If there was one man who defined the approach an aspiring official should take toward learning his trade, and also defined the many attributes that make a good official, no matter what the sport, it was Henry Roche. Originally from New Haven, he and his wife moved to Orange, with Roche becoming involved in many youth activities: helping organize Little League Baseball (there is a field named in his honor at the Lambert Road complex), helped organize youth basketball, and many other activities. He never had any children of his own but spent much of his time making children in Orange learn the lessons only team athletics can offer. An official in baseball, basketball and football, Roche quickly became one of the top officials in the East, working top high school and collegiate games in all three sports. In baseball, he was selected to work the Pan-American games, touted as one of the best ball-strike men in the East. He was seen working many Division I contests during his career. As a football official, Roche quickly moved up the ranks of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials as a Referee. In the days when four-man crews were the trend, Roche could be found working top- flight games at Yale, Harvard, Boston College, Penn State and other venues. While he was a big-time official in college, Roche never forgot where he came from. As a member of the Connecticut Football Officials Association, which morphed into the New Haven Football Officials Association, Roche trained officials, administered testing, handled programs for meetings, served as a resource. When he got out of the big-time, Roche took various posts with the NHFOA, including running the chairs and becoming president. He worked games well into his 80s, particularly in the old Yale Intramural League that played at the now-torn down Yale Armory on Central Avenue. In his last years with the organization, Roche served as the treasurer, handling the finances and making sure members were up-to-date on all dues and assessments. Roche was part of the group of Vincent Reilly, Albie Booth, Jim Coogan, Pickles Richards, Fay Vincent, Sr. who built the organization, and gave it much of the lore and tradition it has. An award named after Roche is given to a young official who best exemplifies the attributes “Henny” tried to instill in all NHFOA members. Henry Roche was a foundation stone of NHFOA, and is still remembered as the type of official every member would like to become.