Shaklee to enter officials’ hall of fame
By Bruce Campbell, Staff Writer
Enid News and Eagle
ENID — Rick Shaklee calls his future induction into the Oklahoma Officials Association Hall of Fame “quite an honor.’’
Shaklee, 62, recently was announced as one of the four inductees. Enshrinement will be July 31 at Southmoore High School.
Shaklee was chosen in his first year of eligibility. Officials must be at least 62 years old.
“They told me it was the first time the board was unanimous,’’ said Shaklee. “It surprised me. All the officials that helped me were the ones that put me there.’’
Shaklee officiated for 34 years before hanging it up six years ago because of knee problems. He has evaluated officials since then.
“I enjoy it and it keeps me in the game,’’ Shaklee said. “My wife is tougher on them than I am. I just try to explain to them what they need to do.’’
Shaklee officiated with some of the area’s best — Dave Diesselhorst, his partner his last nine years, Harold Whipkey, Wes Hurlbutt, Ray Garrett, Steve Barnes, Terry Ingmire and Terry Porter, to name a few.
“I was very honored to call with them,’’ said Shaklee, who called 14 state tournaments.
Shaklee called some grade school and junior high games while going to Jet High School but it was Whipkey who got him into officiating on a big-time basis.
“He came into the office one day and said he needed a partner,’’ Shaklee said. “I told him you got to be kidding.’’
But Shaklee took the officiating test and was officiating with Whipkey the next season. He got a district tournament his third season and a regional his fourth.
“It just went on from there,’’ Shaklee said.
Shaklee said he officiated “for the kids.’’
People still shout, “hey, ref,’’ when they see him.
“I think I was a good official because I was honest,’’ Shaklee said. “If I felt good coming off the court, I felt I did a good job. I just did the best I could.’’
Whipkey schooled him on the fundamentals in the early days.
“Everything had to be speed,’’ Shaklee said. “You had to be 100 percent about a call. You don’t second-guess yourself. If you don’t feel right about it, don’t call it.’’
Shaklee remembers being booed five times in his career.
“I deserved all of it,’’ Shaklee said. “I told a superintendent one night that they didn’t have to pay us that night.’’
Officials, Shaklee said, could have bad days just like players and coaches.
“Once I had someone ask me, ‘Rick, how can you call such a terrible girls game and a great boys game?’ We had been calling for six straight nights. We were tired. It took us awhile to get going.’’
Shaklee did all of the tournaments in northwest Oklahoma, often doing one tournament in the afternoon and another at night.
“That’s for a young man now,’’ Shaklee said. “I tell older officials ‘don’t do that. You’re cutting your own throats. Your legs are going to go underneath you.’’’
Shaklee remembers his knees locking up during a state championship game between Frontier and Stringtown in his next-to-last year of officiating.
Shaklee said Frontier coach Bob Weckstein told him, “Rick, stand where you’re at, I’ll take care of it.’’
The Mustangs stalled the last 3:20, Shaklee said.
“I gave him more teasing than anybody, but he was a super individual,’’ Shaklee said. “When the game was over, it was over and we were the best of friends.’’
His career officially ended when he was knocked down by a player at the area finals, shattering his elbow.
“My doctor bills were outweighing the money I was making officiating,’’ said Shaklee with a laugh.
The Wheat Capital Tournament was his favorite in-season venue. The state tournament, of course, was his goal every year.
“That’s every official’s goal,’’ he said. “When I missed it, I wished I was there.’’
He once had to officiate his oldest daughter Misti’s game at Aline-Cleo. He called All-Star games of his youngest daughter, Kodee. He was thankful he didn’t have to call any of his middle daughter Amber’s games.
“I probably would have fouled her out in the first quarter because she was pretty rough,’’ Shaklee said.
He joked his sister wouldn’t talk to him for two weeks after he called one of her games.
Shaklee was an all-district basketball player at Jet High School, where he graduated in 1966. He played baseball and football.
Shaklee played two years of baseball in Kansas and attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University for a year.
He married and settled on a ranch near Cleo Springs, which allowed him to keep his official’s schedule.
He might still be calling if not for a knee problem.
