Ron Winter

Last updated

Ron Winter
Born (1946-02-06) February 6, 1946 (age 78)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation NFL official (1995–2013)

Ronald J. Winter (born February 6, 1946) is a former American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1995 through 2013 seasons. Winter previously served as a football official for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Contents

Winter wore uniform No. 14 (previously No. 82, 1995–1997). His 2013 NFL officiating crew consisted of umpire Carl Paganelli, head linesman Jim Howey, line judge Gary Arthur, field judge Scott Steenson, side judge Tom Hill, and back judge Greg Steed. [1] He was the alternate referee for Super Bowl XLIII.

Winter was one of the first NFL referees to wear eyeglasses on the field. Fred Silva was the first wearing glasses in 1988.

Personal

Winter was a physical education professor at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He retired at the end of the 2007–08 school year after having served for more than 38 years. [2]

Officiating career

College career

Winter was a referee in the Big Ten Conference. His final game as a collegiate official was the 1995 Orange Bowl, when Nebraska defeated Miami 24–17 concluding a 13–0 season and winning a national championship. It was the first national championship for Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne after 22 seasons as the coach.

NFL career

He entered the NFL as a line judge in 1995, and later was promoted to referee in 1998 after Dale Hamer returned to the head linesman position and Gary Lane returned to the side judge position.

In his first playoff assignment as a referee, Winter refereed the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers Wild Card playoff game in January 2003. During the game back judge Scott Green did not realize that New York's Rich Seubert had lined up legally in a receiver's spot and failed to call a defensive pass interference foul against him during a failed field goal attempt, instead penalizing him for ineligible receiver downfield. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue described the situation as the most disappointing officiating blunder he had seen in his years as NFL commissioner [3] and announced there would be changes in the officiating of field goal attempts and during the last plays of games. [4]

Retirement

Winter announced his retirement on April 3, 2014. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Official (gridiron football)</span> Game administrator in American football

In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.

Walt Coleman III is a former American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1989 season until the end of the 2018 season. He wore uniform number 65. During his final season in 2018, Coleman was the NFL's longest current tenured referee.

Jerry Markbreit is a former American football referee in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons and became one of the most recognizable referees in the game. Markbreit officiated football games for 33 seasons. From 1965 to 1975, Markbreit officiated college football games in the Big Ten Conference. He then joined the NFL in 1976 as a line judge on the crew of Tommy Bell before being promoted to the head referee position in just his second year. His uniform number in the league was 9, which is now worn by Mark Perlman. In his 23 seasons in the NFL, Markbreit had 25 postseason assignments: two wild card games, 10 divisional games, eight conference championships, one Pro Bowl (1978), and four Super Bowls and was an alternate in Super Bowl XIX, Super Bowl XXII, and Super Bowl XXVIII. To date, he is the only NFL head referee to officiate four Super Bowl games.

Jerry T. Seeman was an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from 1975 to 1990 and was the NFL's Senior Director of Officiating from 1991 to 2001, succeeding Art McNally. In his 16 seasons in the NFL, Seeman was selected to officiate in 15 playoff games including two Pro Bowls, and two Super Bowls: XXIII in 1989 and XXV in 1991, and was an alternate referee for Super Bowl XIV in 1980. He wore uniform number 70 for the majority of his career, which was retired eight months after his death. It was the first time the NFL had retired an official's uniform number.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Carey (American football)</span> American football player and official (born 1949)

Michael Carey is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL). His uniform number was 94. Prior to his officiating career, he played college football as a running back for Santa Clara University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Corrente</span> American football official (born 1951)

Anthony Joseph Corrente is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) who served for 26 years from 1995 until his retirement in 2021. He wore uniform number 99. He was the referee of Super Bowl XLI. He served as the Coordinator of Football Officiating for the Pac-12 Conference from June 2011 until he resigned this position in October 2014.

Bill Leavy was an American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1995 through 2014 seasons, wore uniform number 127, and was also a retired San Jose, California police officer and firefighter, serving for 27 years. In his twenty-year NFL officiating career, Leavy was assigned to fifteen playoff games, including two Super Bowls. He was selected as a back judge on the Super Bowl XXXIV officiating crew in 2000 and most recently headed up the Super Bowl XL officiating crew as referee in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry McAulay</span> American football official (born 1959)

Terry McAulay is a former American football official who worked in the National Football League (NFL) for the 1998 through 2017 seasons. He was the referee for seven conference championship games and three Super Bowls. He was the Coordinator of Football Officials for college football's Big East and subsequently the American Athletic Conference from 2008 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Anderson (American football)</span> American football referee (born 1952)

Walter John Anderson is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1996 NFL season to the 2019 NFL season. He wore uniform number 66. Anderson spent his first seven seasons in the NFL as a line judge before being promoted to referee for the start of the 2003 NFL season after Dick Hantak and Bob McElwee announced their retirements. He is notable for officiating Super Bowl XXXV. Anderson was also named as referee for Super Bowl XLV which was played on February 6, 2011, in Arlington, Texas, at Cowboys Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Green (American football official)</span> American football official (born 1951)

Scott H. Green is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1991 NFL season until the 2013 NFL season. He had officiated Super Bowls XXXVI in 2002, XXXVIII in 2004, and was the referee for XLIV in 2010. Green was also the head of the NFL Referees Association and led negotiations during the 2012 NFL referee lockout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Vinovich</span> American football official (born 1960)

Bill Vinovich III is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) who has worked as an NFL referee from 2001 to 2006 and since 2012; he is also a college basketball official.

Eugene Joseph Steratore is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from 2003 until his retirement from the NFL in June 2018. He also worked as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball referee from 1997 to 2018. Since the fall of 2018, Steratore has served as a rules analyst for CBS Sports, including the NFL on CBS, SEC on CBS, College Basketball on CBS, and CBS/Turner NCAA March Madness.

John W. Parry is an American former football official who worked in the National Football League (NFL) from 2000 through the 2018 season. He wore uniform number 132 and was the referee for two Super Bowls. He is the rules analyst for NFL telecasts on ABC and ESPN including Monday Night Football and postseason games.

Tommy Bell was an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) and was regarded as "one of the NFL's most respected referees". When he joined the NFL as an official in 1962 from the Southeastern Conference, he was given the referee position, and stayed at that spot until his retirement in 1976. He officiated Super Bowl III in 1969 and Super Bowl VII in 1973. He is also the only official in history to referee in both a Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four (1959). He retired from the NFL following the 1976 AFC Championship Game between the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers, played December 26, 1976, to conclude a fifteen-year career in the league.

Don Carey is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL), who wore uniform number 126. He entered the NFL's officiating staff in 1995 as a field judge until 1998, where he became a back judge due to the NFL swapping position titles that season; he held that position until 2008–09. He was promoted to referee in 2009 upon the retirement of Bill Carollo, the fourth African American to do so, after Johnny Grier, younger brother Mike Carey and Jerome Boger. He officiated one Super Bowl game, which was Super Bowl XXXVII at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

Sarah Thomas is an American football official, currently for the National Football League (NFL).

Craig Wrolstad is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2003 NFL season, wearing uniform number 4.

Brad Allen is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2014 NFL season, wearing uniform number 122.

Dana McKenzie is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2008 NFL season. He wears uniform number 8.

References

  1. "2013 Crews - NFL Refs". Football-Refs.com. September 2, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  2. "WMU Trustees approve faculty, staff retirements". wmich.edu. October 16, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
  3. King, Peter (January 14, 2003). "They're Only Human". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 29, 2006.
  4. Attner, Paul (January 20, 2003). "Taking the fall for one bad call". The Sporting News . Retrieved August 29, 2006.
  5. Austro, Ben (April 3, 2014). "R Ron Winter retires after 19 seasons". Football Zebras. Retrieved April 9, 2014.