Gene Barth (February 1, 1930 – October 11, 1991) 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 ...

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). He was the referee in

Super Bowl XVIII Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference ( ...

, played January 22, 1984."Gene F. Barth Dies; Was NFL Official For 20 Years", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 13, 1991, Edition: L5, Page: 14F

NFL career

Barth began his career in the NFL as a line judge in 1971, then became a referee five years later. He was selected to officiate

, and was chosen as an alternate for

Super Bowl XXIII Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. He retired after the 1990 season. Barth wore uniform number 14, which was later worn by

Ron Winter Ronald J. Winter (born February 6, 1946) is a retired 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 ...

and Shawn Smith.

Personal

In addition to officiating in the NFL, Barth was the president of an oil company. Barth was born February 1, 1930, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. and died October 11, 1991, in

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

. He graduated from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

. He was president of Bonafide Oil Company, located in Hazelwood, Missouri at 5735 Fee Fee Road, a family owned business. He participated in the St. Louis

Senior Olympics The National Senior Games (Senior Olympics) are a sports competition for senior citizens in the United States. It is conducted by the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) once every two years. Akin to the Summer Olympics, it is a multi-sport ...

, in 1989 and 1990. Barth died of cancer at St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, Mo. on Friday October 11, 1991. He was 61 years old.

References

1930 births 1991 deaths Deaths from cancer in Missouri National Football League officials Senior Olympic competitors Saint Louis University alumni Sportspeople from St. Louis {{Amfoot-bio-stub