Otho Kortz Jr. was a man for all seasons.
An Oak Lawn resident who refereed Big Ten football, state high-school basketball championships and amateur baseball from local diamonds to the Pan-American Games, Kortz’s career spanned four decades, coinciding with a business career as a cattle salesman.
He made fair deals in the latter and was non-partisan in the former, mentoring his successors and earning praise from coaches and players alike. His remarkable 97-year life ended with his death on Christmas Eve after a short illness.
His journey through sports began at old Comiskey Park, where he, wearing a gray baseball uniform, was singled out by a pair of visiting players. Suddenly, he was being held up by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
Close to 20 years later, after excelling at Parker High and a sparkling .373 senior season at the University of Mississippi, he chased his major-league dream for a brief time in the minors. While he never played for the Yankees, a lifelong loyalty remained. Otho Kortz was a Yankees fan, an Ole Miss disciple, and as sure of that as any call he ever made on the field, on the court or behind the plate.
“You want to do the very best you can, so both teams have a good shot,” Kortz said of his officiating ethic in 2008. “You feel excited when you’re out there, but I do feel the officials are the calmest people in the entire stadium. And every Saturday in the Big Ten was a big thrill. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it.”
Included among those minutes, an early 1970s game at Ohio Stadium where Ohio State coach Woody Hayes pounded the turf when an onside kick call was reversed, the famous 1972 IHSA basketball championship game between Thornridge and Quincy — “Against Thornridge, there was no resistance,” Kortz recalled — and the 1978 Rose Bowl between Washington and Michigan.
“It’s far and away the best bowl game. We go out for the coin toss with former President Ford, and he asks me, ‘What happened to Ohio State and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl?’ ” Kortz remembered.
Among those on his crews or mentored by him in football officiating: Rich Weiler, Don Hakes and Jerry Markbreit, Weiler worked a Rose Bowl and Final Four, while Hakes and Markbreit worked Super Bowls. The relationships came about because Kortz kept working high-school games, a Public League game on Thursday and a Catholic League game on Sunday, and became lasting friendships.
He is survived by his son Jeff, a longtime teacher and coach at Richards; daughter-in-law Laura and grandchildren Brittany LaBerry, Matthew Huttner and Kara Huttner. His wife Billie, daughter Lee Ann and brother Tom preceded him in death.
Services have been held.