In 1987-88 when USA Hockey was celebrating its 50th anniversary, referees wore a patch commemorating the event. That seemed pretty straightforward until just before a faceoff, a youngster looked up at Roy Chin and said, “Have you been a referee for 50 years?” Because he started laughing so hard, Chin couldn't drop the puck.

That was a few years ago, but Chin, 73, is finally retiring after a 49-year career - for sure this time.

“I've been involved with Roy probably for 30 years, and I think he's been retiring the last 29 years,” longtime minor league and college referee Mark Wilkins said. “Every year he's going to retire and something happens, and he's the first one to call you when it's time for the seminar the next fall.”

This time his retirement might stick because Chin's battle with cancer has started again.

As the local supervisor, Chin got Wilkins started in officiating. He did the same thing for McMillen Ice Hockey Director Wade Stuckey, who says Chin may be the most influential person ever on the local youth hockey scene. Without Chin's efforts, there might not have been half as many games to play over the years.

“You could always depend on Roy to either get a referee there or be there himself,” said longtime former McMillen Ice Arena manager Mitzi Toepfer. “Consider all the games that have been played day after day that have been covered, and he has seen to it that the officials are trained and certified.”

“The education that he has given our officials is by far superior to the norm,” Toepfer said.

Chin's impact has been such that there will be two retirement parties honoring him. The first is at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Marriott, and the second is July 26 at the New Haven Conservation Club.

The father of former Komet great Colin Chin, Roy got grew up in Jamaica where he used to say, “The only ice we had was in cocktail glasses.” He came to Fort Wayne in 1955 to attend Indiana Tech and fell in love with hockey while attending Komets games. He played briefly for the Glenbrook Komets, who needed an official more than they needed a player.

After memorizing an NHL rule book, Chin became an official in his spare time while working at International Harvester in 1959. All five of his sons played the game, and he eventually worked games at all levels of youth, college and minor league hockey. He always had a quip when a player gave him any lip - including his sons.

“He was always fair, but to take away any bias, he probably let people take a few more liberties with me,” Colin Chin chuckled.

“Had he not started so late in life he had the skill to have reffed at a level much higher than he did.”

Roy Chin was inducted into the Indiana High School Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2003 received the Chet Stewart Award for lifetime achievement from USA Hockey in 2003.

“A few of us would go to USA Hockey regional or national camps, and the first thing we'd say when we come back is how we're not supposed to do this or that,” Wilkins said.

“He'd say, ‘I know, I've been telling you that for years.' Then you think back and you realize he's right.”

Of course he was. He was the ref who always had the final word.