To Roger Hockey, the Howard County softball diamonds, and Cedar Lane Park in particular, are almost like the Elysian Fields. He discusses them with a reverence that borders on adoration.

"These parks, these parks are beautiful," says Hockey with a twinkle in his eye. "Cedar Lane is just ... I love going (there). I like working there."

In 1982, Hockey formed the officials organization that umpires Howard County Recreation and Parks adult softball games. It's Hockey's love of a well-manicured softball field, a pristine park and a pleasant evening spent with familiar company that has made his career an enjoyable pursuit.

"I'm out there for the love of the game and I call (the umpires) my boys. The first thing I'm concerned about are the players and (the umpires), and I just love being out there. It's fun ... I've got the best seat in the house," Hockey said.

Hockey, a longtime Arbutus resident, said he has been told he will be the first non-Howard County resident to be inducted to the Community Sports Hall of Fame.

Hockey was raised in upstate New York where he played many sports: basketball, baseball, football, and yes, ice hockey. He served in the U.S. Navy and was stationed at Fort Meade where he worked for the Department of Defense as a civilian. Hockey said that around that time -- the mid-1960s -- slow pitch softball was surpassing fast pitch in popularity and he began to play a lot as first baseman, pitcher or right fielder.

"They tried to hide me out there 'cause I'm not a fast runner," Hockey said.

When he started umpiring and coaching his children's teams in the 1970s, he played less and got more and more into umpiring.

"I just didn't have the time (to play), when my kids came along they were No. 1," he said.

In 1978, the Elkridge Adult Athletic Association was looking for a new umpire association and Jay Herbert asked Hockey to provide the umpires. That league played under the United States Slow Pitch Softball Association (now the United States Specialty Sports Association), of which Hockey is still a member.

When rec and parks needed an umpire association in 1982, his name came up. Monica Mintz, assistant sports coordinator at the time, hired Hockey to the position he still holds today, commissioner of umpires for rec and parks.

Over the years, Hockey has also kept score and times for the county's recreational basketball league and provided officials for a flag football program. But softball was always his love.

"His name is hockey, but it should have been softball," Mintz said. "He became everything there is in softball in Howard County."

As county softball has grown, so has Hockey's role. In addition to assigning umpires, Hockey has become a tournament director, park attendant, officials trainer, and a catch-all helper-outer for whatever the program needs to run smoothly.

Hockey conducted and attended clinics to stay on the cutting edge of the game. When umpires were late, or on the rare occasion that they don't show up, he would step in and call balls and strikes so the game can be played as scheduled. He is also the military national program director with USSSA.

He found time to do all this while working three jobs at times. When he wasn't working the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. graveyard shift for the Department of Defense, his full-time job, he stocked shelves for Acme Markets part time.

"I'd take my kids to school in the morning, then I went to college during the day at Catonsville, I'd come home and get a couple hours of sleep, then the kids came home from school. My wife worked for many years. You do what you've got to do," Hockey said.

Even with that hectic schedule, Hockey was never late for a softball game. Or even close to it.

"You can expect him there at least one or two hours early," said Mintz, who remembers asking Hockey to show up for a tournament at 7 a.m. and having him arrive at 5. "I used to have to wake him up in his truck in the parking lot."

In 1995, Hockey retired from the Department of Defense, giving him more free time. So in 1996, he took a part-time job as a park attendant for recreation and parks. Living up to his reputation as someone who will do any job large or small, Hockey's responsibilities as park attendant include everything from emptying the trash, to locking up the parks at night, to turning the field lights on and off.

"Just somebody to be there so people can see me. I stop by the fields and talk to the guys, just to be sure everything's OK," he said. "I just walk around and I have a good time because the guys all know me."

The job is perfect for Hockey, because it allows him to spend more time at Cedar Lane.

"Anytime anybody calls asking 'Where's Roger?' (my children say), 'Dad's up at Cedar Lane, he's on the ball field.'

"I'm going to die on the ball field more than likely," Hockey said with a chuckle.

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