For the past 47 seasons and counting, Joe Scruggs has poured his heart out to his first love.
Scruggs has officiated four TSSAA basketball state tournaments and was named East Tennessee's official of the year in 2003 in a career nearing five decades.
A member of the hall of fame at Brainerd High School, where he was an all-city selection back in 1969, Scruggs remembers a role model he looked up to at a young age.
"When I was a senior I was (football coach) Pete Potter's student aide in the afternoon," Scruggs said. "Every day I would get the mail for him. The mailman was a man by the name of Bill Turner. He was also a basketball official."
Referee Joe Scruggs officiates a girls' high school basketball game between East Hamilton and host Soddy-Daisy on Jan. 17. Scruggs has decades of experience and has worked nearly 6,000 games from the junior high to college level.The two quickly formed a bond as they enjoyed talking basketball together. Despite their friendship, Scruggs knew every time Turner officiated one of his games he would be fair and officiate to the best of his ability.
"He was one of my favorites," Scruggs said. "He was a young official who I looked up to. Every time he was on the court we knew we would have a good crew. Back then they just had two-man crews."
Tragically, Turner was killed in a car wreck in Murfreesboro after Scruggs had gone on to junior college to play baseball at Gulf Coast before transferring back to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he played on the diamond for three seasons.
"He was an inspiration to me. I wanted to be thought of like Bill was," Scruggs said. "Ironically enough, I retired from the post office. It's funny how everything has gone the way it has. He made a major impact on my life."
Referee Joe Scruggs officiates a basketball game between East Hamilton High School and Soddy-Daisy High School at Soddy-Daisy High School on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn. Scruggs has been officiating high school basketball for 47 years.Scruggs began to dabble in officiating as he refereed intramural basketball games with Leroy Fanning while at UTC. Little did he know he would go on to officiate nearly 6,000 games at the junior high, high school and collegiate levels.
Two of the top players ever to come through the Chattanooga area whom Scruggs played against or officiated are Riverside's Richard Fuqua and Baylor's Jimmy Braddock. Fuqua went on to be an All-American for Oral Roberts in 1972, and Braddock was a teammate of Michael Jordan's for two seasons at North Carolina, winning a national championship in 1982.
Brainerd's Malcolm Mackey, Riverside's Anthony Roberts, City High's Orlando Lightfoot and Howard's Gerald Cunningham round out Scruggs' top six all-time players.
Scruggs' favorite area prep rivalries consist of old and present ones, including Riverside versus Howard, Brainerd-Kirkman, Cleveland-Bradley Central, Brainerd-Howard and McCallie-Baylor.
Referee Joe Scruggs officiates a basketball game between East Hamilton High School and Soddy-Daisy High School at Soddy-Daisy High School on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn. Scruggs has been officiating high school basketball for 47 years.When high school girls' basketball made the transition to five-on-five play at the state level from the previous six-on-six half-court style in 1979, Scruggs made his state-tournament debut. He was called in from the scorers table as another official was injured in the third quarter of the opening game of the tournament.
While referees often hear a mouthful from coaches and sometimes players, Scruggs also has experienced acts of kindness and being wanted.
"Some of the best compliments are when a coach or players says we are glad you are here," he said. "When a losing coach tells you they thought you did a good job, that is very humbling, too. No referee expects it, but that can catch you off guard."
The 67-year-old official still has the same burning passion for the game even after it has brought along one knee operation and arthritis. He is grateful for a three-man crew as the game has become faster and more physical over the years.
"I don't know what I would do without basketball," said Scruggs, who is a die-hard Tennessee Volunteers fan. "As long as I am effective in what I do, I want to keep going. I would love to work another state tournament. I hope by the time I am done people remember me for giving my all and being a fair official."
Along with Turner, Scruggs shows gratitude to the late Cooper Dyer, Walt Kean, Junior McClellan and Leon Rash for helping advise him and having his best interests in mind as an official.
"You never have to worry about where you send Joe, because you know the game will be taken care of that night," said Kean, the assigner and supervisor for the Southeast Tennessee Basketball Association. "He is always going to take care of his crew and call a fair game."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.