Happy 90th birthday to Jerry Markbreit

Happy birthday to former NFL line judge and referee Jerry Markbreit, who turns 90 on March 23. The Skokie, Illinois, native was an NFL official from 1976-1998.

Markbreit got his start officiating while a college student at the University of Illinois. He officiated intramural flag football and when he graduated he continued his officiating career at the high school level. He worked his way up to the college level and by 1965 he was working NCAA football in the Big Ten conference.

Three years later, he was recruited by the NFL. Amazingly, Markbreit turned the NFL down! He wanted to be a referee in the Big Ten first. All through his high school career Markbreit was a referee. He joined the Big Ten as a back judge and was assigned his first games as a Big Ten referee for the 1968 season — the same season the NFL recruited him. In his book Last Call: Memoirs of a NFL Referee, Markbreit says if he had joined the NFL in 1968 he probably never would have been a NFL referee and would have been a back judge his entire career.

One of his early college career highlights was being the referee for the 1969 Ohio State-Michigan game were Michigan upset the number-one Buckeyes. Another college football career highlight was officiating the 1972 Rose Bowl.

A controversy happened in the 1971 season, again in the Ohio State-Michigan game. Ohio State was rallying back when they threw an interception. Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes stormed the field and raged at Markbreit over a pass interference non-call (even though it wasn’t Markbreit’s call to make). Under today’s rules, Hayes could very easily have been ejected for his tantrum.

Two of Markbreit’s crew members that day were future NFL officials Dale Orem and Bill Quinby.

On to the NFL

Markbreit applied to the NFL in 1976 and was hired as a line judge. He wore number nine his entire career. He worked on Tommy Bell’s crew and his side line partner was the great Tom Kelleher. Bell suddenly retired after the 1976 season and the NFL appointed Markbreit as a referee for 1977 — after one season. Markbreit worked a total of 24 playoff games in 23 seasons: two wild card games, 10 divisional playoffs, eight conference championship games, and Super Bowls XVII, XXI, XXVI, and XXIX.

He officiated the 1978 Pro Bowl, and starting in 1979, the NFL assigned him to a playoff game every year for the rest of his career; he was never shut out once.

“Jerry’s known for his calm demeanor and sharp decision-making,” said Bill Carollo, a former NFL referee and the current Big Ten coordinator of officials. “He transformed the way officiating is approached in the NFL. And on top of that he is the most humble man I know.”

Of the two highlights in Markbreit’s career one happened early on and one happened in his prime. First, Markbreit was the referee for the Holy Roller play in San Diego. Markbreit is still haunted by that play whenever it plays on television, although from his angle, there was no way to tell that the play was any more than a legitimate fumble.

Markbreit had only one ejection — there were others he announced for his crew — and it was a doozy. Markbreit kicked out Packers defensive end Charles Martin after he delivered a devastating and very, very late hit on Bears quarterback Jim McMahon. In those years, the NFL graded officials on a scale of one to seven. When commissioner Pete Rozelle next week asked officiating supervisor Art McNally what grade Markbreit got, McNally said the referee scored a seven. Reportedly, Rozelle exclaimed, “Is that all?!”

In 1992, an NFL back judge by the name of Ed Hochuli was moved to the referee position, despite having no experience at the position at the lower levels.

“The first thing I did,” Hochuli told Football Zebras, “was call Mr. Markbreit, someone with whom I had never even spoken, and someone of whom I was terribly intimidated. I said ‘Mr. Markbreit, you don’t know me, but someday I hope to be recognized as a decent referee. And the only way I can even hope to accomplish that is with your help.’ I’ll never forget his response: ‘What can I do for you, kid? How can I help?’

“As result, I flew to Skokie, Illinois, and spent a full day sitting in his basement asking him questions and picking his brain. And I continued to pester him with questions until the day I retired. He continued to mentor me and offer suggestions and corrections up until that last day that I walked off the field.”

For my money, the best game I ever saw Markbreit work was the epic Chiefs vs. Broncos game on October 17, 1994, when an aging Joe Montana rallied the Chiefs to upset the Broncos.  Markbreit’s crew had to sort out some tough calls right at the end of the game and his crew worked to perfection. It was and still is the finest officiating sequence I’ve ever seen (video).

Following the 1998 season, Markbreit retired from the NFL.

“With decades of service in the NFL, Jerry Markbreit set the gold standard for fairness, consistency, and leadership on the field,” Carollo said. “His precise calls and unyielding integrity have shaped the game we love.”

Off the field, Markbreit was a salesman for Where magazine and then as a trade and barter manager for the 3M Company. He also is a professional speaker, and has been a popular keynote speaker for several officiating conferences. Markbreit also served on several boards, including terms on the NFL Referees Association and the National Association of Sports Officials. If you want to know more about this famous referee, you can read several of his books, including Last Call: Memoirs of an NFL Referee.

In retirement, Markbreit has served the NFL as a replay official, coach and mentor for referees and has also consulted on officiating in the Big Ten conference. In a NFL Films segment about the officials, Markbreit describes what it is like to officiate football. Even if you’ve never donned the striped shirt, his description will make you want to suit up.

“Jerry was one of the absolute greatest referees of all time,” said Hochuli. “And he was and continues to be one of the greatest contributors to the officiating profession there has ever been. Thank you, Finger, for all you have done and continue to do for all of us.”

Wait, “Finger”? Was that a reference to his point upfield prior to kickoffs?

No, actually it came about in 2010, when Super Bowl LIX referee Ron Torbert was in his rookie season on Hochuli’s crew when they had a game in Torbert’s hometown and Markbreit was the game observer. Hochuli explains what happens next: “Ron invited the crew, including Jerry, over to his house for the Saturday pregame and dinner. Of course, Ron was trying his best to impress Mr. Markbreit, but while we were at Ron’s house, Ron’s dog bit Jerry on the finger, and he had to go to the E.R. for several stitches. When he came back to the house from the hospital, he had a huge bandage that fully encompassed his finger. Everyone on the crew called him ‘Finger’ from that day forward.”

Markbreit celebrated his 90th birthday last week with Carollo, Referee Magazine and NASO founder Barry Mano, and former NFL referee Jeff Triplette. Football Zebras wishes you many years of health and happiness!

Photos courtesy of Bill Carollo