Officiating in History
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Tales of big games, big calls and the officials that worked them.
Inside “The Comeback” – Buffalo vs. Houston 1993
Had the now ubiquitous “Win Probability Chart” been a thing in 1993, the Buffalo Bills and their fans would not have been happy with what it showed at halftime of their AFC...
“I’ll Never Forget”: Officiating Legends Recall Their Most Memorable Game
It is June 14, 1998, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Chicago Bulls are playing the Utah Jazz in Game 6...
One Second Left: Celtics vs. Suns 1976 NBA Finals
Richie Powers recalls that the biggest call he had to make in his nearly 25-year NBA officiating career came at the Boston Garden on...
MLB umpire Steve Rippley ejects 17 during one ’84 game
It may happen that an umpire can go through an entire career without a “hat trick.” That’s baseball parlance for ejecting three participants in...
DQ’d: Tyson vs. Holyfield June 28, 1997
Five days after ending the notorious Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield fight with a Tyson disqualification, Mills Lane is holed up in his Nevada District Court...
The Glory Road Game
Thornton Jenkins had so much more than an NCAA basketball championship game to officiate when Texas Western tipped off against the University of Kentucky...
Emmett Ashford – a rare personality
From the minors to the majors, Emmett Ashford was an umpire who had style. His career was typified by an incident in his first...
Highest-Scoring Game in NCAA History: Troy State vs. DeVry Jan. 12, 1992
Defense went out the window when Troy State and DeVry Institute engaged in the highest-scoring game in NCAA history. Fifty-one three-pointers by one team are just part of...
Behind the Scenes on the Legendary Woodson Interception
On Oct. 25, 1997, Michigan State’s Todd Schultz took the third-and-long snap in Spartan Stadium with a little more than two minutes left in...
The Ice Bowl: Green Bay vs. Dallas Dec. 31, 1967
The Northland Hotel’s cheerful wakeup message belied what had settled in during the night.
“Good morning,” the answering service chirped. “It is 16 degrees below zero and...
College Football Officiating at 150
DYK? Referees did not make all rulings in college football games until 1876.
As college football marks its 150th anniversary this season, it is only...
Mike Carey’s All-Time Memorable Game
It is Feb. 3, 2008, in Glendale, Ariz. The New England Patriots are attempting to become the second undefeated team in pro football history,...
Infamous Bartman Foul Ball – Chicago Cubs vs. Florida Marlins – October 14, 2003
Chicago Cubs fans were left numb by a disastrous 2002 campaign, which saw the club finish fifth in the NL Central Division and 28...
Our Founding Story – How Referee Magazine Came To Be
It’s often been said that if one has a problem, one has three choices: whine about it, ignore it or do something about it.
Lucky for the world of sports officiating, Barry Mano...
Hoosiers – Milan vs. Muncie: 1954 Indiana State Basketball Championship
Milan High School, enrollment 161, defeated the favored Bearcats of Muncie Central, 32-30, to win the 1954 Indiana state basketball championship. Plump’s shot with three seconds...
US vs. USSR 1972 Olympic Men’s Basketball Final
Peter Rodgers never figured that by opening a gift, he’d close the book on a lingering controversy. The birthday present Rodgers received should, at the very least,...
John Wooden: An Interview
You might wonder why a magazine for sports officials interviewed a coach, even one as legendary as John Wooden.
Through our decades of experience,...
Hip, Hip No Way: Yankees vs. Dodgers 1978 World Series
Reggie Jackson earned the nickname Mr. October because of his bat. But a baserunning play swung the 1978 World Series in favor of Jackson’s...
Eight Is Enough: 1985 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship
You would think after officiating more than 166 minutes of a soccer game, the sweat-soaked officials had put in a full day and would...
Mayhem in Cleveland: Browns vs. Jaguars Dec. 16, 2001
It started out as a feel-good day that would eventually take a serious turn for the worse. There was no way of telling that...
The Shot
As an exhausted Tom Clark settled back into the aisle seat of his Delta Airlines flight the morning of March 29, 1992, a slight...
The Eras of Our Ways
Ron Luciano, who died in 1995, was one of the classic arbiters and characters of the 1970s in professional sports. An AL umpire for...
