It had only been a little more than a month since Marshall had truly felt healthy. It started with the vomiting. Marshall thought he had a bug, but when he couldn’t stop throwing up, his doctors got worried. Exploratory surgery confirmed the worst — a baseball-sized tumor was found in his pancreas. Another surgery Oct. 23 revealed the cancer was spreading.
He was given one to 12 months to live.
Now, it was Friday, Nov. 1, and there was one last game to officiate. Marshall’s old alma mater Roosevelt was playing Madison at Lincoln High School. It promised to be a nothing game. Neither team was in the playoff hunt; in fact, the two schools only had a single victory between them.
Marshall thought about his health as he sat alone waiting for his crewmates to return. The day before had been good. He had felt well enough to take a long walk. But today, he wasn’t so sure. He’d had to stop to throw up on the way to the game site.
A Lifetime in Officiating
Officiating had always been a part of his adult life. For nearly 50 years, he officiated football at all levels. His career reached its apex when he was hired by the NFL, where he spent 13 seasons (1976-88) as a line judge. After those glory days, Marshall returned to his officiating roots in his native Portland, Ore., and once again began officiating high school football.
“He loves kids,” said his wife, Tina Henderson. “He never really wanted to coach; he wanted to officiate. That’s always been his passion, to give back to the community. He loves to start new guys out and work with them. Just by giving them the information that he knows, he can share.”
There was that, but Marshall also had another dream in mind. Even though he had five NFL playoff assignments under his belt, Marshall wanted to officiate a state high school playoff game with his son Vern Jr., who is also an official in the Portland area.
A Locker Room Surprise
Breaking him from his reverie, the locker room door opened and Marshall’s crew walked in. Marshall heard a familiar Texas drawl: “What’s going on?”
Marshall raised his head and saw his old NFL crew chief Red Cashion. He did a double take and looked at the rest of the group. There were Terry Gierke and Nate Jones, former NFL officials who also live in Portland, as well as his old friend John Alderton, another NFL retiree from Portland, who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. And there was Jack Barger, a 25-year Pac-10 football official, who took Marshall under his wing years ago.
“Holy sh—!” Marshall exclaimed. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Someone told us we got a football game to work today,” Cashion replied. “We thought you could use a little help.”
Putting Together One Final Crew
The idea for the surprise appearance began to formulate a few weeks earlier when Alderton received a phone call at his Arizona home from an officiating friend from Portland: “Did you hear about Vern? He has pancreatic cancer.”
Alderton was stunned by the news, but he started to think, “Wouldn’t it be a great tribute to put together a special crew for one final game?”
Alderton’s original thought was for himself, Gierke and Jones — the three other retired NFL officials from Portland besides Marshall — to join their old friend for his final game. “I called Terry and Nate and they were in,” says Alderton. “And then we thought, ‘Why not call Red in on this?’”
Alderton recalled phoning Cashion, who was Marshall’s NFL crew chief for five seasons, and telling him about Marshall’s situation: “After I told him the idea, Red had only three words to say — ‘Count me in.’”
Although it might sound strange considering the men had nearly 96 years of NFL officiating experience between them, the first step was to become certified to work high school football in Oregon. They contacted Bob Wellnitz, commissioner of the Portland Officials Association, and a close friend of Marshall’s.
“Bob got in touch with the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA),” said Alderton. “And they were fine with letting us work the game — provided we could pass the OSAA football officials’ rules test.”
Needing to score a 75 or better to become qualified, Cashion joked, “Don’t quote me on our scores! I’m not saying we didn’t score 100 percent, but let’s just say we all managed to make at least 75.”
The group originally had everything set to surprise Marshall a week earlier than it actually happened, but when Marshall had to go in for another round of exploratory surgery, the plans had to be postponed. “We only had one more week to pull it off,” said Alderton, “the last game of the season. By that time, everyone in Portland knew what we were planning, except for Vern.”
Everything was in place. Wellnitz had assigned local officials for the game, who helped make the illusion complete by phoning Marshall the day before to confirm the game’s location and time, and even showed up for the game prior to the NFL officials’ surprise entrance.
Back in No. 94
Vern Jr. appeared among the group of Marshall’s old officiating buddies in the locker room. With his father still happily reeling from the surprise and cussing out his buddies, Vern Jr. handed his dad Marshall’s old number 94 NFL line judge uniform.
“I think he was very surprised,” said Vern Jr., who joined the group on the field for the game. “And I think he appreciated every moment of it. The tears really welled up in his eyes.”
But there was still more to come.
A Tribute From His Fellow Officials
The game itself, which started at 3 p.m., drew only about 30 fans, but when Marshall and his NFL crew made the walk from the locker room to the field, they were greeted with an extraordinary tribute.
Lined up outside along the route leading to the field were more than 100 local high school football officials in full uniform from three different associations in and around Portland. A steady applause filled the air as Marshall and his crew made their way to the field.
“Vern, you’re a legend!” one ref yelled.
“Vern was a great NFL official,” said Cashion, recalling that moment. “But when we walked out there and all of Vern’s fellow officials started clapping and patting him on the back, well I’ll tell you that was the single greatest thing I have seen in officiating. He’s done so much for those fellows in Portland and they showed him how much he means to them. That’s what this whole thing was about. Heck, a few old buddies from the NFL coming in doesn’t hold a candle to what those referees in Portland did.”
One Last Game
After the coin toss, which Marshall conducted, the game got under way.
“It turns out we only made one mistake that day,” said Alderton. “We knew Vern wouldn’t be able to work too long, but he’s always been a tough son of a bitch and in his typical way, he insisted on wearing the old NFL shirt we’d brought instead of a different one with long sleeves.”
Marshall lasted only one series before his body wouldn’t let him continue. He came to the sideline, where his other son Joe wrapped a blanket around him. The cold November chill was too much that day and after the first quarter ended, Marshall called it a day. With a quick wave of his hat to his colleagues, Marshall walked off the field for the last time.
The rest of the crew carried on for their friend and finished the game, which Madison won to end an 18-game losing streak.
“I really didn’t feel up to doing this,” Marshall said afterward. “But this was special, to see all these friends and colleagues again. It was something.”
For a man facing the greatest challenge of his life, for a man widely acknowledged by his officiating peers for his dedication to the avocation of officiating, the tribute seems fitting.
“People say your life can be measured in the number of people you’ve touched,” Vern Jr. said that day. “By all the people here today and the number of calls he’s received in the last week, that’s a pretty good statement about his life.”
Reports from the Los Angeles Times and the Portland Oregonian were used as sources in compiling this story.
After this story was written and before Referee went to press, Vern Marshall passed away on Dec. 5.
Jim Arehart was a Referee Magazine Associate Editor at the time he wrote this article. Jim now serves as Referee’s CMO.
