Joe Rossi Hall of Fame

2004 Hall of Fame Inductee James A. (Jim) Schaefer – Frederick Jim was born and raised in the Nebraska Farmlands. He and his wife, Arla, moved to Colorado in 1968, and recently moved to Frederick from the metro area where they plan to retire. Arla is a retired registered nurse, and knew just how to treat some of the 'aches and 'pains' as well as some of the complaints he might bring home. He emphasized the importance of staying fit for all sports officiating and giving the kids your best shot at any level. He became known as "Bud Lite" by many coaches and players because of his acquaintance and officiating experiences with Bud Schoepflin. Jim graduated from Bertrand High School, Nebraska in 1963. He attended Kearney State College in Kearney, NE from 1963-1965. Jim graduated from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 1967 with a BS in Mortuary Science & Forensic Anatomy. He became the Deputy Coroner of Arapahoe County. He has also been a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash investigations crew for 12 years. He has worked at Lockheed Martin Corporation. (25 yrs), and is the Lead for Engineering Administration, LMC Space Systems Company. He retired from officiating all sports due to work, physical, and personal reasons, but stays active by evaluating crew members. Jim married Arla on 8/27/1966, in Nebraska. They have 3 children and many grandchildren, not to mention all his friends Jim served as a state officer for the baseball umpires association as well as the Colorado Football Officials Association and Colorado High School Basketball Officials. His affiliation with the American Legion State Tournaments involved many trips around the state of Colorado to participate in/and speak to tournament dignitaries at a gathering the evening before the games would begin. He would then umpire games and evaluate other umpires who worked with him. Jim's accomplishments include being selected for approximately 18 State High School Tournaments at all classifications, numerous American Legion and Connie Mack State and regional tournaments, and Five appearances at the Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, NM. Jim also succeeded at the college level as an umpire in the RMAC umpire for 18 years with many conference tournaments, the MOUNTAIN WEST Conference for 6 years, the WAC for 11 years working conference tournaments in California and Hawaii, the JUCCO World Series Tournament in Grand Junction, and the NCAA Div. II World Series, 1998, Montgomery, AL.