John Kenneth Reader (November 11, 1925 in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

– November 10, 2008 in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on B ...

) was an

American football official In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Since 2015, Division I ...

. After graduation from the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

in 1950, football star Reader became an on-field official. In 1960, he joined the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

and officiated its first game, between the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

on September 9, 1960. He was one of only nine men who officiated in the AFL for its entire ten-year existence,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

through

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. After the 1970 merger of the NFL with the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

, he continued working as a referee until he retired after the 1973 season and became an officiating supervisor in the NFL, retiring shortly before his death. A 1996 inductee to the Central Catholic High of Lawrence Hall of Fame, Mr. Reader was part of some of the most historic moments of the American Football League. Reader, who died of cancer only one day shy of his 83rd birthday on Nov. 10, 2008 in

, was also a back judge at

Super Bowl I The first AFL–NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super BowlI and referred to in contemporaneous reports, including the game's radio broadcast, as the Super Bowl) was an American football game played on January 15, 1967, at the ...

(1967) and III (1969), when those games were the World Championships between the AFL and NFL champions. He was shown in an iconic image in the January 20, 1969 issue of ''Sports Illustrated'', wearing number 42, with his arms raised signaling a

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

touchdown by fullback

Matt Snell Matthews Snell (born August 18, 1941) is a retired professional football player who played for the New York Jets. He was Jets' owner Sonny Werblin's first coup, prior to his 1965 acquisition of Joe Namath. A powerful fullback out of Ohio State ...

during the AFL champions' 16-7 win over the NFL champion Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reader, Jack 1925 births 2008 deaths American Football League officials Holy Cross Crusaders football players National Football League officials Sportspeople from Lawrence, Massachusetts

See also

External links