All-Black officiating crew takes over Monday Night Football games
Fred Jeter | 11/25/2020, 6 p.m.
When fans think of “firsts” in terms of Black involvement in sports, they generally think of players and coaches.
Another kind of “first” was set Monday, Nov. 23, with the NFL’s first all-Black officiating crew.
For the first time, an all-Black crew of officials was chosen to call the Los Angeles Rams-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game in Tampa.
The crew included referee Jerome Boger, umpire Barry Anderson, down judge Julian Mapp, line judge Carl Johnson, side judge Dale Shaw, field judge Anthony Jeffries and back judge Greg Steed.
It was no coincidence. The seven officials were brought together from various crews as part of the NFL’s 100th anniversary.
There were no Black NFL officials until Burl Toler Sr. broke the color barrier in 1965.
