Jerry T. Seeman (March 11, 1936 − November 24, 2013) 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 ...

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) from 1975 to 1990 and was the NFL's Senior Director of Officiating from 1991 to 2001, succeeding

Art McNally Arthur Ignatius McNally (July 1, 1925 – January 1, 2023) was an American football executive who was director of officiating for the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1991. Before becoming director of officiating—succeeding Mark ...

. In his 16 seasons in the NFL, Seeman was selected to officiate in 15 playoff games including two

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

s, and two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

s: XXIII in 1989 and XXV in 1991, and was an alternate referee for Super Bowl XIV in 1980. He wore uniform number 70 for the majority of his career (wearing number 17 during the 1979−81 seasons when officials were numbered by position), which was retired eight months after his death. It was the first time the NFL had retired an official's uniform number.

Biography

Seeman attended Plainview High School in

Plainview, Minnesota Plainview is a city in Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,340 at the 2010 census. The author Jon Hassler was raised in Plainview and some of the places in his writing are based on the town. History Plainview was pla ...

where he was a stand out athlete 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Later, while attending

Winona State University Winona State University (Winona) is a public university in Winona, Minnesota. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the first no ...

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. The city is named after legendary figure Winona, who ...

, he played quarterback for three years and played basketball for two years before graduating in 1957 with a degree in mathematics. From 1963 to 1972, Seeman officiated high school football and basketball games in Minnesota for the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference which competes in NCAA Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian. ...

(MIAC) and Wisconsin for the Wisconsin State University College Conference. He also taught mathematics at Central High School in La Crosse, WI. In 1972, Seeman accepted a position as referee in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

where he would stay until being hired by the NFL in 1975. In his first year in the NFL, Seeman worked as a line judge before moving to head linesman and eventually referee, a position he held from 1979 until the conclusion of the

1990 NFL season The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league, for the first time since , reinstated bye weeks, so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period. Fu ...

. His retirement from officiating in 1991 after serving as referee in Super Bowl XXV was prompted by being appointed to the Senior Director of Officiating by Commissioner

Paul Tagliabue Paul John Tagliabue (; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the History of the NFL Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 NFL season, 1989 and served until September 1, 2006 ...

, replacing

who spent 31 seasons as an NFL official and in the front office. On June 30, 2001, Seeman retired as Senior Director of Officiating and was succeeded by Mike Pereira. Seeman was later employed by the NFL as an observer for Sunday games. During his career, Seeman officiated 15 playoff games, two

Pro Bowls The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

, and two

s. Seeman died of cancer on November 24, 2013, at his home in

Blaine, Minnesota Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region i ...

. Seeman was married to Marilyn and had three sons: Jeff (also an NFL referee), Jon, and Michael.

Awards

Seeman has received these officiating honors during his career: *

National Federation of State High School Associations The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indi ...

(NFHS) Hall of Fame *

Minnesota State High School League The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States. The association supports interscholastic athletics an ...

Hall of Fame *''National Association of Sports Officials'' Medallion Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeman, Jerry 1936 births 2013 deaths College football officials National Football League executives National Football League officials Winona State Warriors football players Winona State Warriors men's basketball players People from Plainview, Minnesota Deaths from cancer in Minnesota American men's basketball players