Officiating in History
Home Officiating in History
Tales of big games, big calls and the officials that worked them.
Webber’s Timeout: Michigan vs. UNC 1993 NCAA Championship
The 1993 NCAA men’s basketball championship game was one of the most famous college hoops game ever. Why? Because the new guard — Michigan’s...
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...
Locked Out
Late on the evening of Sept. 24, 2012, three men enjoy a nightcap at a New York City hotel. On the TV, the Seattle...
The Game Of The Century – Notre Dame vs. Michigan State 1966
In a game that featured number one against number two — Notre Dame vs. Michigan State — college football fans were highly anticipating which...
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...
Hammerin’ Hank 715
It was perhaps the most sacred of all of baseball’s sacred records, but when Hank Aaron launched long ball number 715, he became baseball’s...
You Are There: Cal vs. the Stanford Band (November 20, 1982)
By Leon Davis
No, the Pac-10 title was not on the line, but when Stanford's Cardinal traveled to Berkeley to take on California's Bears it...
The Immaculate Reception: Pittsburgh vs. Oakland Dec. 23, 1972
Fred Swearingen's world had slowed down by 1998 and he was into a peaceful life in Carlsbad, Calif. His serene existence when we interviewed him...
You Are There: Trumbull Upsets Taiwan in 1989 LLWS Final
If it’s David versus Goliath stories you are looking for, you need to go no further than the 1989 Little League World Series championship game between Taiwan and Trumbull, Conn.
And...
The Earthquake Game: 1989 World Series Game 3 San Francisco vs. Oakland
When the 1989 San Francisco quake hit, baseball stopped as a city tended to its wounds. It was the only time in history a World Series was...
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...
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...
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...
The ‘Stuff’ Dreams Are Made Of: NC State vs. Houston – April 4, 1983
Time was ticking down to a precious few seconds in the 1983 NCAA men’s basketball tournament championship game between Houston and North Carolina State..
Underdog...
Favre’s MNF Dad Game – Dec. 22, 2003
When the 2003 NFL season opened, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre had already pretty much assured himself a place in the Pro Football...
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...
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...
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,...
John Hirschbeck Reminisces on MLB Playoff No-Hitter
It is Oct. 6, 2010, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Phillies are facing the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of a...
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...
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...
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...