Time to hand it off

Gerald Jones passes on his whistle after 40 years

By Jeremy Joffray ~ Southeast Missourian

Few things remain constant in the world of high school football.

Players come and go. Coaches move up and eventually move on. Even the school stadiums are renovated or replaced.

For the past 40 years, area fans have been able to count on at least one thing: Gerald Jones has traveled anywhere from the Arkansas border to Festus, Mo., each week to officiate high school games.

Jones, currently the county commissioner for Cape Girardeau County, will hang up his whistle after this season.

"It's just time to be a spectator," Jones said.

Perryville coach Rick Chastain, a coaching veteran who has known Jones throughout his coaching days, said he will be sad not to see Jones on the field any more.

"I've known Gerald for many, many years. You can't find a finer person than Gerald Jones," Chastain said.

While Jones did not become a registered official until 1964, his introduction to officiating came during his collegiate days at Southeast Missouri State University. As a student, Jones could not accept money for officiating junior high and "B" games due to NCAA regulations. Jones went on to teach and coach track and cross country at Jackson High School, and that is when he started officiating high school football.

"Football was my true love," Jones said.

A lot has changed since those early beginnings for Jones. During his early years as an official, there were only three officials to a game -- compared to five today. Each individual official had his own schedule instead of having officiating crews. On the field, one official stood in the offensive backfield, one in the defensive backfield and one official ran the sideline.

"The linesman covered everything down field. But you could do it because no one threw the ball," Jones said.

The game itself was much different 40 years ago. The T formation was the standard, with wide receivers a relatively unheard term.

Jones said before a game during his early years, officials made sure to ask coaches several important questions.

"One of the questions you asked a coach is 'Are you going to throw a pass?'" he said.

As coaches and players continued to evolve over the years, so did the game. Players continued to get bigger, stronger and faster, and as they did the game also became faster.

"I've seen so many changes in the game. It's just amazing," Jones said.

Being on the field for 40 years, Jones has been able to see first-hand the evolution of the football player.

Jones has officiated games involving former Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans receiver Isaac Byrd, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green and Seattle Seahawks defensive end Grant Wistrom, just to name a few.

"I've seen a lot of great athletes," Jones said.

As the game and the rules changed, Jones carried on. A love of the game kept bringing Jones back to the field as an official, but it was a passion for the players' education which kept him involved.

"I truly believe athletics is an integral part of the total education experience of a student. If we lose sight of athletics as a true educational experience, we no longer need it in my opinion," Jones said.

Of course, players and coaches also want to win. Success for an official is not quite as easy to gauge. There are no wins and losses for an official, and even the best officials make mistakes. The most an official can hope for is not to be noticed.

"I think you've had your best game when no one really notices, or remembers who you are," Jones said.

Jackson coach Carl Gross said he was always happy to have Jones officiating one of his games.

"He's very conscientious. He's a good official because he doesn't want to determine the outcome from the official's position," Gross said.

Jones' farewell season brought with it many fond memories. From a cake he received from the Scott City athletic director, to a presentation by the National Federation Interscholastic Officials Association president honoring him at his last regular-season game in Jackson, to a standing ovation at a Poplar Bluff game, his last season has been memorable.

"I've caused football fans to jump to their feet in my time, but it's certainly not been for an ovation," Jones said with a smile.

His most recent game, which may have been his last, was Monday night in the Class 4 quarterfinals, a 28-14 victory by St. Clair over North County.

While the days of watching Jones run down the football field may be over -- he admits at 64 he's lost a step or two -- Jones' officiating days are not totally behind him. Jones has been a track and field official for 42 years, and he does not intend on giving that up any time soon.

"With track, I don't have to run," he said.

Jones' retirement, along with that of several other veteran officials in the area, leaves a void Jones hopes will be filled soon.

"We really, really need officials," he said.