List of American Football League officials
Encyclopedia
Just as it did in many other innovative ways, the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 (AFL, 1960–1969) had a unique take on the uniforms of referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...

s, umpires, line judges, field judges and back judges. With their red-orange stripes, black collars and cuffs, and AFL logos on their shirt fronts, sleeves and caps, they were not only more colorful, but easier to see than those of the other league. They were especially unique when seen on color television
Color television
Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....

, which was also on the rise in the 1960s.

In his book COLORS, Jim Finks Jr., son of Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Finks, Sr.
Jim Finks
James Edward Finks was an American sports executive, primarily for American Professional Football.-Biography:...

, shows the original uniform of AFL official Jack Reader
Jack Reader
John Kenneth "Jack" Reader is a former American football official. After graduation from the College of the Holy Cross in 1950, football star Jack Reader became an on-field official...

, who was a back judge in the first AFL game in 1960 and in both the first and third AFL-NFL World Championship games
Professional American football championship games
Below is a list of professional football championship games in the United States, involving:* the informal Pittsburgh circuit of professional football teams ;...

. Reader was in an iconic January 20, 1969 Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

photo, signaling a touchdown after Matt Snell
Matt Snell
Matt Snell was the American Football League's New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin's first coup, prior to his 1965 acquisition of Joe Namath...

's 4-yard plunge against the Colts.

The following men were American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 on-field officials: an important but seldom-credited part of the game. Nine, as shown in the list below, officiated in the American Football League for the entire ten years of its existence, 1960 through 1969. They were: Ben Dreith (FJ, R); Bob Finley (U, R); Hugh Gamber (BJ, FJ); Elvin Hutchison (HL); John McDonough (R); Walt Parker (U); Jack Reader (BJ, R); Al Sabato (HL) and George Young (U).
  • Bob Austin (AFL Supervisor of Officials, 1960–1965)
  • James Barnhill
  • Bob Baur
  • Peppy Blount
    Peppy Blount
    Ralph E. Blount was an American collegiate football end, member of the Texas house of representatives and a former World War II pilot of a B-25J who authored several books about life, war and football. In 1945, just before the end of World War II, First Lieutenant Blount participated in the...

  • Harold Bourne
  • Gilbert Castree
  • Al Conway
    Al Conway
    Al Conway was an American Professional Football on-field official for 28 seasons. He was in the American Football League in its last year, 1969, and in the NFL fom 1970 to 1996...

  • Art Demmas
    Art Demmas
    Art Demmas was an American Professional Football on-field official for 28 seasons. He was in the American Football League in 1968 and 1969 and in the NFL from the 1970 to 1996 NFL season. During his career as a Professional Football official, Demmas was assigned to four Super Bowls , all as an...

  • Clyde Devine
  • Ray Dodez
  • Ben Dreith
    Ben Dreith
    Ben Dreith is a former American professional football on-field official who worked from 1960 to 1969 in the American Football League and from 1970 to 1990 in the NFL. Prior to his teaching and officiating career, he was a three-sport athlete at the University of Northern Colorado.Dreith developed...

     (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • Dick Eichhorst
  • George Ellis
  • Bob Finley
    Bob Finley
    Robert Edward Finley was an SMU back drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers a and Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943 and 1944. He was a native of Ennis, Texas...

     (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • Walt Fitzgerald
  • John Fouch
  • Kenny Gallagher
  • Hugh Gamber (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • Fritz Graf
  • Gerald Hart
  • Mel Hein
    Mel Hein
    Melvin Jack Hein was an American Professional Football player for the New York Giants. Hein played fifteen seasons for the Giants and never missed a down due to injury...

     (AFL Supervisor of Officials, 1966–1969)
  • Al Huetter
  • Elvin Hutchison
    Elvin Hutchison
    Elvin Hutchison was an American football player and official.-Early life and education:Elvin Clarence Hutchison was born October 14, 1912, in Guthrie Center, Iowa. He graduated from Red Oak High School in Red Oak, Iowa and went on to Whittier College, where he was known as the "Red Oak Express" on...

     (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • Hunter Jackson
  • Harry Kessel
  • Bill Kestermeier
  • Frank Kirkland
  • Joe Kraus
  • Cal Lepore
    Cal Lepore
    Cal Lepore was a line judge and referee in American Professional Football. He officiated in the American Football League from 1966 through 1969, and then in the NFL from 1970 through 1980. He worked the Third AFL-NFL Championship game, won by the New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts, after the...

  • Charles Liley
  • Pat Mallette
  • Bo McAllister
  • Jack McLain
  • John McDonough (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • George McGuane
  • Carl Mellinger
  • Leo Miles
  • Tommy Miller
  • John Morrow
  • Charlie Musser
  • George Parker
    George Parker
    George Parker may refer to:*Sir George Parker, 2nd Baronet , English politician, MP* George C. Parker , American fraudster* George Parker , South African cricketer...

  • Walt Parker (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • Jack Reader
    Jack Reader
    John Kenneth "Jack" Reader is a former American football official. After graduation from the College of the Holy Cross in 1950, football star Jack Reader became an on-field official...

     (Officiated the first AFL game in 1960. Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • Bob Rice
    Bob Rice
    Robert Turnbull Rice was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies.-External links:...

  • Frank Rustich
  • James Ryan
    James Ryan
    James Ryan was an Irish politician. He was elected to the First Dáil at the 1918 general election and, apart from the Third Dáil , held his seat for Wexford until his retirement at the 1965 general election...

  • Al Sabato (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)
  • Amby Schindler
    Amby Schindler
    Ambrose "Amblin' Amby" Schindler is a former American collegiate football player, coach and Professional Football on-field official. He played college football for the University of Southern California.-Career:Schindler prepped at San Diego High School...

  • John Steffen
  • William Stein
  • Bill Summers
  • Paul Trepinski
  • Price Truitt
  • Dick Ulrich
  • Jack Vest
    Jack Vest
    Jack Vest was an American athlete. He was a 12 letter man for East Tennessee State, winning honors in football, basketball and baseball between the years 1946-50. He is also to be found numerous times in the Buccaneer record book. He was an outstanding quarterback in football and averaged between...

  • Tony Veteri
  • Aaron Wade
  • Bob Whetstone
  • Bob Wortman
    Bob Wortman
    Bob Wortman was a collegiate athlete at the University of Findlay, Ohio, where he played basketball and football. He went on to be a field judge in the American Football League from 1965 through 1969, and in the NFL starting in 1970 through 1992...

  • Bill Wright
  • George Young (Ten-year American Football League official, 1960 - 1969)

See also


External links

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