Rene Arsenault's 52-year umpiring career ended the way it should: with a crowd knowing his name and one prank still making him laugh decades later — courtesy of Concord's own Lisa McGloin.

The prank that's stuck with him for years.

McGloin, who founded Concord's Raiders Softball program in 1990, once walked out to argue a call at one of Arsenault's daughters' scrimmages — fully aware he'd just bought brand new umpiring pants and polished shoes for the occasion. She kept a stone-cold poker face the entire time.

"The coach knew that I had just bought brand new pants," Arsenault told the Greenfield Recorder. "She was trying to be funny. She kicked dirt all over my new pants." McGloin held her serious expression until the laughter finally broke through — then handed him a check for dry cleaning after the game.

McGloin's own legacy runs deep in Concord.

She built the Raiders from a single 18-and-under team into a six-squad program serving players ages 11 to 23. Her first two teams won ASA state and regional titles and qualified for nationals, and the Raiders posted top-20 finishes at PONY Nationals in both 2002 and 2003. She still runs the program out of Concord today.

Arsenault's own career started almost by accident.

He got his start in 1974 in Fitchburg, when Frank Zingarello recruited the young paper-mill worker into the local Umpires' Association for $10 a game. Over the next five decades, he called softball, baseball, basketball and volleyball, spending roughly 25 years working fields across Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.

In 52 years, he only ejected five people.

One was a player who threw a bat over the backstop after striking out; another was a parent who wouldn't stop complaining about the strike zone. For everyday hecklers, Arsenault had a gentler trick: he'd turn to the crowd and announce he had an extra clicker if anyone wanted to try umpiring themselves. That usually did the trick.

A fitting final call.

Arsenault's last game was the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class B softball championship, where the public address announcer recognized his final appearance before the first pitch. In his last decade on the field, he shared the job with his son Connor, who followed him into umpiring. Turners Falls softball coach Gary Mullins, who clashed with Arsenault early on, said their relationship grew into a real friendship. "When he comes to do a game you are going to get a good job," Mullins said.