Larry Wilcoxen worked his first basketball game in 1958-59, a grade school game between Castleton Camp Grove and St. Johns of Bradford. He was talked into it by his partner, Gerald Gustafson of Tiskilwa.

“They were going to pay us $5 and Gerald talked them into giving us $7.50 for two games,” Wilcoxen said.

After 55 years and 2,849 basketball games, Wilcoxen, 76, is hanging up his whistle. The Walnut official worked his final game of his long career in stripes in last week’s BVEC girls’ basketball tournament in Walnut. He quit working varsity games about five years ago.