It is safe to say that countless American men complete a strenuous day of full time work and are more than content with retiring to a big, cushiony recliner. I mean we are talking the kind of recliner that’s so big it makes you look like the gingerbread man. You know, the one sitting right in front of the TV and right behind tomorrow. Randy Dillinger is the same way. He loves the prospect of getting off work and just sitting down, getting off his feet. As for his seat, well, that is what makes Randy a little different.
Randy’s choice of seating has led him down paths that virtually no one would expect a 57-year-old, lifetime Alexander resident that recently retired from Kroger to go. He has met several people while sitting in his chair. He has shaken hands with legendary coach Tubby Smith, sat next to Kentucky Hall of Fame center Sam Bowie, seen NBA champion LA Lakers’ forward Lamar Odom grow before his eyes, and even engaged in small talk with recently retired coaching immortal Bobby Bowden.
Yea, that guy you saw at the grocery store for 38 years is kind of a big deal. So, what kind of chair is it?
“A folding chair.” Folding chair? I would rather get off work and sit on a tuffet. Randy wouldn’t trade his chair for the world. It sits behind the scorer’s table at Alexander High School and Ohio University basketball games, a place that Randy has made his home.
Home might even be an understatement. Randy keeps the “book” for seven teams. There are seven days in a week. A slate of JV and varsity games on a typical night occupy Randy for up to seven hours. By some miracle, he still manages to spend time with his nine grandchildren, walk two to three miles a day, and serve as secretary of the local Lion’s Club. I felt like Moses for getting an interview with him.
This is all pretty exhausting until you find out that Randy scored his first game in 1965. He has not missed an Alexander boy’s varsity game in over 35 years and has been in charge of scoring all Alexander basketball games for 31 of those years. Last year, he calculated that he has scored more than 2,500 games.
“That’s a lot of sitting,” he said. No kidding. This guy could sit longer than Mona Lisa. He makes the Lincoln Memorial look like it is standing. Districts should elect guys like Randy just to sit through filibusters.
Perhaps all that experience plays into one of his most impressive ventures. A published book. He has his own scorebook and making it was not a task he took lightly. He reviewed numerous old scorebooks and came up with a system that was as multifaceted as the Constitution. It is as foolproof as the Dewey Decimal System. It is more complex than the Da Vinci Code. He uses checks and balances to ensure accuracy. Everything is written twice. Everything is color-coded. If a coach has a dispute, Randy’s scorebook clears it up instantly. It has caught on so well that it is being used for games across Eastern, Central, and Southern Ohio.
So, I started to think. There has to be a catch to this. This guy is probably making money faster than ponzi schemers. Alexander probably has to print money just to pay him. Not so fast. Dillinger doesn’t make a penny for doing this, and he certainly doesn’t want to. “It takes money from the kids,” he insisted. That is why he does it, for the kids. He loves sports, loves the kids, and loves Alexander. For Randy, it is a no-brainer.
Plus, Randy will be the first to tell you that he has the best seat in the house. People often ask him why he doesn’t just take a game off and enjoy one from the stands. Because he sleeps like an Egyptian mummy. He passes out faster than post-apple Snow White on a Serta after taking a Benadryl. The scorer’s chair is the best place and way to watch a game. It makes him focus on it more and as a result he enjoys it more.
So, just how much does this guy do this in a typical week? Here is an actual late January schedule of his:
Monday- Alexander Girls @ Wellston
Tuesday- Alexander Boys @ Home
Wednesday- Ohio U Women @ Home
Thursday- Alexander Girls @ Home
Friday- Alexander Boys @ Meigs
Saturday- Ohio U Women @ Home
Sunday- Ohio U Men @ Home
Upon viewing this, there was only one thing to ask him: Do you sleep? “Very Little,” he replied, “ I normally fall asleep watching the news on my recliner.”
Hmm, maybe he’s not so different after all.