General 4/7/2020 11:44:00 AM Kelsea O'Brien

IT ALL COMES BACK TO MCMASTER: THE STORY OF RON FOXCROFT

By Kelsea O'Brien

HAMILTON, Ont. - Ron Foxcroft has lived many lives, and each and every one of them can be traced back to McMaster University. Born and raised in Hamilton, the first chapter of Foxcroft's wild journey started at 19 years old when he began his career as a basketball referee. His mentor, Kitch MacPherson, had two pieces of advice for Foxcroft: watch as many McMaster basketball games as you can, and always keep your officiating uniform in your car. It was the combination of both pieces of advice that turned Foxcroft from a high school officiant to a regular on the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) circuit.

Once while Ron was watching from the stands as he always did, the referee for the Mac basketball game became ill. McMaster's only option, at this point, was to cancel the game. That is, until Foxcroft ran, as quickly as the players switching from offense to defence on a fastbreak, from the stands onto the court. "Coach! I'm a licensed referee!" he shouted, to which the coach, Bill Fowler, puzzled, replied "How old are you?"

"I'm 24," retorted Ron, "my gear is in the trunk!"

Foxcroft refereed that game, and was hired on the spot. He, of course, came clean about the little white lie that had allowed him the position in the first place, telling his new bosses that he was in fact 19 years old. It didn't matter. To McMaster, the only important factor was what had already been determined: Foxcroft knew what he was doing, he could really referee. Working for McMaster was what kicked off Foxcroft's university career. Ron quickly made a name for himself working all throughout the OUA in his twenties.

At the age of 30, he officiated the Olympic gold medal basketball game. It was this game, in 1976, where Foxcroft's pea whistle became stuck, rendering it useless on an important and obvious foul. That evening, after returning to his hotel room, Foxcroft accepted the reality that the pea whistle was a problem. The hassle it caused officials, making them unable to perform their duties to the best of their abilities, was one that needed fixing. Though the prototype for the FOX40 whistle would not come until 1984, it was the Olympic game that sparked the idea for Ron of a pea-less whistle, and the beginning of the next chapter of his story.

Michael Jordan North Carolina Ron Foxcroft Fox 40 Tar Heels — Ron Foxcroft officiating Michael Jordan's first college game with
the University of North Carolina Tar Heels

At two o'clock in the morning after the Olympic game, the NCAA signed Ron, still frustrated about the whistle, to a contract, making him the first Canadian referee in NCAA history. "I remember the lights going down and the national anthem coming on," Ron reminisces, "and thinking that this all started because of McMaster University."

Ron Foxcroft refereed Michael Jordan's first ever college game for the North Carolina Tar Heels on November 28th, 1981, where Jordan put up 12 points on 50% shooting. He recalls approaching North Carolina coach Dean Smith during a time out and telling him "You know, that kid Mike is pretty good," completely oblivious to his future as the greatest basketball player of all time.

He officiated the 1998 Sweet Sixteen game between Washington and UConn, where Richard Hamilton scored the winning basket with 0.6 seconds remaining.

His on-court accomplishments cannot be matched, but it is everything that Foxcroft achieved off of the court that he holds closest to his heart. There was no favourite game, says Ron. His favourite game was always the next game, the privilege of being able to referee another game. And his favourite memory wasn't a game at all.

On the day we spoke, Ron was scheduled to receive the Official of the Year Award in Atlanta, Georgia, for his contribution to the Pink Whistle Campaign through his work with the American Cancer Society and the Coaches Vs. Cancer program. The Pink Whistle Program, founded in 2007, has raised over two and a half million dollars for cancer research. Again, Foxcroft remembers, it is all a result of McMaster University taking a chance on him.

Working four nights a week in the NCAA, Foxcroft always made it a priority to return to Hamilton every Wednesday, for 20 years, to referee in the OUA. McMaster didn't expect any special treatment, and Foxcroft was certainly not the ref to give it to them. He made a pact, with himself, his mother, and his mentor and friend, at this point, of over a decade, Kitch MacPherson, to never forget where he came from.

Between trips from NCAA schools and the OUA circuit was when Foxcroft approached Chuck Shepherd, a design consultant and Ontario native, with the idea of a pea-less whistle. Tirelessly, the two worked for years on the design. The initial prototype, made with a single mold, didn't sell a single unit in its first two months. Foxcroft, ever ingenious and one to march to the beat of his own drum, brought two whistles to the Pan Am Games in Indianapolis in August of 1987, and placed them under his pillow.

At two o'clock in the morning (coincidentally the same time that he signed his contract with the NCAA) Foxcroft blew one of the whistles as loud as possible in the referee dormitory. Within one week of disrupting his coworkers' sleep to get them to believe, FOX40 sold over 20,000 whistles. The whistle that no one thought would succeed, from the kid who lied about his age in order to referee a McMaster University basketball game, has since become the number one choice of whistle for all sports, safety services, and even Queen Elizabeth II, whose gratitude to Ron, she joked is that she no longer needs to use a shotgun to rid her yard of Canadian geese.

Ron Foxcroft with Queen Elizabeth II — *Foxcroft meeting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.*

Foxcroft, after juggling so many hats in so many places, returned to Hamilton, this time permanently to become the supervisor of the OUA referees. With his head finally rested, Ron began to get to know the people of McMaster University, his biggest inspirations and closest friends.

No longer having to worry about neutrality, an immediate friendship was formed with Therese Quigley, whose journey, much like Ron's own, began with McMaster taking a chance on her. Quigley's dream, her vision, she shared with Ron, was to build a new athletic complex, including a football stadium, for 40-50 million dollars. Foxcroft, admittedly, looked at Quigley like she was crazy, but as all good friends do, he buckled up for the ride. Through Quigley's vision, Foxcroft met Roger Trull and Mary Williams, McMaster's former and current Vice Presidents of Advancement. Along with assistant VP Lorna Somers, the inspiration for the Athletics and Recreation Fundraising Campaign was born, with the goal of delivering Therese Quigley's dream.

For nearly seven years, Ron learned directly from Roger, Mary, Therese, and Lorna the ins and outs and the arts of fundraising, eventually earning a Doctorate in Fundraising and Advancement. The Honorary Doctorate of Laws, and the high school diploma earned at 68 years old, pale in comparison to the Fundraising degree. Not because they are any less in terms of accomplishments, but because they did not include the friendships that have entwined themselves to Ron like the roots of a tree. Ed Minich, David Braley, Red Wilson, Ron Joyce, Peter George, and Mel and Marilyn Hawkrigg, all names familiar to McMaster alum, add to the list of Hamilton icons whose companionship Foxcroft could not have fathomed when running down the gymnasium stairs at 19 years old.

The feeling of seeing his creation used in every sport, major and minor, is rivalled only by the feeling of attending McMaster football games. Staring, under the field lights, at the finished product of a pipe dream by a close friend, completed by coworkers who would come to mean more to Ron Foxcroft than he could have ever imagined. The chill Foxcroft feels every time he turns on a television and sees the FOX40 whistle is not because he invented it, but because it came from Hamilton, Ontario, and it all started at McMaster University.

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