images of eventual Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback JohnHuarte working his magic for Notre Dame were beaming from thetelevision.

Captivated by the magnitude of the game and inspired by therelentless spirit that would elevate him to such enormous heightsin the coming years, Markbreit turned to four-year-old Betsy, theyounger of his two daughters, and almost compulsively revealedthe promise he had made to himself.

“Some day, I’m going to be working those games that you’rewatching on television,” Markbreit declared.

“Some day” came less than a year later. Betsy Markbreitanswered the phone on July 11, 1965. She assumed it was a hoaxsince her daddy’s officiating friends were known to make crankcalls to him. Without placing her hand over the phone she said,“Dad, someone on the phone is pretending to be Bill Reed.”

It wasn’t a joke this time. It was the real Bill Reed,

In the same shadows and lightwhere he made a pledge to hislittle girl one autumn afternoonin 1964, Jerry Markbreit reflectson what has been a charmed,fulfilling life.

He remembers when he was29 years old and had returnedfrom officiating a high schoolfootball game between LutherSouth and the Harvard Schoolfor Boys. As he unpacked hisdirty, sweaty uniform from a bagin the rec room of his tri-levelhome in the Chicago suburb ofSkokie, the black-and-white

26 REFEREE August 2007 www.referee.com

By Peter Jackel

As comfortable behind a podium as he was on the field, Jerry Markbreit is a popular speaker even for non-officiatinggroups. But his words to officials still carry plenty of weight.

RE

FE

RE

E

RE

FE

RE

E

feature-gwa 6/26/07 11:09 AM Page 1

commissioner of the Big 10 Conference, and he wasinviting Markbreit to make the daunting step up toDivision I college football. In the coming years,little Betsy would grow into a young woman andJerry would develop into one of the all-time greatsof his profession, moving from the Big 10 to theNFL in 1976 and providing the league with 458games of excellence covering nearly a quartercentury.

Damn, did Jerry Markbreit know his stuff!“He was one of the best that we ever had,”

longtime officiating great Jim Tunney flatly said.The pages flew off the calendar of Markbreit’s

life until he found himself in that same rec roomthis year, reflecting on an officiating career thatended on his own terms in January 1999, while hestill was where he had been all along — on top.

As the recipient of NASO’s coveted GoldWhistle Award for 2007 reflected on his career, hecould see the very spot where he made that solemnpledge to Betsy so many years ago.

Betsy Markbreit died of congestive heart failureat the age of 45 on May 13, 2006, following anillness of two and a half years, and his reflectionsare so much more powerful and poignant. In thesame shadows and light where he made his pledge43 years ago, the irony was obvious to the now 72-year-old Markbreit.

“Betsy passed away a year ago, but we alwaystalked about it and she remembered what I said,”Markbreit said. “Everybody thinks, ‘I’m going tobe there,’ but I really thought I had a chance to getsomewhere in officiating. How far, I didn’t know,but my goal was to get to the Big 10.”

www.referee.com August 2007 REFEREE 27

Jerry Markbreit’s ability to control a game, precise mechanics and eloquence on the microphone are legendary.

LE

E C

AL

KIN

S

feature-gwa 6/26/07 11:10 AM Page 2

almost all of the (previous recipients) did a lot ofcharitable things and donated all kinds of money.I never had the wherewithal to do that.Everything I did was officiating. I mean, I do a lotof public speaking for organizations andcharities, but nothing that was that special. A lotof people do that.”

Markbreit believes what he says, but he fails torealize few people have accomplished what hehas. He may be the only one in the entireofficiating industry who feels his work hasn’tmerited the award.

By definition, the Gold Whistle Award“recognizes an individual who has madetremendous contributions to his or hercommunity and has experienced a successfulofficiating career.” Clearly, the emphasis is oncontribution to the community.

Let’s take it one step at a time. Solely as anofficial, Markbreit holds his place with the giantsof all time, as underscored by the 28 onfieldplayoff assignments including four Super Bowls(and an alternate for three others) in the 21seasons he was eligible to work the postseason.

Markbreit is often sought as a speaker, and notalways for officiating groups. Regardless of theaudience, Markbreit gets his message across in aclear and positive way, just as he did when heclicked on his microphone to announce a penalty.Through those speeches and appearancesMarkbreit has put a positive face on the industry.

Even though his onfield career ended nineyears ago, Markbreit can still be seen duringtelevised games. Of all the retired referees in theworld, the Miller Brewing Co. chose Markbreitfor its “Men of the Square Table” ad campaign.Even though he spoke but one line, Markbreit’sface is so ingrained in the public consciousnessthat most fans recognized him immediately.

criteria continue to emphasize acandidate’s officiating career, overallintegrity and service to the communityof officials.

In chronological order, here are the19 previous Gold Whistle Award winners:Art McNally, 1988; the late Ed Myer,1989; the late Pete Pavia, 1990; LarryBarnett, 1991; Jim Tunney, 1992; StevePalermo, 1993; Ron Asselstine, 1994; Ed Hightower, 1995;Bernie Saggau, 1996; the late Ted Butcher, 1997; the lateDurwood Merrill, 1998; Tommy Nunez, 1999; Tom Dooley, 2000;Paul Stewart, 2001; Larry Young, 2002; Bob Delaney 2003; BobMcElwee 2004; John W. Keys 2005; Blow the Whistle on CancerCampaign, 2006.

The Gold Whistle Award was created in 1987by the NASO board of directors. Designed torecognize the efforts of outstanding citizenswho also happen to be sports officials orofficiating-related organizations, the award

28 REFEREE August 2007 www.referee.com

Just as Betsy’s spirit lives on, so does Jerry Markbreit’slegacy, which is amplified so much more with the GoldWhistle Award. Just as Markbreit cherishes his daughter’smemory with a heavy heart, he’ll cherish an award that willremind him of the esteem in which he is held by so manythroughout the officiating industry.

“The Gold Whistle Award has always been like theAcademy Award of officiating,” said Markbreit, who creditsthe support of his wife of 51 years, Roberta, and his survivingdaughter, Kathy, for much of his success. “I never thought Iwould have a chance to get it because, to my knowledge,

Then-NFL supervisor ofofficials Art McNally wasn’tsure Jerry Markbreit couldmake the jump from linejudge to referee after justone year in the league.Today, McNally saysMarkbreit proved himwrong. “Right from thevery beginning, he wasjust an outstandingreferee,” says McNally.

DALE TAIT

feature-gwa 6/26/07 11:11 AM Page 3

Markbreit has also appeared on the big screen. In a classiccase of art imitating life, Markbreit portrayed a referee in theHarrison Ford film The Sum of All Fears.

But his eloquence is not restricted to the spoken word.Markbreit’s stories and philosophies have been told in threebooks: The Armchair Referee, Born to Referee: My Life on theGridiron and Last Call: Memoirs of an NFL Referee. Each season,Markbreit answers fans’ questions in a weekly column thatappears on the Chicago Tribune website.

Markbreit has set the bar high for his successors. But he isfirst in line to provide the boost they may need to clear thatbarrier. Ask Ed Hochuli, who has emerged as a worthysuccessor to Markbreit as the model for refereeing excellence,what an inspiring template Markbreit has been.

“In how many years it’s been for the NFL, there have beenprobably three referees that stood out in the different ages andJerry Markbreit is certainly one of those,” Hochuli said. “Therecertainly has been no one with any greater influence on mycareer than Jerry Markbreit.

“I couldn’t speak enough of what I think about him as areferee and, even more importantly, as an individual. I thinkJerry is just a wonderful human being and I am both proud andhonored to count him as a friend. He has been a tremendousmentor to me.”

Mentor. That title explains why Markbreit will be adding theGold Whistle Award to his rapidly expanding collection ofofficiating honors (he was honored by the NFL RefereesAssociation in April and has been elected to the Jewish SportsHall of Fame).

“His unselfishness has led to constant meetings and clinicswith the sole intent to help young officials be the best they canbe,” said Mike Pereira, NFL vice president of officiating. “Tothis day, he continues to work with referees from the highschool level to the professional ranks. He will give just as muchof himself to a high school referee as he will to the Bill Carollosof the world. That is what I love about Jerry.”

Markbreit understands that if he can play a role in someonematching or even surpassing whatever he accomplished as areferee, his legacy has been enhanced all the more.

“Nobody gets anywhere by themselves,” Markbreit said.“There’s nothing original in officiating at any level. Everythingyou learn, you learn from other officials and I feel it’s theobligation of successful officials to pay back all of the thingsthat were given to them to other people. Give all of theknowledge that you have and all the little things that madepeople better to other officials just like others did for you.

www.referee.com August 2007 REFEREE 29

The joke was on the viewer in a promo ad for the NFL Network (left). Markbreitis peering not into a replay screen, but a microwave. Markbreit also shared aseat with the Men of the Square Table in a commercial for Miller Lite (right).

Typical of his attitudeabout sharingknowledge, JerryMarkbreit didn’tbecome an author outof vanity or to makemoney. He did it to behelpful.

In the preface to his1973 book TheArmchair Referee,Markbreit said he wrotea book about thebasics of football tohelp a neighbor.

“He is always waitingfor me with a list ofquestions,” Markbreitwrote. “I decided towrite this book for himand all the otherfootball fans aroundthe country with lists ofquestions and no onearound to answerthem.”

The first of threebooks Markbreitproduced includeddefinitions of commonterms, explanations ofpenalties anddescriptions of theofficials and theirduties.

Markbreitcollaborated withauthor andscreenwriter AlanSteinberg for hissecond book, Born toReferee. The 1998book includedhighlights from hiscareer, including thegame in which hepenalized Ohio St.Coach Woody Hayesfor a tantrum thatincluded tearing apart

the sideline markers, and his ejection ofGreen Bay defensive lineman CharlesMartin for bodyslamming Chicagoquarterback Jim McMahon.

Upon his retirement, Markbreit teamedwith Steinberg again for Last Call, whichincluded stories about his final days onthe field.

But he hasn’t stopped tapping akeyboard. During the football season,Markbreit’s answers to questionssubmitted to the Chicago Tribune sportsdepartment appear on the newspaper’sweb page.

The medium has changed, but not hisdesire to be helpful.

The Referee as Author

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

TH

E N

FL

NE

TW

OR

K CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

MILLE

R B

RE

WIN

G

feature-gwa 6/26/07 11:11 AM Page 4

Sprawled out on his bed after dinner and tootired to digest his homework assignments,Markbreit’s mother, Rena, used to take a seatbeside his single bed and read to her only son ashe struggled to stay awake. To this day, Markbreitrecalls his mother reading A Tale of Two Cities tohim over several evenings.

“My mother used to read my homework tome, read assignments to me and help me becauseshe knew how tired I was,” Markbreit said. “Butshe wanted me to play. She knew how much Ienjoyed playing. I loved playing football.”

Markbreit’s coach at Hyde Park was a kindlymentor named Elliott Hasan. Without Hasan’ssupport, Markbreit may never have graced theofficiating profession.

“Elliott Hasan was also an official and heofficiated high school games when he wasn’tcoaching,” Markbreit said. “He was also a Big 10official. I admired him so much and he kind oftook a liking to me.”

When Markbreit headed off to college, Hasansuggested he officiate intramural football. “Hetold me, ‘If you like it, when you come backhome, I’ll take you to our local officialsassociation and get you started on an officiatingcareer. If you like it and you’re any good, you cando it for most of your adult life.’ And I thought,‘Oh, boy.’”

“Well, I went down to Illinois and playedfreshman football and I got banged up so badthat I finally realized I was fooling myself. So I

“Bob McElwee is a Gold Whistle Award winner (in 2004).He was an official for 25 years and Bob McElwee and I werebest friends, we talked about our games and little things thatwould help his officiating and I gave him the things I feltcould help him and he did the same for me. Never was therea thought in my mind or his that he would make me betterthan him.

“It’s the payback. It’s the guy who has walked away fromit or is still officiating who is constantly helping otherpeople, giving them information. People send me e-mails allthe time, ‘You have a checklist on referees on the things thatwould make me better’ and I e-mail it right back to them.That’s what you do. That’s how you perpetuate officiating —by helping other people with the same kind of help that yougot.

“It’s not a selfish profession because you’re only there fora little while. Once you’re gone, somebody else takes yourspot and I want that guy who took my spot to be great.”

After retiring following an NFC Divisional playoff gameon Jan. 9, 1999, Markbreit has been able to continue makingan enormous impact on the officiating profession. It is therefor everyone to see on any given Sunday afternoon everyautumn as the Markbreit protégés work their games.

“My real interaction with Jerry started when he retiredand took over as a trainer,” said referee Tony Corrente, whohas worked in the NFL since 1995. “Literally, you just cannotignore what the man says. You’ve just got to love a manwho’s willing to take everything that he’s learned, all theknowledge that he’s accumulated, and say, ‘Here, it’s openfor you.’ It’s like the treasure chest that everybody’s after.He’s opened it for me. And he’s so gracious about it.”

What external forces interacted to make Markbreit thetowering presence he remains to this day? Let us take youback to a third-floor apartment on 70th and Merrill onChicago’s south side in the early 1950s. It’s early eveningand an exhausted Markbreit has returned from footballpractice at Hyde Park High School — he was an undersizedcenter and guard.

“I played against high school teams whose kids hadbeards,” Markbreit said. “We got killed almost every game.”

30 REFEREE August 2007 www.referee.com

Jerry Markbreit feels it is an obligation of successful officials topass along their knowledge to others.

Jerry Markbreit, who worked 28 onfield playoffassignments including four Super Bowls, is a “positioncoach” for NFL referees. His counsel is helping currentofficials reach the heights he attained.

CO

UR

TE

SY

OF

NF

L FILM

S

RE

FE

RE

E

feature-gwa 6/26/07 11:12 AM Page 5

finally started officiating intramural football. They gaveme an orange ‘IM’ jersey, three bucks a game and arulebook and I went out and started workingintramural football. And I kind of liked it. It was fun.”

From working just another high school football gamein the 1950s all the way up to Super Bowl XVII — thefirst of Markbreit’s Super Bowl assignments — hefollowed a simple personal edict that was soinstrumental in his body of work.

“Everything I did, I did to stay on top,” Markbreitsaid. “I just had the feel of the game. When I walked onthe field, I knew that everything was going to be OKand I was going to be able to handle the toughestpossible thing. I gave that feeling to the guys I workedwith and they returned it to me.”

Of course, everyone must endure growing pains andMarkbreit was no exception. The very first NFLassignment he had — as a line judge on Tunney’s crewfor a preseason game between Seattle and San Franciscoon Aug. 1, 1976 — Markbreit made a splash for thewrong reason.

“He came running in, blowing his whistle andwaving his hands and I said, ‘What have you got?’“Tunney said. “And he said, ‘Two minutes.’

“‘Jerry,’ I said, ‘It’s a great signal, great mechanicsand everything, but we do the two-minute warning inthe second quarter, not the first quarter.’“

For Markbreit, the example Tunney set wouldemerge countless times when he became a refereehimself.

“Now, we have a lot of good referees, but Jerryconsistently — consistently — got rookies because thesupervisor (either Art McNally or Jerry Seeman) knewthis guy was going to help officials. He just loved tohelp people,” Tunney said.

By 1977, just his second year in the league, Markbreitmade the improbable step to referee when theretirement of Tommy Bell opened a position.

McNally remembers when the idea of promotingMarkbreit was broached. “Two men on his crew,Tommy Kelleher and Fritz Graf, came to me and said,‘Listen, why don’t you convert Jerry to a referee? Hewas a very good referee in the Big 10 and he’ll be finewith us.’

“I said, ‘No way.’ I wasn’t anxious to make him areferee. But both of those officials, real fine officials onhis crew, just literally hounded me. They finally got tothe point where they convinced me he would be able todo it.

“So I said, ‘We’ll take a chance and make him areferee.’ Well, they were right and I was wrong. Rightfrom the very beginning, he was just an outstandingreferee.”

Thirty years later, McNally can only look at thatdaring decision as one of the best he ever made.

“It’s a wonderful tribute to a great referee and anoutstanding person,” said McNally, a fellow GoldWhistle recipient. “He’s the epitome of what the NFLloves to have in its officials.

“He’s just absolutely top drawer.”Peter Jackel is a longtime sportswriter from Racine, Wis. ■

• $3,000,000 General Liability Insurance Protection• Member Information and Consultation Program• $50,000 Unintentional Errors and Omissions

Insurance Coverage• $5,000 Heart or Circulatory Malfunction

Death Benefit Coverage• Assault Protection Program• Assault Accident Medical Coverage• Optional Game Fee Loss Insurance• Referee magazine• It’s Official newsletter• NASO LockerRoom e-newsletter• Annual sport quizzes• Advocating on critical issues impacting sports officiating• Discount to annual NASO Sports Officiating Summit• Major buying discounts• Savings on personal services (credit cards, rental cars,

hotels and more)• Relocation referral services• Personalized membership card• Marriott Athletic VIP card – Save up to 50%• NASO membership is tax deductible

Join NASO Today!www.naso.org 800-733-6100

NASO Member Benefits

AH07NARN

feature-gwa 6/26/07 11:13 AM Page 6