Chandler#81 Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 From Facebook: Former Pro Football Referee Ben Dreith passed away at the age of 97. Dreith was a former American professional football on-field official who worked from 1960 to 1969 in the American Football League (AFL) and from 1970 to 1990 in the NFL. Prior to his teaching and officiating career, he was a three-sport athlete at the University of Northern Colorado. Dreith developed a reputation of being a no-nonsense, tough-minded official on the field. During his thirty-year career, he officiated two Super Bowls, and received a playoff assignment for twenty-eight consecutive years. Dreith was hired by the new AFL in 1960 and moved to the NFL in 1970, following the AFL–NFL merger. He was the referee during Super Bowl VIII and Super Bowl XV and was assigned eight conference championship games. .... ..... Dreith is also known among football fans for his unique explanation of a personal foul penalty during a 1986 game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. After the Jets' Marty Lyons tackled Bills quarterback Jim Kelly to the ground and started to repeatedly punch him in the head, Dreith announced to the crowd: "There's a personal foul, on number 99 (Lyons actually wore 93) of the defense — after he tackled the quarterback, he's giving' him the business down there, that's a 15-yard penalty." Dreith's call also involved an improvised hand signal of a repeated punching action. Condolences to his family and friends and may he Rest in Peace. Sourced through wikipedia 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Chand, that one is unforgettable. I’m sorry for the family’s loss, but heck he lived 97 years. He had a nice run. Thanks for sharing bud. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 97! Wow, that’s a well-lived life. RIP 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 The extra comments of his explanation amounted to 'truth in advertising'. I still don't know why New England received an extra conditional draft pick because of it. 🤔 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babulator Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said: From Facebook: Former Pro Football Referee Ben Dreith passed away at the age of 97. Dreith was a former American professional football on-field official who worked from 1960 to 1969 in the American Football League (AFL) and from 1970 to 1990 in the NFL. Prior to his teaching and officiating career, he was a three-sport athlete at the University of Northern Colorado. Dreith developed a reputation of being a no-nonsense, tough-minded official on the field. During his thirty-year career, he officiated two Super Bowls, and received a playoff assignment for twenty-eight consecutive years. Dreith was hired by the new AFL in 1960 and moved to the NFL in 1970, following the AFL–NFL merger. He was the referee during Super Bowl VIII and Super Bowl XV and was assigned eight conference championship games. .... ..... Dreith is also known among football fans for his unique explanation of a personal foul penalty during a 1986 game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. After the Jets' Marty Lyons tackled Bills quarterback Jim Kelly to the ground and started to repeatedly punch him in the head, Dreith announced to the crowd: "There's a personal foul, on number 99 (Lyons actually wore 93) of the defense — after he tackled the quarterback, he's giving' him the business down there, that's a 15-yard penalty." Dreith's call also involved an improvised hand signal of a repeated punching action. Condolences to his family and friends and may he Rest in Peace. Sourced through wikipedia My family still makes this reference regularly. My mother thought it was the greatest call ever lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Ben Dreith is responsible for one of the very worst calls in league history — the personal foul called on Sugar Bear Hamilton for a late hit on Stabler on fourth down vs. the Raiders in the 1976 playoffs vs. the Pats. If he doesn’t make that bad call, the Pats get the ball back with less than a minute go, and Grogan and the Pats would have advanced to the AFC championship game. As a close Pats fan friend of mine put it years ago, the tuck rule call vs. the Raiders was “Sugar Bear payback.” Karma is a b**ch. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 One of the all-time NFL calls. RIP Mr. Drieth. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gianelli Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 (edited) Anyone else see #89 and wonder why someone was wearing Steve Tasker's number? That was Walter Broughton, who played receiver from 1986-88. Broughton later changed to #81. Edited May 8, 2021 by John Gianelli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted May 8, 2021 Author Share Posted May 8, 2021 1 minute ago, John Gianelli said: Anyone else see #89 and wonder why someone was wearing Steve Tasker's number? That was Walter Broughton, who played receiver from 1986-88. Yep, at first I thought the punt return team was coming on the field..(Tasker) Broughton was another WFL player we signed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Because of the Sugar Bear Hamilton call in 1976, Dreith wasn’t assigned any Patriots games for 11 years. https://thegruelingtruth.com/football/raiders-fans-tuck-rule-game/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Otreply Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 🙏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie's Dead Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 RIP Ben Dreith. Total character, and one helluva referee. There were no "just give to 'em" moments in a Ben Dreith-officiated game. All the best to the Dreith family. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinky finger Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 4 hours ago, Chandler#81 said: From Facebook: Former Pro Football Referee Ben Dreith passed away at the age of 97. Dreith was a former American professional football on-field official who worked from 1960 to 1969 in the American Football League (AFL) and from 1970 to 1990 in the NFL. Prior to his teaching and officiating career, he was a three-sport athlete at the University of Northern Colorado. Dreith developed a reputation of being a no-nonsense, tough-minded official on the field. During his thirty-year career, he officiated two Super Bowls, and received a playoff assignment for twenty-eight consecutive years. Dreith was hired by the new AFL in 1960 and moved to the NFL in 1970, following the AFL–NFL merger. He was the referee during Super Bowl VIII and Super Bowl XV and was assigned eight conference championship games. .... ..... Dreith is also known among football fans for his unique explanation of a personal foul penalty during a 1986 game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. After the Jets' Marty Lyons tackled Bills quarterback Jim Kelly to the ground and started to repeatedly punch him in the head, Dreith announced to the crowd: "There's a personal foul, on number 99 (Lyons actually wore 93) of the defense — after he tackled the quarterback, he's giving' him the business down there, that's a 15-yard penalty." Dreith's call also involved an improvised hand signal of a repeated punching action. Condolences to his family and friends and may he Rest in Peace. Sourced through wikipedia I can't believe the Eagles shutout the Falcons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Who Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 1 hour ago, dave mcbride said: Because of the Sugar Bear Hamilton call in 1976, Dreith wasn’t assigned any Patriots games for 11 years. https://thegruelingtruth.com/football/raiders-fans-tuck-rule-game/ Now is not the time, fella. You're a good poster, but really . . . the fact that you have a close friend who is a Pats' fan has obviously tainted your sensibility here. I'm all for being ecumenical, but that's a bridge too far. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCbillsfan Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 One of the funniest calls of all time. Guys would be thrown out in today's game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 R.I.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemfield2622 Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 (edited) My dad and uncles loved this call. It was repeated at almost every family gathering and at least once every game. Edited May 8, 2021 by Clemfield2622 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dr. Who said: Now is not the time, fella. You're a good poster, but really . . . the fact that you have a close friend who is a Pats' fan has obviously tainted your sensibility here. I'm all for being ecumenical, but that's a bridge too far. C’mon! He lived to be nearly 100. His death isn’t a tragedy. But ... I see why you might feel that way. Speaking for myself, I watched that playoff game when I was a kid and was rooting for the Pats because they were a great Cinderella story that year (the Bills were awful in 1976 — 2-12 — and were out of it early on). I remember the play! Edited May 8, 2021 by dave mcbride 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleezoid Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 I remember the "givin him the business down there" game. I was chuckling pretty good when I heard that call. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninSB Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 I wonder why the Jets wore white at home. Except for the Cowboys, teams did not wear white at home back in those days nor did they participate in clown costumes like they do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in NoCal Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 RIP, Ben, my all-time favorite referee. Thanks for posting, Chandler. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninChicago Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 That is probably one of my favorite NFL referee clips of all time. What an awesome person that put some great life into the league. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Romes Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 7 hours ago, dave mcbride said: Ben Dreith is responsible for one of the very worst calls in league history — the personal foul called on Sugar Bear Hamilton for a late hit on Stabler on fourth down vs. the Raiders in the 1976 playoffs vs. the Pats. If he doesn’t make that bad call, the Pats get the ball back with less than a minute go, and Grogan and the Pats would have advanced to the AFC championship game. As a close Pats fan friend of mine put it years ago, the tuck rule call vs. the Raiders was “Sugar Bear payback.” Karma is a b**ch. First of all it was only a third down play. I asked Snake about the call when he came to Buffalo for a Jack Daniels event in Buffalo in the early 90s. He was bit embarrassed about the call but commented that he believed it was the correct call per NFL rule. He said the league had a “chicken &@$@“ (his words) rule in effect at the time of the 1976 game that made it a penalty to hit the quarterback in the head. This was a really surprising to me when I heard it from Snake himself in the early 90s because there was no apparent rule against hitting someone in the head then. I’ve been thinking about Snake’s comments over the last 5 years with all the anti-spearing rules changes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted May 8, 2021 Author Share Posted May 8, 2021 6 hours ago, DCbillsfan said: One of the funniest calls of all time. Guys would be thrown out in today's game. You got beat up a lot as a kid, didn’t ya.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCbillsfan Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said: You got beat up a lot as a kid, didn’t ya.. Actually I got thrown out a lot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 13 hours ago, Chandler#81 said: From Facebook: Former Pro Football Referee Ben Dreith passed away at the age of 97. Dreith was a former American professional football on-field official who worked from 1960 to 1969 in the American Football League (AFL) and from 1970 to 1990 in the NFL. Prior to his teaching and officiating career, he was a three-sport athlete at the University of Northern Colorado. Dreith developed a reputation of being a no-nonsense, tough-minded official on the field. During his thirty-year career, he officiated two Super Bowls, and received a playoff assignment for twenty-eight consecutive years. Dreith was hired by the new AFL in 1960 and moved to the NFL in 1970, following the AFL–NFL merger. He was the referee during Super Bowl VIII and Super Bowl XV and was assigned eight conference championship games. .... ..... Dreith is also known among football fans for his unique explanation of a personal foul penalty during a 1986 game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. After the Jets' Marty Lyons tackled Bills quarterback Jim Kelly to the ground and started to repeatedly punch him in the head, Dreith announced to the crowd: "There's a personal foul, on number 99 (Lyons actually wore 93) of the defense — after he tackled the quarterback, he's giving' him the business down there, that's a 15-yard penalty." Dreith's call also involved an improvised hand signal of a repeated punching action. Condolences to his family and friends and may he Rest in Peace. Sourced through wikipedia No disrespect intended but I can't go with sad on this one. The guy lived to 97 and is fondly remembered by many. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'll be replaying with my sons who have already seen it. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 37 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said: No disrespect intended but I can't go with sad on this one. The guy lived to 97 and is fondly remembered by many. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'll be replaying with my sons who have already seen it. RIP None taken and I wasn’t intending to come across sad. Not sure how this got misconstrued. 97 is fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 30 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said: None taken and I wasn’t intending to come across sad. Not sure how this got misconstrued. 97 is fantastic! Not on you at all - everyone else responded sad on your OP, I went with thanks. I didn't want to come off as disrespectul to Ben Dreith by saying thanks to you for bringing this to my attention. Sometimes I overthink things. Anyway, cheers to Ben Dreith for 97 years lived and leaving a lasting memory for many. We should all be so fortunate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 11 hours ago, SinceThe70s said: Not on you at all - everyone else responded sad on your OP, I went with thanks. I didn't want to come off as disrespectul to Ben Dreith by saying thanks to you for bringing this to my attention. Sometimes I overthink things. Anyway, cheers to Ben Dreith for 97 years lived and leaving a lasting memory for many. We should all be so fortunate. I think it’s just that many of us oldtimers are sad to see yet another special moment and character depart. Circle of life, ‘n all. But we’re happy to have experienced him and the time! 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 13 hours ago, DCbillsfan said: Actually I got thrown out a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExWNYer Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 RIP, Ben. And thanks for the fond memories. That call was hilarious and classic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Wow..97 years...good for him! RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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