The Men in the Striped Shirts

Dear Mr. Rozelle:

In our contest with the gentlemen from Dallas, that fine Cowboy running back, Mr. Craig Baynham, happened to fumble a kickoff return. We may have been mistaken, but it appeared to us that one of our players recovered the football. The referee, however, awarded the ball to Dallas. Of course, we in no way mean to impugn the integrity of our esteemed officials. Rather, we note this seeming discrepancy only in the interest of bettering football--and good sportsmanship--everywhere.

Respectfully, Otto Graham Head Coach, Washington Redskins

Ideally, in compliance with pro football's strict rule that all complaints about officiating be made privately and in writing, that is the kind of sweet demurrer Commissioner Pete Rozelle would have liked to receive from the Redskins' coach. Graham, however, chose the more traditional method of disputing a call: he blew his stack. He raged onto the field and threw a penalty flag at an official, and later told reporters: "The officials stole the game from us!" For such bad manners, Rozelle socked Graham with a reported $2,500 fine.

If Rozelle seemed a bit testy, it was un derstandable. All season long, coaches have been berating the officials in boldly public ways. Occasionally they have a point. Recently, when one team of officials inadvertently deprived the Los Angeles Rams of a down in the closing seconds of a close game, Rozelle suspended them for the remainder of the season. In an earlier game, the same officials, who keep count of the plays by looping a rubber band around their first, second, third or fourth finger, lost track and had to call the press box to find out what down it was.

As the pros headed toward the Super Bowl on January 12, it was likely that the officials would come in for some more heat.

Rough Work. Who and what are these men who can make so much difference? There are presently 85 officials in the two pro leagues and they come in all sizes and shapes, says pro football's Director of Personnel Mark Duncan, "except fat. I'm the only fat person allowed around here." They are paid $250 to $350 for each of a dozen or more games a season. Though they work full time at jobs as various as pharmacist, policeman and bank vice president, their training for the game is extensive. Each summer they attend a week-long clinic climaxed by a six-hour written test. During the season, they are rated by the coaches as well as by Duncan and his staff, who take notes at the games and, after scrutinizing the films, send out critiques for the officials to analyze.

It is rough work. A.F.L. Referee John McDonough, for instance, who doubles as commissioner of athletics for Orange County, Calif., high schools, considers himself fortunate because he has suffered only a broken nose, finger, rib and toe while officiating. Besides sidestepping rampaging linemen, officials must also referee a few brawls. Says A.F.L. Official Robert Finley, vice president of Dallas' Airsco Inc.: "If you have a few players throwing fists, you can normally stop it with six officials. But when the benches empty, well, I just back off and run away."

While the officials must also suffer the abuse of fans, they get some of their worst knocks from the coaches. When N.F.L. Films placed a microphone on Atlanta Falcons Coach Norm Van Brocklin during one game, they had to discard much of the dialogue because it consisted of profanities hurled at the officials. His prime target was a man of Polish extraction who had recently anglicized his name. "You Polish son of a bitch," yelled Van Brocklin. "You may have changed your name, but you're still a Polish son of a bitch."

So why do sane men endure such a thankless job as officiating? It is not the money, they say, but the thrill of being in the game. Says N.F.L. Referee Bernie Ulman, a sporting-goods salesman who, like many pro officials, is a former college-football player: "It's the one good way of staying with football after you're too old to play."

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