Pictured: South Hills baseball coach Darren Murphy having an impassioned discussion with umpire, Brad Claude. Thanks to Brad for the photo.

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

When stories are written about high school or college sports, the topic is almost always about a particular program, player or coach.

And rightfully so.

But what is rarely thought about, let alone written, are those experiences of a referee or umpire, without whom none of these games would even be played.

One such guy is Brad Claude.

Claude is a 66-year old veteran of San Gabriel Valley area high school and junior college sports.

He’s been calling baseball games for 40 years, started doing football in 2000 and lower level basketball games just four years ago.

Claude is a 1972 graduate of Covina High School, and the 6-foot-5 forward played for both the Colts and Cal Poly Pomona basketball programs.

During his senior year, Covina went 28-3 and made a deep run to the CIF semifinals before being clipped by El Modena in overtime.

It was the same El Modena squad the Colts had knocked off in their own Covina Christmas Tournament a couple months prior.

Claude spent most of his life in sales, including time working for Sears and Roebuck, Marshall Industries and Provoast Automation.

He has recently retired, has two kids and a pair of grandchildren.

His daughter Meredith is 41, and lives in Ontario, and Kevin, 37, resides in New Hampshire.

When did his officiating career begin?

As a 17-year old student-athlete at Covina, Claude did a little youth basketball officiating, and the players were just five years younger than he was at the time.

He enjoyed the pressure of making a game flow, as well as the challenge of dealing with some ‘red-ass’ coaches, who liked to let him have it if they felt he made a mistake.

Fast forward to 1980 and Claude began a 40-year journey on the baseball diamond.

He’s done little league, Pony-Colt, high school, JC’s and has run some regional tournaments.

Jason Giambi (South Hills) and Jim Edmonds (Diamond Bar) are two of the best players he’s ever been on the field with, and he’s the only umpire to call a perfect game behind the plate in a CIF title game.

In 2010, Cory Hahn (five innings) and Ty Moore (two innings) teamed up to lead Mater Dei to a 2-0 victory over Dana Hills in Lake Elsinore.

Hahn would go on to Arizona State and Moore ended up in Westwood to pitch for UCLA.

Claude was set to do a Rio Hondo College baseball game back in March of 2020, but the rain wouldn’t let up.

Two days later, about to head to San Bernardino Valley College, Brad got a call from his assigner and he was informed that the game was canceled and that the country was going into a national lockdown.

Since that day, he hasn’t set foot on a baseball or football field and he misses it as much as the players, coaches, parents and writers do.

What’s Claude’s favorite sport to cover?

As much as he loves baseball, and he does, football is what gets his motor running.

“There’s something about the electricity of being under the lights on a Friday night,” he said. “You’re out there hoping for a good game and our goal is to not be noticed, because if no one is talking about us, it means we must be doing our jobs well. There just seems to be an intensity out on a football field that isn’t matched in other sports. But I love all sports and I’m just as passionate about doing my job.”

When asked about his experiences doing football games in front of the most successful coaches in San Gabriel Valley history, he mentioned Don Lugo’s Greg Gano, Charter Oak’s Lou Farrar, Upland’s Tim Salter, West Covina’s Mike Maggiore, Bonita’s Steve Bogan and many others.

“They all have a lot in common. They’re well prepared, they know the game and rules inside and out and they’re not afraid to let you have it when they think you’re wrong,” Claude said. “But each of them is respectful and fair and that’s all we could ever ask for.”

While he was working full-time, a typical day for Claude during football season would be waking up at 5 in the morning, going to the gym and getting to his office by 8.

He left work at 3:30, hoped to arrive at the stadium by 5:30 and it was there that he would meet with his crew of officials to go over what each guy’s responsibility is that night.

Then they got dressed, headed to the field by 6:30, greeted both coaches either on the field or locker room, depending on where the coach was at the time, and finally a coin flip about five minutes before kickoff.

After the game, the officials shower and typically head to a pizza place to eat and Claude usually arrived home around midnight.

His most memorable or infamous experience was working a JC football game in Ventura, where a player literally knocked out a referee and the athlete was ejected, arrested and the event made ESPN.

Some of the more memorable players he’s been on a football field with include Casey Clausen from Bishop Alemany, Rachaad White from Mt. SAC, who went on to play at ASU and St. John Bosco’s DJ Ugiagalelei, who plays quarterback at Clemson.

What do fans, coaches and athletes allege that upsets Claude and his fellow officials the most?

“What hurts is when someone questions my integrity by insinuating that we cheated or favored another team. I have been doing this for 40 years now and I have never cared who won a game. There are five of us on the field and 22 football players. We can’t see everything that’s happening on every play. On top of that, my guys and I spend so much time, including Tuesday meetings where we talk about rules and making sure everyone is up to speed. I have probably been told by a parent that I cost 100 kids a scholarship because I called a strike three. Have I missed calls? Of course I have and I feel terrible when I do. I have no problem telling a coach I made a mistake and I’ve left a field disappointed in my performance on occasion. But what I can say is that I’ve never given less than 100-percent of my attention and effort when I’m on a field.”

He’s been called every name in the book, including any profanity that a mouth can muster, but after four decades of experience, Brad Claude has become much more likely to walk away from name calling and insults than he did in his younger days.

Claude mentioned that with technology every play of every game is being recorded on a phone or camera and it has its ups and downs.

“They see all the mistakes we make, but it also gives coaches, fans and players the proof when we made a good call that they had questioned.  I try to take the good from it and learn from film when it comes to my technique and other things.”

What chances does he give high school sports of having a season this year?

Claude’s best guess is that there is about a 40-percent chance there is a partial football season, a 75-percent chance or better for baseball, softball and the outdoor competitions, but unfortunately, he doesn’t see a path for wrestling or basketball to see any action before the end of the fall season (this coming November).

Here are some of the many rules that are in place for the pandemic:

For baseball: each dugout is supposed to have bucket of clean, sanitized baseballs, and once balls are out of play, there is a bucket of dirty balls that must be sanitized by each team. There is no shaking hands with coaches or lineup exchanges and at all times an effort to be six feet apart must be exercised.

Football: every time a ball goes out of bounds, the ball has to be sanitized, everyone must wear a mask, including refs, coaches and players who aren’t in the game. Before, the team box used to go from the 25-yard line to the 25-yard line, but to give more space, it is now moved from the 5-yard line down to the other five-yard line, which gives them 90 yards to socially distance.

A big concern of Brad’s is “how often do we get tested for COVID-19, and who pays for the testing?”

Lastly, we asked Claude what he’s missed the most during this one-year pandemic.

“I miss being able to talk to people, to see them and go out to dinner and just live life. I’m just like everybody else and I love my friends and family and enjoy being out. Being on a field and trying to do our best to give kids the chance to excel within the rules is something I’ve always loved and I can’t wait for that to happen again.”

Quotable:

South Hills athletic director & baseball coach, Darren Murphy: “It’s an interesting relationship between a coach and an umpire that develops over the years.  As a coach, you have extreme highs and lows and Brad has seen me in both.  What I appreciate with Brad is as fiery as it gets in the heat of the battle, it’s never personal. We’ve given it to each other pretty good over the years , but he always will ask how’s my Mom and Dad doing before the next game we play.  I’ve also had great phone calls after a game where we admit we were wrong on something and that’s a respect we give each other that will continue for as long as as we are in baseball.”

Charter Oak athletic director & football coach, Dom Farrar: “Brad was always an upstanding referee. His generation prided themselves Brad was very professional between the lines and outside the lines I am proud to say a friend. He was patient and had the uncanny ability to remain calm in stressful situations and accept criticism so he worked well under pressure. His crew whomever he worked with whether on the football or baseball field, he had the ability to work well with others also. What I always respected about him was he was consistent, confident, loved the kids and the game, and at the end of the day given how experienced he was, he had common sense which is always very underrated and a refreshing quality.”

Glendora baseball coach, Dan Henley: “Brad is the consummate professional that you want calling your games. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, but when he does, he’s not above saying ‘I missed that one,’ and that goes a long way with coaches. When he gets to one of our games, whether it’s home or away, he’ll come up and say hi and then go greet the other coach. He treats both sides equally and that’s something we all hope for in an umpire. You can tell Brad loves being out there and doing his job.”

Monrovia baseball coach, Brad Blackmore: “I have a lot of respect for Brad as an official and as a guy. You always feel like there’s good energy when he’s on the field. The players play better and it’s a good atmosphere. I’ve shared a lot of good stories with him. Even when he kicks a call, there is a professional approach to handle the coaches. He is definitely one of the best.”

West Covina football coach, Mike Maggiore: “Brad is an excellent official.  He knows the game thoroughly and does a great job of making the field or court fair for both teams. I have not always agreed with all of his calls, but to be honest, after looking at film, he is almost always correct. He’s an official that combines total professionalism along with a personality that makes the experience enjoyable for the players and coaches, I think he enjoys it too. Brad is also patient in working with the athletes and coaches and as a coach you feel comfortable asking questions and getting clarification on things.  I also like when he explains things to the athletes. He really seems to love what he does and it shows.”

Mt. SAC football coach, Bob Jastrab: “Brad is a great guy.  He is very professional and he keeps the flow of the game going. If you had a question he’ll take the time to listen to you. I know better than to argue with a ref.  It’s like arguing with my wife. I rarely win one of those battles.”

Don Lugo football coach, Greg Gano: “I’ve known Brad for a long time, and we’ve had heated discussions, but he’s always accountable, admits when he might have missed a call and we both leave the field respecting each other. I’ve been coaching for a long time and I think the Foothill Citrus referees are the best. They go out and do their best and that’s all you can ask for. You know where you stand with Brad and you know you’re going to be heard.”

APU Hall of Famer, Cliff Hamlow: “I first saw Brad at Covina High as a player when I was a basketball referee. Brad was a good player and a really good competitor.  I’ve seen him in football and he works well with coaches. He lets coaches have their say. As a coach, you’re looking for consistency and to keep the game flowing and Brad does both of those well.”