Officiating and Fonsa A. "F. A." Lambert

Fonsa A. "F. A." Lambert has been mentioned in previous Tidbits discussing variations in the referees' first down signal and officials' uniforms, but this Tidbit will cover him in more detail. Lambert was a top official in his day who published How to Officiate Football in 1926. As the first, or among the first, books detailing the philosophy and mechanics of officiating, any serious official of the day read it thoroughly. 

Lambert is believed to be the team captain holding the ball. (1907 Oberlin yearbook)

Lambert grew up in Ohio and played freshman football at Oberlin in 1905. He remained there another year before transferring to Ohio State, where he graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, then an undergraduate degree. Though he planned to open a veterinary hospital, his plans changed when he joined Ohio State's faculty that fall.

Lambert’s graduation profile and picture (1910 Ohio State yearbook)