Johnny Grier, NFL’s First Black Referee, Dead At 74
Johnny Grier, the first Black person to lead an NFL officiating crew, passed away on Tuesday (March 8). He was 74.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent confirmed Grier’s death.
“Johnny Grier, the @NFL’s first Black referee and the field judge for Super Bowl XXII, was a trailblazer who paved the way for those in the field of @NFLOfficiating and beyond,” Vincent tweeted. “Rest in peace, Johnny.”
A native of North Carolina and a graduate of University of D.C., Grier began his career as a high school football referee in 1965 and moved up to the college ranks seven years later. According to Football Zebras, he joined the NFL as a field judge in 1981 and worked Super Bowl XXII before getting promoted to referee in 1988, becoming the first African-American individual to do so in the NFL.
During his NFL officiating career, Grier worked 15 playoff games and led the crew during the 1993 AFC Championship Game. He retired from the NFL in 2004 after a leg injury forced him off the field. Later, he would work as officiating supervisor for the NFL and supervisor of officials for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
