{"id":43334,"date":"2024-03-13T07:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T11:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=43334"},"modified":"2024-03-11T10:30:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T14:30:03","slug":"making-the-calls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/making-the-calls\/","title":{"rendered":"MAKING THE CALLS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In a news release from the Midwest Buckeye Umpires Association, Hicksville\u2019s own James F. (Jim) Siler will be inducted into the OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) Officials Hall of Fame. The 2024 recognition banquet will be held on June 22nd in Columbus, Ohio, one day before Jim\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired from umpiring since last year, Jim called his first game in 1969 – for a fee of $2.00! In 1971 he became a charter member of the MBUA. Affiliated with the OHSAA, Siler umpired baseball for 54 years. He also refereed basketball for 17 years. He has been tapped for 26 regional tournament assignments and three state tourney jobs – in 1981, 1983, and 1984. Records show that Jim has umpired 3,100 games!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Midwest Buckeye Umpires Association boasts that Jim is the fourth of their members to receive this prestigious honor. They will be holding an open gathering at the Van Wert, Ohio Pizza Hut on March 20th from 6 to 7 to honor Jim and fellow inductee and long-time friend, Bill Wonders. (The association is having a banquet after the open house with a meal. There is a $15 charge for anybody wanting to stay for that.Those interested in attending the banquet to follow should register with Ron Golemon at 419-513-0439.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jim is a Vietnam era veteran of the US Air Force. A graduate of Stryker High School, he attended BGSU and Toledo University, getting his degrees over a period of time, during which he worked at BF Goodrich. Jim taught electricity and electronics at Vantage for 15 years, followed by 16 years at Hicksville schools, where he taught psychology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That psychology training came in handy during stressful times on the ballfield. Jim states that he \u201cnever made an enemy and never threw a coach out\u201d. Instead he would let them do their ranting, look them in the eye and ask \u201cAre you done now?\u201d Once the wind was out of their sails, the game could continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim is happy in retirement, stating that it\u2019s all been fun. He enjoys family time with his wife Donna, children Heather, Kelby and Perry, plus nine grandchildren and five great grands. Kelby is following in dad\u2019s footsteps as an umpire, with over 100 games so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about this milestone achievement, Jim says getting the award gives him \u201ca warm and fuzzy feeling. Fifty-five years is a long time, but you don\u2019t think about it in that way.\u201d He says \u201cIt\u2019s been a great avocation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a news release from the Midwest Buckeye Umpires Association, Hicksville\u2019s own James F. (Jim) Siler will be inducted into<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,2301,1464,5],"tags":[21525,21526,21528,21524,9534,21527],"class_list":["post-43334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-general-news","category-history-community","category-sports","tag-james-f-siler","tag-jim-siler","tag-june-22-2024","tag-midwest-buckeye-umpires-association","tag-ohio-high-school-athletic-association","tag-ohsaa-officials-hall-of-fame"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t