Slinger / West Bend, Wi – Ron Held instilled a lot of great memories in many of the sports families throughout Slinger and West Bend, Wi. Held had a soft spot in the hearts of so many people as he was remembered this week as a referee/umpire, coach, educator, and all-around good guy.
Former UW-Washington County coach and athletic director Deb Butschlick said Held had a way of making games fun.
“He did a lot of basketball games up at the University for me and he always took the intensity out of the game and made it fun,” she said. “He’d give a joke as at the free throw line, he’d say stuff like, ‘Make sure you smile before you shoot.’ He was just so good, especially with the college kids and the men, because they were always so intense, all that testosterone flowing between the two teams. Ron just made the game fun for the players.”
Brian Heimark, athletic director in the Slinger School District, remembered working with Held when he was in West Bend. “I worked with Ron at the high school when he was still coaching soccer and softball; he was always a respected colleague.
“Ron was always engaging, always talking with the kids so they understood what the call was and why he made the call. I was part of some difficult calls by Ron too. Sometimes they went our way and sometimes they didn’t, but he was always on top of things.”
Geoff Radloff played baseball in the same senior league as Held. “He was always happy playing ball,” he said. “Ron played mostly right field.”
Radloff remembered Held was old school behind the plate. “He’s the last umpire I know that used a balloon chest protector. It’s one of those great big fat things that they hold up. They were mostly used by umpires in the 1960s and maybe even the 70s; these things were probably four inches thick with air and every time they have to hold it from the inside, and they just put it up under their neck and he was still using that last year.”
Kraig Sadownikow, owner of American Design, played baseball with Held. “I knew Ron as an educator, coach and teammate. I don’t recall a time he wasn’t smiling. He had the perfect combination of kind gentleman and tough competitor.”
Willie Mueller with the West Bend Baseball Association said Held was great at connecting with kids. “He was very, very influential in helping kids play better baseball. He was always interactive as an umpire. Can’t find a nicer person than Ron.”
Mueller was especially impressed with how Held was able to incorporate education while he umped. “If you ever watched him umpire, I mean, the ball would come down, he would kick the bat and pop it up with his foot, or he tells the catcher to get further in, especially youth. He’s always interjecting, always talking. He always wanted the game to be fun, but fair.”
Services for Ron Held will be December 19 at Phillip Funeral Home from 3:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. and a short visitation at St. Peter Church in Slinger on December 20 from 10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. with Mass at 11 a.m.
