Thomas Sweeney’s first incentive to become a line judge was the offer of a free sandwich.
For Pauline Eyre, who held the line at Wimbledon for 16 years, a pair of smart horns and the chance to buy tickets to the tournament were the biggest reward for the job that required her to take annual leave.
Today the top civil servants earn up to £200 a day plus expenses.
But judging lines has never been about money for those who spend hours leaning forward, hands on knees, staring intently at a chalk line to determine in a split second which side the yellow ball bounced.
Being so close to Jana Novotna on Center Court that she could see her foot shaking on the first point of a Wimbledon final, or being ‘frustrated’ by John McEnroe, were priceless experiences for Eyre.
And then there were the outfits.
“There’s nothing quite like taking to the iconic grass courts of SW19, in the uniform of what many consider to be the best-dressed officials in all of the sport,” Malgorzata Grzyb, chairman of the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO), told BBC Sport.
But times have changed. Wimbledon will have no line judges for the first time in its 148-year history as electronic line calls are introduced.
Players and referees have been used to the new format for some time, as with other tournaments, but on the green grass of Wimbledon, where advertising logos are muted and the players are dressed in white, the empty courts may be a little more noticeable.
“It’s all the tradition of Wimbledon – the people and the funny uniforms – and that’s a bit of the personality that’s gone,” Eyre said. “I think it’s all those little things that made Wimbledon Wimbledon.”
Traditionalists will miss them, but technology fans will point to progress.
BBC Sport has found out what referees, players and line judges think of this move.
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