Frederick Mount Wyant Jr. (April 26, 1934 – March 20, 2021) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who went on to serve as an

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for 27 years from 1966 through 1992, with 19 of those years (1971–1989) as a referee. Wyant originally wore number 75 as an official before switching to number 11, which he wore as a player, in 1983. (He also wore #11 from 1979 through 1981, when officials were numbered separately by position, instead of together as a pool).

Early life

Wyant was a three-sport star in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

for Weston High School in Weston, West Virginia and later attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

(WVU) from 1952 to 1955, where he became one of the greatest quarterbacks in

Mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

history. He was starting quarterback in his freshman year at WVU. He ranks among the WVU career top ten in total offense (3,426), passing yardage (2,663), pass attempts (401), and touchdown passes (20). Wyant's record as a starter was 30–4 and led the Mountaineers to the 1954

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

. In addition to playing football at WVU, Wyant participated in one successful season of baseball, batting a percentage of .406. During his career at WVU, Wyant was a three time Academic

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n, earning his degree from WVU in Chemical Engineering.

Professional career

Wyant would later have a career in the NFL as he was drafted in the third round (36th overall pick) of the 1956 NFL Draft by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He played one season for the Redskins, becoming a member of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) the following year where he played one season.

Years as an Official

Following his playing days, Wyant worked as a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and small college football official for three years, then as a major college football official for five years, before becoming an official in the NFL as a line judge in 1966. Wyant was promoted to referee in 1971 upon the retirement of Walt Fitzgerald. Along with fellow veteran referee

Ben Dreith Ben Dreith (February 1, 1925April 25, 2021) was an 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 demoted to line judge in 1990 and retired from officiating two years later. Wyant was notable for his perspective of the NFL as outlined in Rene A. Henry's book, "Offsides." Wyant was the referee in the 1981 AFC divisional playoff game between Miami and San Diego, a game won by the Chargers, 41–38 in overtime. This game would become known in NFL lore as "

The Epic in Miami The Epic in Miami was the National Football League AFC divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins that took place on January 2, 1982 in the Miami Orange Bowl. The game, won by the Chargers in overtime, 41–38, is ...

". Wyant and his wife Dolores, resided in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

. They had three children and three grandchildren. After months of deteriorating health, Wyant died March 20, 2021, at the age of 86.

Honors

*West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame

Books

*''Offsides! - Fred Wyant's Provocative Look Inside the National Football League'' Rene A Henry, Xlibris,

References

External links

WVU Sports Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyant, Fred 1934 births 2021 deaths American football quarterbacks National Football League officials Toronto Argonauts players Washington Redskins players West Virginia Mountaineers football players People from Weston, West Virginia Players of American football from West Virginia