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Profiles and stories about officials and people close to officiating.
Art McNally: Zebra Chief
Zebra Chief. That’s the name of the boat presented to Art McNally honoring him for decades of service to the National Football League. Paid...
Ron Foxcroft: The Official Behind the Whistle
When people in officiating circles hear the name Ron Foxcroft, they think of the man who developed the Fox 40 whistle. Comparatively few realize...
The Full Monty
Look at Monty McCutchen on the court, and you see an NBA referee near the top of his game. A veteran in his 16th...
Ron Garretson: A Life in Officiating
With the ‘Godfather of NBA officials’ as his father, Ron Garretson learned from one of the best in the business. Then he made a...
VanderVelde Family Officiating Tree Reaches College Football
Mike VanderVelde always knew the apple wasn’t going to fall far from the tree.
The longtime West Michigan football and basketball official correctly guessed that...
Bernice Gera: First Lady Umpire
Some months ago, in our early correspondence with Bernice Gera we received a letter signed "Bernice Gera - First Lady Umpire." We asked her...
NFL Line Judge Jeff Bergman is All Business
Just as Jeff Bergman was starting to relax under the soothing stream of warm water that early spring afternoon in 1983, he was startled...
Defining the “It” Factor
Rules knowledge, mechanics and making the right calls are important. Missing any of those elements can break your career, but having them won’t make...
Paul Tamberino: Nothing Dirty, Nothing Cheap
For two years in a row, Paul Tamberino was voted the MLS’ top referee. As one of America’s premier soccer officials, he also represented...
Solid Stance: Gerry Davis Profile
The honor hardly could be more fitting.
OK, perhaps having a behind-the-plate stance named after you — as Gerry Davis does — isn’t technically an...
NCAA Referee Keith Kimble Keeps It All In Perspective
Sure, basketball is important to NCAA men’s referee Keith Kimble. But that’s only 20 percent. It’s the other 80 percent of his life that...
Pati Rolf Moved From College Coach to High Level Official and Has Never Looked...
A lime green toy pig, gifted to Pati Rolf by the distraught motorist who accidentally struck her on snowy Minnetonka Boulevard in Hopkins, Minn., nearly 50 years ago, endures all...
His Plate is Full
By Dan Ronan
Dan Bellino’s phone, email and text messages never seem to stop. His schedule and life are packed full, 24/7/365. He’s been a...
Mills Lane’s Biggest Fight
It’s been 10 years since former legendary boxing referee Mills Lane refereed a fight. But even after suffering a stroke in 2002 that left...
Fruits of His Labor
The 44-year-old Julio Rivera- Torres, who now lives in Vancouver, Wash., began life in a small village called San Miguel Del Ojo de Agua...
5 Minutes with J.D. Collins
Hometown: Hartford City, Ind.
Experience: NCAA national coordinator of men’s basketball officiating; former coordinator of officials for the Mid-American Conference and Summit League; former consultant...
Robert Watts: Back From The Blindside
Veteran football official Robert Watts was recently elected president of the Austin (Texas) Football Officials Association (AFOA). It is all part of moving on...
Soldier on After Tragedy
Ten-year-old Chris Stover wanted to be a soccer official, but the rules said he had to be 11. The assigner “felt sorry for him...
Jake O’Donnell: The NBA Referee Who Walked Away at the Top
It’s been almost a year since the legendary Jake O’Donnell officiated his last game. It was strange not seeing him in the NBA Finals...
Like Father, Like Sons
Politics had the Adamses. Big band music had the Dorseys. Acting had the Barrymores. And officiating has the Crawfords.
Umpire Henry “Shag” Crawford retired in...
Ed Hochuli On Balance
It takes extraordinary strength to take charge of a Super Bowl – strength of will, of desire and of conviction. Ed Hochuli has done...
Frank DeFord, Longtime Supporter of Sports Officials, Dies At 78
We at Referee magazine and the National Association of Sports Officials are much saddened by the passing of Frank DeFord. Frank received accolades, honors...
Going to War with Joe Crawford
NBA fans’ character sketch of Joe Crawford has been drawn in indelible ink. They long ago dismissed him as that referee with a centimeter...
Dave Parry: The Best of Both Worlds
When Dave Parry refereed intramural basketball games at Wabash College in the mid 1950's for $1 a game, he recalls, "It paid for hamburgers,...