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Many athletes have a hard time knowing when it's time to hang it up. The same applies to basketball officials. Lou Filippetti ran up and down high school and basketball courts for 45 years. Filippetti, 71, turned in his whistle six years ago and is now the coordinator of officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
"If I told you I didn't miss it, I'd be a liar,'' says Lou, who will be one of the honorees by the Stamford Old Timers Association at its annual dinner at 6 p.m. Monday at the Italian Center, 1620 Newfield Ave. Tickets are $65. "It kind of gets in your blood."
Filippetti went on his terms. "In all honesty, I couldn't run as well any more,'' he said. "Your skills get diminished. It's tough to admit that, but it's a fact of life."
One of his favorite memories came from an exhibition game between Providence College and the Soviet Union's national team in 1973. The Soviets were a powerhouse, and relations between the Soviets and the United States were chilly. In a charged atmosphere at the Providence Civic Center, he saw PC's Joe Hasselt beat the Soviets with a basket at the buzzer. I asked whether he had trouble remaining neutral at that game. "Ask anybody who knows me, and they'll tell you I play no favorites,'' he said. "I just try to do my job."
Filippetti hasn't stepped away from the court altogether. As the ECAC coordinator, he schedules and evaluates officials. "It's a big change,'' said Lou, who also works full time for Unified Investigations and Sciences. "It still keeps you close to the game. It's the next best thing to being an official."
When Filippetti steps to the dais at Monday's affair, he will recall a friend that helped him throughout his officiating career. Nick Koules befriended Filippetti when he moved to Stamford 28 years ago. The men worked together in basketball and baseball and were friends away from the playing fields. Koules died in November 2009.
"He had a passion for sports, and he had a passion for people,'' Filippetti said. "He loved youth sports. If you were a friend of his, he'd do anything for you. I just loved the guy."
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