Al Jury is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from 1978 to 2004. He started as a back judge, then switched to field judge after the league swapped position names in 1998. Over the course of his NFL career, Jury was selected to officiate in a record-tying five Super Bowls: XX in 1986, XXII in 1988, XXIV in 1990, XXVIII in 1994 and XXXIV in 2000. On the field, Jury wore uniform number 106 for the majority of his career and is most recognizable for the prescription goggles he wore. Outside of the NFL, Jury was also a California Highway Patrol officer for 28 years starting in 1969 and referred High School games.
At the age of 18, Jury started officiating high school games after graduating from Pacific High School, in San Bernardino, California, where he was a four-sport athlete, in 1959.
While officiating, Jury was also a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service for seven years after which he joined the California Highway Patrol in 1969.
Jury moved up to junior college and then college football, joining the Pac-8 Conference in 1972 before being hired by the NFL in 1978, at the age of 35.
In 1989 during a high school basketball game between Victor Valley High School and Damien High School, Jury was the center of controversy. A last second call by Jury gave the win to Damien High School and a brawl between Jury and referee partner, Richard Smith, against three Victor Valley High School players followed. Despite the Damien coach stating the fault lies with Jury and Smith, they were cleared of any wrong-doing. Victor Valley coach, Ollie Butler, resigned and the three players were suspended for the remainder of the season.[1]
Jury was forced to retire in 2004 after breaking his leg during a game.[2][3] He now serves as an Assistant Supervisor for the NFL.
Jury was the 2013 recipient of the Art McNally Award for recognition of his accomplished career in the NFL.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1990-01-19/sports/sp-210_1_victor-valley-player
- ^ Romana, Pax (2004-02-08). "Pittsburgh Area NFL Refs". Talk About Network. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- ^ "Al Jury - NFL". Football Official's Camp, LLC. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- ^ Austro, Ben (January 26, 2014). "Al Jury presented with Art McNally Award". Football Zebras. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
External links[edit]
- Rialto's Jury readies for 21st season as NFL official Soifer, Jerry. The Press-Enterprise, August 5, 1998. (Accessed August 5, 2006).
- More with Al Jury Referee