With Boone embroiled in a close high school football game with Kissimmee Gateway, Phil Ziglar was certain he made the correct call.
Boone trailed by two in the waning seconds when it called for a fair catch on a punt, allowing for a free kick on a potentially game-winning field goal. Ziglar, the Braves’ coach at the time, was confident the rules allowed the ball to be moved between the hashmarks, seemingly to improve the kicker’s odds.
Referee Morris Middleton disagreed. He was not budging. Neither was the ball.
After Ziglar and Middleton finished their spirited discussion, Boone’s kicker hooked the field goal. If the ball would have been moved, it easily would have missed. As it was, the ball arrived at its intended destination between the uprights.
“I always tease [Middleton] about that, but that might have been the only rule he didn’t know that night,’’ Ziglar, who completed his 43-year coaching career at Hagerty in 2018. “He is the most efficient official that I ever knew.’’
Middleton, 83, began refereeing in 1956 in Alabama and, except for one year when he attended graduate school in Tennessee, has kept at it. That’s 62 seasons of blown whistles, pinstriped shirts and backyard rivalries.
Middleton started the same year as President Dwight Eisenhower’s reelection, Elvis Presley’s first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show’’ before 60 million viewers and IBM produced the first computer with a hard-disk drive.
In the Air Force at the time, Middleton was playing basketball when someone suggested he try high-school officiating.
“At that time, I was making $70 a month, and they paid two dollars and a half to referee a ball game,’’ Middleton said. “Obviously, it was a great deal.’’
Before Middleton’s first assignment, his partner told him he would make all the calls.
“You just follow around and look like you’re doing something,’’ Middleton was told.
An Orlando resident, Middleton earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn and advanced degrees from Rollins, UCF and the University of Tennessee. An engineer by trade, Middleton has served as an adjunct professor at UCF and Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
Since 1994, Middleton has worked for a global engineering, logistics and information technology firm located not far from Amway Center.
“Morris is a go-getter,’’ said Cary Fields, a past president of the Central Florida Officials Association. “He’s still involved and wants to be involved.’’
At one time, Middleton booked game assignments from St. Augustine to Lakeland for the officials association. His wife of 57 years, Francis, assisted by working the phones.
It was better that way.
“Morris would call you up and say, ‘Can you go to Crescent City for a game Friday night?’’’ longtime official Don Trawick said. “‘Oh, I can’t go because my wife’s pregnant and all.’ He just wants a yes or no and move on.’’
Francis, who died in 2012, possessed a gentler touch.
“They’d rather speak with her than speak with me,’’ Middleton said.
Middleton has two sons, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, and that’s not even including the untold number of relationships he has developed over countless Friday nights.
Those will continue to flourish, even if Middleton has made his last call.
Middleton, who is not working any high-school football playoff games, underwent heart surgery in March and is walking around on two bad knees.
He is considering stepping away. No decision is final, but if this is it, Middleton is firm about how he wants to be remembered.
“Being fair,’’ Middleton said. “I guess that’s the only thing.’’
The games will go on. So will Middleton, although he plans to stay close.
He has thought about becoming a clock operator.
For a man who has devoted so much time to high-school athletics, what else would he do?
