Frank Birch (referee)

Frank Earl Birch (November 11, 1883 March 18, 1948) was a college football and basketball referee[1] who first introduced signals.[2][3] In 1920, he passed out cards to coaches and the press with a code of twelve gestures.[4][5] He was a graduate of Earlham College.[6] He married Margaret Johnson.[7] He was also once mayor of Sterling, Illinois.[8]

References

  1. Sperber, Murray A. (21 June 1993). "Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football". Indiana University Press via Google Books.
  2. "What's That Referee up to? (October 3, 1954)".
  3. "De Palma Again Shatters Los Angeles Track Mark (March 21, 1920)".
  4. "ESPNMAG.com - Why does arms up signal a TD?". www.espn.com.
  5. Seton, Ernest Thompson; Scott, Hugh Lenox; Powers, Lillian Delger (1918). Sign Talk: A Universal Signal Code, Without Apparatus, for Use in the Army, the Navy, Camping, Hunting, and Daily Life. Doubleday, Page & Company. p. 233 via Internet Archive.
  6. "The Michigan Alumnus". UM Libraries. 21 June 2017 via Google Books.
  7. "Frank Birch, Grid Official, Marries Minnesota Girl". Chicago Tribune. July 3, 1918.
  8. http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/sterling.html
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