ago. Today, he mostly referees middle school games for the Northern Franklin County League and some travel team games.

Sproul stays busy and loves putting on the uniform today as much as he did 49 years ago.

“You stay in shape, and you are earning money doing it,” he says.

While referees don’t pick up nearly as much glory as those who light up the scoreboard, in his 49 years, Sproul has been honored for his service to the youth basketball players in Franklin County.

In 1998, he got a plaque from the Rangeley school and earlier this year, he was “flabbergasted” to be called over by SAD 58 Superintendent Quenten Clark during the halftime of a game.

Sproul remembers himself thinking, “What the heck does he want me for?” He was stunned and humbled when he was presented a plaque and a school fleece, complete with “Bucky” lettered on the breast in gold thread.

“It occurred to me it’s been a long time coming,” Clark said of the honorarium. “Bucky is just an institution in Franklin County when it comes to basketball.”

What makes Sproul special, says Clark, is that he explains his calls to the players, which is what middle school hoops is all about. Plus, he always comes when the district calls for a referee, the superintendent noted.

“The crowd who was there that night was more than happy to stand up and give him a big round of applause,” Clark said. “He is certainly appreciated here.”

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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