Joe DeRosa is a stickler for precision.
At a small warehouse in Canton, he inspects freshly printed fabric for imperfections. A massive mechanical press has just transferred black and white stripes from a paper sheet onto cloth. He labels one 鈥渋ffy鈥�, another 鈥渘ot bad.鈥�
鈥淚t's one at a time. Nothing changes. There's no shortcuts 鈥� everything has to be done that way,鈥� he said.
Canton is known for its role in founding the NFL. But just down the road from the flashy Football Hall of Fame, DeRosa鈥檚 small family-owned business is making quieter sports history. His company manufactures shirts, pants and hats for sport鈥檚 top shot-callers: referees.
鈥淓very college football game you watch on TV has this 鈥楽鈥� on it,鈥� DeRosa said.
The 鈥楽鈥� on their uniform stands for . The Canton-based company is one of the biggest suppliers of clothes for officials in baseball, football, lacrosse, wrestling and basketball, among others.
鈥淚 said, 鈥楧ad, I hate referees.鈥� And that's how it all got started鈥�
Before managing Smitty, DeRosa was 鈥渕anaging鈥� the court for some of the best basketball players in the world. He refereed games for NBA and college basketball for decades.
Before he made it to the big leagues, DeRosa was a cash-strapped college student. Over one Thanksgiving break, he asked his dad for a loan.
鈥淗e said, 鈥業'm not loaning you any money, you can start refereeing,鈥欌�� DeRosa recounted. 鈥淚 said, 鈥楧ad, I hate referees.鈥� And that's how it all got started.鈥�
He went on to referee, or officiate, more than a thousand regular season games in the NBA. He鈥檚 one of just two people that have officiated an Olympics medal-round game, the NBA Finals and the NCAA Men鈥檚 Final Four 鈥� earning him .
All the first-hand experience helps him to design officials鈥� uniforms, he said.
鈥淲hen I was out in refereeing, [other officials and I] just talked about all the different ideas that came up to maybe get new products,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檇 listen to guys and ask guys questions and take their feedback.鈥�
There鈥檚 plenty to consider in the designs, like whether the refs will need stretchy material to squat over home plate or sweat-wicking fabric for running down the court.
30 styles of umpire pants
Some Smitty items are imported from overseas. But, DeRosa said they make as many uniforms as they can in-house with a small team of employees.
鈥淚f someone wanted a shirt, walked in here and said 鈥業 need this shirt, I have a game in three hours,鈥� we can make it, from start to finish, in about 20 minutes,鈥� he said.
A machine laser cutter quickly carves out the fabric, then veteran seamstress Anicia Delgatto takes over, sewing on logos and making finishing touches.
Referees first started wearing black and white , after a quarterback accidentally passed a ball to a referee. Stripes have been used ever since to set officials apart from players.
While it may seem like a simple design, DeRosa and Delgatto have to cater to a number of sports, divisions and states. They have more than 30 styles of umpire pants alone.
鈥淔or football in California, there are 11 different logos that could go on the right sleeve,鈥� DeRosa said.
Rooting for the referees
For some championships, Smitty Officials Apparel makes shirts with special title game logos.
DeRosa鈥檚 wife and business partner Patti DeRosa said sometimes, they add a tag that thanks each individual referee by name.
鈥淚t's a thankless job. So that's a way to thank them,鈥� she said.
Joe DeRosa no longer has to contend with frustrated fans and angrier coaches complaining about calls. Still, he says his philosophy is the same in business as in officiating.
鈥淛ust have thick skin and hopefully do the best job you can,鈥� he said.
There鈥檚 no trophy, or medal for the work. But, like most referees, he doesn鈥檛 need the glory to love the game.