NFL Officials cuffs and 1994 armband issues

Hey gang,

I am doing some major research on the evolution of the game officials uniforms.

I have hit a bit of a stumbling block on two items. Fortunately, both issues are with in the last 45 years or so.

1) The NFL refs from 1947 thru ???? had cuffs on the long sleeved shirts that had black at the very edge at the cuff, followed by white that went up to the sleeve itself. Sometime - I think - in the 1960's, the cuff went from this pattern to full black. If you can shoot some pics that you know are from the 60's that shows a ref in either cuff pattern, please post and maybe we can determine what year the switch occurred, based on the photographic evidence.

2) As in the title. In 1994, during the season, it appears that two officials passed away, one active and one retired. The retired one was well known Pat Haggerty, who officiated several Super Bowls and was quite popular. For most of his career, he wore #40. However, coming across a lot of pics from Super Bowl XXIX, the officials wore an armband for #42. This number was worn by Umpire Jack Hamilton. Hamilton worked games well into the 1994 season. However, I cannot locate anything from on-line archives about his possible passing. Hamilton was NOT on the officials roster for 1995, so the evidence appears that he likely did die.
a) Might have the officials worn an armband for Haggerty?
b) Can it be confirmed that the armband worn in SB XXIX was for Hamilton?

Hopefully, with your help we can nail these two issues down in the near future.

THANK YOU!

Tim,
I found some photos of officials wearing armbands last year and I did some research on it. I can confirm the armband was for Hamilton. I have something about his passing in my other PC so I let you know in the near future

other numbered armbands I found

1982 black armband with 11
1990 black armband with 60 (Dick Jorgenson)
1991 black armband with 14 (Gene Barth)
1994-1995 black armband with 42 (Dave Hamilton)

Mako,

Thanks for the help as always.

I was also able to get assistance on the Dave Hamilton memorial.

The 1982 armband was for Vince Jacob.

Vince Jacob armband worn from 12/26 on,
Dick Jorgensen worn from 10/14 on,
Gene Barth worn from 10/13 on,
Dave Hamilton worn for the 94 NFC/AFC title games, Super Bowl XXIX and the 1995 Pro Bowl.

Now if we can nail down when the refs' cuffs went from from white to black, we should be good!!

timmyb wrote:The 1982 armband was for Vince Jacob.

Thanks, I was struggling with this one.

timmyb wrote:1) The NFL refs from 1947 thru ???? had cuffs on the long sleeved shirts that had black at the very edge at the cuff, followed by white that went up to the sleeve itself. Sometime - I think - in the 1960's, the cuff went from this pattern to full black.

Looking at the photos I have I found a lot of inconsistency
1960-11-20:


1960-12-11:


1960-12-26:




1961-12-31:


1962-10-21:


1964-01-12 (Pro Bowl):


1964:


1968-12-15:


my archives are a mess... more to come as soon as possible

overtime coin toss from the famous 1958 championship game



(save the photo, there's another referee on the right)

Mako,

I went thru the SI Vault and saw that definitely in 1969 the refs had black cuffs for both the AFL (KC-OAK) and the NFL (CLE-MIN) Championship games. In 1968, the AFL refs began wearing uniforms that the NFL wore.

In the 1968 NFL Championship (BAL-CLE), the refs had the black cuffs.

I'm starting to lean to 1968 as the changeover from white/black cuffs to solid black, to unify the ref unis for both leagues. HOWEVER, there may be some refs who were wearing re-treads past 1968, which might explain some sightings of white/black cuffs.

But I will stay vigilant to any updates on this issue.

Tim,
the majority of the photos I have from the 50s and 60s show black/white cuffs

black at the very edge at the cuff, followed by white that went up to the sleeve itself

but what about white/black cuffs? SNAFUs? A code related to the "position" of the official (referee, umpire, etc)?

pics I already posted:
1961-12-31
1962-10-21

this guy has one black/white and one white/black...
1960-12-26

Other photos:


1965 Rams vs Colts


Paul Matha, Steelers

timmyb wrote:Mako,

Thanks for the help as always.

I was also able to get assistance on the Dave Hamilton memorial.

The 1982 armband was for Vince Jacob.

Vince Jacob armband worn from 12/26 on,
Dick Jorgensen worn from 10/14 on,
Gene Barth worn from 10/13 on,
Dave Hamilton worn for the 94 NFC/AFC title games, Super Bowl XXIX and the 1995 Pro Bowl.

Now if we can nail down when the refs' cuffs went from from white to black, we should be good!!

Thanks. I was wondering what the #42 on the jersey sleeve was for (knew about the tributes for Jorgensen and Barth) as well.

I'm watching a YouTube upload of Super Bowl XVIII and noticed a #5 armband on the official's sleeve. Looks like it could have been for Ray Douglas (who wore that number #5 and was a back judge for Super Bowl IX and XII); but I can't find info on him from my search so far.