McClain looks back on half-century of officiating

Passing along some city high school football tidbits . . .

TOM MCCLAIN's 52-year officiating career will end Thursday morning when Northeast hosts Central for the schools' annual Thanksgiving tussle.

He can't help but think, however, that a better way to go out might have presented itself 3 weeks ago, when he attended a youth game involving his grandson, Declan Martin-Connaughton, a member of the Upper Dublin Cardinals' 75-pounders.

"At youth games, they only have two refs," McClain said. "One guy didn't show up, so I wound up doing the game. I didn't have a ref shirt with me. I wore a rain jacket. But that was fun. Declan, his eyes lit up to see me walk out there to get the game started. Having me out there probably added some luster for him."

The popular McClain, 72, is a West Catholic grad ("best 7 years of my life"). He began working youth ball in 1961. His first varsity assignment came late in the '64 season, and he went full time in '65. His early spots were field judge and back judge, but he has long served as a head referee.

"My first Public League game was Roxborough-Edison, down at 29th and Chalmers," McClain said. "After the game, [Roxborough coach] Fred Hauser came over and asked me, 'What's your name, son?' I was thinking, 'Is my first varsity game gonna be my last? Did I make a bad call that really hurt his team?'

"Turned out he liked my work and made a call to Gus Geiges [Pub football chairman]. I always think of Fred Hauser as the guy who gave my career the great early boost."

And he always laughs when he thinks of Geiges' sense of humor.

"One night at one of our meetings, he told me, 'They want good officials at Bartram this week. You go to Lincoln.' "

McClain has built great friendships with comrades and even enjoys warm interaction with former coaches whom he sometimes angered.

All part of the job.

"All you can really do is try to govern the game," he said. "I've gotten accolades, and I've also hit bumps in the road. I've always appreciated having the best seat in the house to watch these kids play football, and I've worked with so many tremendous partners."

The play McClain remembers the most occurred in a 1983 Catholic League quarterfinal at Veterans Stadium. Cardinal Dougherty lost to Father Judge, 27-21, in overtime, when a touchdown catch by Andy Garczynski was disallowed.

McClain, the back judge, signaled a TD, then was overruled.

"Anytime I see [Dougherty coach] George Stratts, he tells me, 'You still owe me six points,' " McClain said. "After we saw the film, I felt good that I'd gotten it right, but bad that I'd been overruled."

McClain is retiring because of a nagging heel problem.

"Doing the games has always been fun," he said. "This year, that just hasn't been the case as much."

Frankford's quarterbacks, Tim DiGiorgio and Marquise Poston, are lefties, and Prince Cooper punts with his left foot. Kenny Appiott kicks with his right. DiGiorgio needs 206 yards Thursday vs. Fels to become the Pub's third 3,000-yard career passer. He has played only two varsity seasons . . . West Catholic's season is over before Thanksgiving for the first time since 1999 . . . Wideout-safety Matthew Gilliam is University City's student body president. "One of the nicest kids you'll find," coach Lorrel McCook said . . .  Will someone out there please find a way to make better helmets?! There's no way these things should pop off again and again, even on plays with minimal contact. It's a joke! . . . While storming to five consecutive Class AAA City Titles, Wood has rung up a 240-48 scoring advantage. Combined score at halftime: 191-20 . . . After Bok star Antoine Whitney lost a fumble on one play against Wood and made an interception on the next, his mother, Lisa, yelled from a spot close to the west end of the home stands, "Way to make up for the mistake, baby! I'm gonna make you chicken tonight!" After the Wildcats scored with 2:51 left, she roared, "Get that ball back and bring it down here to Mommy!" Whitney was spectacular, rushing/receiving/returning for 329 yards . . .

Titles for rookie coaches are (almost) all in the rage in Northwest Philly. Germantown's Charlie Hicks and Mike Hawkins won the overall Pub in '82 and '99. Albie Crosby has guided Imhotep to Pub and City AA crowns in his first season. When Del-Val Charter captured Pub A in '09, Barry Thomas was a second-year guy . . .  Last week, we noted that Bok's Dylan Edmonds-Carty had made five catches this season for 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 yards. Though conversion snags don't count, statswise, he had an 8-yarder vs. Wood that followed a procedure call . . . In its last 43 seasons, Edison has gone winless 13 times and settled for one victory 15 times . . . Two Pub squads will be seeking to end long Thanksgiving losing streaks: Lincoln hasn't bested Judge since 1989, and Roxborough last topped Roman in '91 (scoreless tie in '92) .City top10

1. La Salle (11-1)

2. St. Joseph's Prep (9-1)

3. Archbishop Wood (10-2)

4. Imhotep Charter (12-0)

5. Episcopal Academy (10-0)

6. West Catholic (7-4)

7. Frankford (8-3)

8. Roman Catholic (5-4)

9. Archbishop Ryan (5-5)

10. George Washington (8-2)

Under consideration: Haverford School (7-4), Malvern Prep (6-5), Edward Bok Tech (9-3), Simon Gratz Charter (10-1).

Email: silaryt@phillynews.com,