Tomazoli hangs up after taking over legendary career from the public

DW Stewart door

For the past 50 years, Hillsborough player Paul Tomazoli has umpired football, baseball and softball at the high school, college and national levels. On December 31, 2021, Tomazoli retired and officially placed his last order.

After graduating from Nokomis High School in 1963 and writing in football and baseball, Tomazoli continued his love for these two sports when he became a high school official. He was selected to make several all-star appearances in soccer and basketball and was tasked with directing three games for the Illinois State Football League, the maximum allowed at the time. In 2002, after 37 years of sports management in high school, he retired.

In 1970, Tomazoli began her career with the American Softball Association (ASA), which later became the American Softball Association (USA) when women’s softball was added to the Olympics.

Over the years, he has been selected as an umpire for 10 US National Softball Championships and six US National Junior University Championships, having served as a home umpire in five of the six championship games.

Tomazzoli spent 21 years in college softball and chaired several conferences including Big Ten, Ohio Valley, and Missouri Valley. He was also chief referee of the Conference of Central America (UIC), appointing referees for all varsity games in the conference for 17 years.

The selection of Tomazoli to umpire the women’s Olympic softball team was a highlight of Tomazoli’s dual career while touring the Midwest.

tomazoli. was recognized as one of the state’s top softball officials in 2000 It became the UIC for Illinois, United States. Over the past 21 years, he has served as governor general of 33 national championships and is the oldest intensive care team in the history of the state of Illinois, United States.

In 2011, Tomazzoli was named to the UIC District title by the National Softball Association, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was one of 10 UICs in the United States and its region included Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and part of Ohio.

As UIC District 6, Tomazoli is responsible for training over 3,200 referees and has been considered one of the best coaches in the country for over 15 years. He was also responsible for appointing referees for all National Championship matches in his district and in 2021 he received the ASA National Region 6 Regional Award of Excellence.

In the spring of 2021, the Canadian Olympic team hosted national games in Marion, southern Illinois. Tomazoli has been asked to select, nominate and evaluate referees for the Games, including the Mexican Olympic team, the Dutch Olympic team, the Canadian Olympic team and two all-star university teams. After the matches, the Canadian manager congratulated Tomazoli for his excellent job in appointing referees.

In 2004, in recognition of his distinguished career in softball, Tomazoli was inducted into the Illinois Hall of Fame, the highest honor of the Illinois Amateur Softball Association.

While he might not be behind the record, Tomazzoli’s impact on the sport he loves will be felt for generations to come.