Council Fire member Jim Jackson recently posted two memorable rounds that equaled and bettered his age of 76
photo by Paul Payne
Finding himself at the center of the competitive arena was nothing new for Jim Jackson. After more than four decades as a football official and coordinator and another 25 seasons refereeing college basketball, Jackson had plenty of experience operating under close scrutiny.
But all of those years donning a striped shirt and a whistle paled in comparison to the pressure Jackson faced on April 16th. The 76-year-old long-time member of Council Fire Club stared down a three-foot putt on the club’s 18th hole with the opportunity to shoot his age hanging in the balance.
“I was very aware that I had to make a bogey on the last hole to shoot my age, and I told one of my buddies who was actually there just watching,” Jackson said. “I had about three feet left for bogey, and I knocked it in the center of the hole. That was a special day for sure.”
But Jackson’s celebration of his memorable day was trumped one day later when he posted a score of 73 at Council Fire, bettering his age by an impressive three shots. He opened with birdies on the first two holes, then added two more birdies at holes 5 and 11.
“Don’t ask me how I did either one,” Jackson said prior to his round on Monday afternoon. “I played good those two days. I don’t know how I did that or when I shoot in the 80s. None of those things surprise me, but those two days were pretty special.”
Jackson, who carries a current handicap index of 10.7, plays at least three times a week as a regular participant in Council Fire’s KesselBall competition. KesselBall features contests on Friday, Saturday and Sunday where 50-60 members compete on random computer-drawn teams using a Stableford-like points scoring format.
Finding fellowship among his fellow KesselBall participants has provided Jackson with a sense of community after his long career in officiating.
“My greatest officiating memory wasn’t any particular game, but it was the people that I worked with,” Jackson said. “You know, most people in life are really fortunate to have six or eight really close friends. I have more than 200 through officiating. I get the same thing from golf. I don't remember much about all the bad shots I hit, but I do remember hanging out with my buddies.”
Jackson was introduced to officiating through Tony Martino, his former basketball coach at Hixson High School. Martino connected him with Pat McHugh, a local Notre Dame product who became a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame after playing five seasons in the NFL following a stellar career at Georgia Tech who served as a long-time SEC football official after his playing days.
“My first high school assignment was actually Dalewood Junior High against Hixson Junior High,” Jackson said. “That was in 1975 and I made ten dollars. Little did I know that 42 years later, I was still involved with football.
After 17 seasons calling high school games, Jackson spent nine years in the Southern Conference followed by six years in the Sun Belt Conference all as a head referee. He then served his final ten years as coordinator of officials for the Ohio Valley Conference before retiring in 2019.
“I'm the answer to a trivia question nobody ever asked, and that is, ‘Who was the referee in the first game in Finley Stadium?’ And that was me,” Jackson said.
Jackson recalls an encounter he had with former Cleveland Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano during his tenure at Liberty University following his 18 seasons as an NFL coach.
“I threw Sam Rutligliano out of a football game once,” Jackson said. “I do know that Reverend (Jerry) Falwell would not have approved what he said to me multiple times. He earned that ejection.”
Jackson also spent his winters officiating college basketball games for 25 years, calling roughly 60 games per season. He did ten seasons in the Southern Conference, then spent the remainder of his basketball career doing games at the NAIA and Division II level.
Jackson is now able to scratch his competitive itch through his regular golf matches at Council Fire, something that he cherishes.
“Playing KesselBall is a lot of fun with a great group of guys who enjoy each other’s camaraderie,” Jackson said. “The only problem is that with my recent run of good rounds, I’m having to pull more points to meet my quota. But it’s all in good fun.”
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com