Why do NFL referees wear black and white stripes? The origin of the refs’ uniform

More function than fashion, the well-known black and white stripes of NFL referees are as synonymous with the game of football as the pigskin itself. Yet, what you may not know is that the reason that officials wear the colors they do is rooted in a mistake that was made long ago.

How the referee came to be

As much as a referee or match official seems like a standard part of any sport that we play and watch today, the reality is that it wasn’t always so. To be clear, a referee is defined as “...A neutral party/official who watches a game or match closely to ensure that the rules are adhered to and in some sports, to arbitrate on matters arising from specific plays.” So, with that in mind, let’s take a brief look at where the idea of having such an individual on the field of play first originated.

Believe it or not, the term originated from the game of soccer. In the early days, the two teams who faced each other would nominate captains, who in turn would consult with each other if any dispute occurred. As time passed, teams began to bring a separate individual who could focus on watching the game so that the captain could focus on playing it. As you can imagine, this led to the realization that a third neutral official was in fact a necessity. To that end, the official in question became the person that was “referred to” if the teams ‘umpires’ couldn’t agree on whatever dispute had occurred. You can probably see where this is going i.e., the ‘referee’ as he/she is known today is the person that is referred to. Thinking about it, that probably changes the way the word should be pronounced!

OK, so why do referees in the NFL where black and white stripes?

So, as you know, in American football the referee supervises the play of the game and has final authority over all on-field rulings. The referee has a team of up to six other officials who help him and all of them are dressed in black and white pin stripes. The question of course is, ‘Why?’ For the answer, we’ve got to go all the way back to a college football game that was played in the 1920s and a referee from Michigan by the name of Lloyd Olds.

According to the tale of Olds, he was usually known to wear a solid white shirt. On that day, the visiting team was also wearing white shirts, which led to their quarterback mistakingly handing the ball off to Olds. It was at that moment that Olds knew something had to be done, and so he had a friend make him a black and white striped shirt, which he then proceeded to wear at the 1921 state basketball championships. From that day to this, any referee you have seen in football, and even the ones you haven’t, have continued to wear black and white stripes.