Sport: Time Out for Red

William Henderson ("Red") Friesell, football's most famed referee, last week spiked a rumor that he had worked his last game. In a Philadelphia hospital with a broken leg,* the 46-year-old five-footer, who is a yard-goods buyer when he is not chasing footballs, accused Eastern sportswriters of jumping the gun. "I'll be back next year," he fumed.

Red Friesell, like many another football referee, never played football at college (he broke his neck making a spectacular tackle in a prep-school game). At Princeton he was famed as Intercollegiate diving champion, football cheerleader and one of...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!