Retiring Butler County umpire Dick Doutt prepares to make a call at the plate during a Saxonburg-Slippery Rock American Legion baseball game in 2014. Doutt is ending his 42-year umpiring career this season.

Dick Doutt is more than just an umpire.

He directs umpire traffic — a painstakingly thankless job with long hours.

The Butler resident turns 63 this month and has served as the scheduler for the Butler County Sports Officials Association for the past several years.

“When I took over the scheduling duties six years ago, our association was umpiring 400 games a year,” Doutt said. “Now we're doing 2,200 games a year.”

And the number of umpires in the BCSOA has dwindled from 72 last year to 58 this year.

Other than taking a few years off to watch his daughter, Rachel, compete in volleyball and basketball at Butler Area High School, Doutt has been an umpire for 42 years.

This is an excerpt from a large article that appears in Sunday's Butler Eagle.