'Joe, I'm gonna try this': How Laura Golden broke barriers as KHSAA's first female referee

Laura "Lou" Golden loved to go with her husband Billy Joe to local high school basketball games when they lived in Lynch and watch him referee.

As she observed from the stands, what surprised her most were the hecklers who had no clue about what they were arguing.

She soon realized she knew just as much about the game as they did — if not more.

So she decided to prove it, which was unheard of at the time.

Golden became the first female basketball official in Kentucky 62 years ago and second in the United States. Golden, who died Nov. 6 in Morristown, Tennessee, a few months shy of her 90th birthday, was inducted posthumously into the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame in May.

Other HoF inductees:Mitch Barnhart, Michael Bush among 2022 inductees in Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame

"Everyone that knew my mother loved her," said her son, Bobby Golden, who accepted the honor on her behalf. "I know she's looking down on us right now and saying thank you to all."

Laura and Billy Joe talked basketball in their free time; he pitched the idea of a husband-and-wife refereeing duo. It took some convincing.

Golden worked as a checker and together the couple was raising a young Bobby. Finding time to work high school games on the side wasn't easy.

"My dad refereed for several years and Mom would go to the games and they'd talk basketball and he'd make the suggestion, like, 'Look, you need to try this,'" Bobby Golden said. "And then one day she says, 'Joe, I'm gonna try this. ... I think I can do this as good as some of these men.'"

Get the scoop: Subscribe to The Courier Journal's high school sports newsletter 

A decade before Title IX was enacted, fundamentally changing girls and women's sports at the scholastic and collegiate level, Billy Joe reached out to the KHSAA and applied for a license on Laura's behalf. At the time, Iowa's Carol Ziegler was the only registered female referee in the nation. The KHSAA didn't have a problem with Laura Lou wanting to be a referee, but she'd have to pass the licensing exam like everybody else. 

Golden studied as much as she could. It wasn't rare for Bobby to see his mom holding her referee's notebook in one hand and while cooking dinner with the other. 

In 1960, Golden, 28 at the time, easily passed the officiating test. Today prospective officials need a 70% to pass the KHSAA referee's exam. Golden scored a 90%, according to a Courier Journal story from Dec. 18, 1960.

News spread around the country. She was interviewed by The Courier Journal and The New York Times, and featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd series. 

Title IX compliance issues:After 50 years of Title IX, Louisville and Kentucky athletics manipulate rosters to comply

Golden just wanted to do a good job. Being the first female referee in Kentucky carried pressure.

She dealt with snide remarks and watchful eyes as the only woman in a male-dominated field. When she first started, people asked her what she planned on wearing to games or joked she was the one ref they could whistle back at.

And as she worked under the basket, fans kept their eyes keened on her, wondering if she was willing to stand up for herself. 

She had no issues with that. 

"This big post player had knocked a guy to the ground and it was an obvious call," Bobby said. "She went to administer the call and she said when she looked at the gentleman he crossed his arms so she could not see his numbers. She just walked right by him and softly said, 'Young man, the numbers on the back of your jersey are quite large and I can see them just fine.'" 

Also: Meet 10 impact basketball players in Kentucky headed to new high schools in 2022-23

Golden refereed from 1960 to 1962, working games in the 13th Region, proving more than capable of the job as a mainstay as part of likely the first husband-and-wife officiating duo in the country. 

"I've overruled her on a call only one time," Billy Joe told The Courier Journal in 1960. "And I resolved never to do that again when one of the players came up to me and whispered, 'Mr. Golden, you really missed that one — you better leave her alone.'"

Follow Courier Journal reporter J.L. Kirven on Twitter @JL_Kirven for more updates on Louisville prep sports.