This series on the history of the rules of football has taken us into the very nooks and crannies of the establishment of football — from its humble beginnings up to what the game is in the modern day. We have documented the evolution of equipment, basic concepts, rules, time keeping, and scoring in the first six parts of this history. Now, herrrrrrrrrrrre's the Referee.

Ref roots 

It is likely there was some sort of officiating body to enforce rules during the early contests. Whether the captains of the teams called the games as they played or an independent person upheld the rules is unclear. The first written record of having an official came from the 1873 rules worked out by representatives of Columbia, Yale, Princeton, and Rutgers.

Rule number ten that came out of the conference stated: "There shall be two judges, one from each of the contesting colleges, and one referee; all to be chosen by the captains." The effectiveness of that rule did not live up to the authors' anticipations. Since the judges were from each school, they generally called the game to their team's advantage; it took the decision of the referee to settle most disputes. The referee was generally a player of one of the schools not participating in that particular game. That caused an unfair bias in some situations especially if a loss or tie by one of the participants would elevate the position of a rival school referee judging the contest.

Continued...