Today's Tidbit... A Report On The Official's Gun

I enjoy coming up with punny Tidbit and article titles, and one of my all-time favorites was When Football Officials Tooted On The Field, which covered the evolution of whistles, horns, bells, guns, and other noisemakers used on the field by football officials. Officials began blowing whistles in 1887, and they initially did so to signal the end of a play and that a foul occurred (in the days before penalty flags). However, players became confused since the blown whistle signaled both that play should stop and continue. That led to a 1904 rule that only the referee would use a whistle while the other officials would use horns or bells.

The change helped tremendously but did not solve every signaling problem. Recall that before the early 1920s, football teams did not huddle. Instead, one play ended, and the teams lined up for the next, called the signals at the line, and snapped the ball. The combination of the rapid pace of play, crowd noise, and low-volume horns (most were kazoos), the teams and referees did not always hear the field judge or timekeeper's signal to end the quarter or game.

An official’s equipment in 1927 included a starter’s pistol, stopwatch, horn, whistle, game tracker, and pencil. (Lambert, F. A. Football Officiating and Interpretation of the Rules. Columbus: R. G Adams, 1927.)