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List of sports officials who died while active

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This is a list of sports officials who died during their careers. This list is organized alphabetically by the sport the individual officiated in, and notes the deaths in chronological order within each sport. Also noted are age, leagues/associations or events they were part of when they died, officiating position (if applicable), cause of death, and date of death. Some deaths occurred in relation to or during a game or match, but most were the result of injuries and illnesses sustained elsewhere.

Although this list primarily consists of professional sports officials, amateur or collegiate sports officials may be included if their death is related to a game they worked, or were scheduled to do so. This list does not include officiating supervisors or timekeepers. Pro officials who retired shortly before their deaths are not included, unless they were working an amateur game at the time.

Association football

RPL referee Vladimir Pettay died in the 2011 crash of RusAir Flight 9605

The following are association football/soccer referees who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
Russia Vladimir Pettay 38 Russian Premier League plane crash June 20, 2011
Netherlands Richard Nieuwenhuizen 41 Royal Dutch Football Association assaulted by players December 2, 2012
United States Ricardo Portillo 46 Liga Continental de Futbol (Utah) (amateur) assault by player May 4, 2013
Brazil Otávio da Silva 20 unknown league (amateur) decapitated by spectators June 30, 2013
United States John Bieniewicz 44 recreational league in Detroit assault by player July 1, 2014
CanadaColombia Edwin Quintero 49 unknown league in North York, Ontario shot during game October 9, 2022
France Johan Hamel 42 Ligue 1 stroke November 15, 2022
South Africa Max Molelekoa 31 Premier Soccer League car accident January 21, 2023
South Africa Akho Ndzingo 30 Premier Soccer League gunshot wounds June 12, 2024
Jamaica Wilverglen Lamey 48 Jamaica Football Federation in-game collapse September 21, 2024
Uganda Peter Kabugo 27 Uganda Premier League in-game cardiac arrest due to asthma attack November 1, 2024


Australian rules football

VFL umpire Alexander Salton was a casualty of World War I, and is the only VFL/AFL umpire to die in military service

The following are Australian football umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age Position League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
Australia Alexander Salton 47 goal umpire Victorian Football League killed in action during WWI September 10, 1916
Australia Ern Jenkins 48 goal umpire Victorian Football League unknown December 21, 1927
Australia Teddy Shorten 51 goal umpire Victorian Football League unknown July 9, 1949
Australia Greg Sidebottom 61 field umpire Kyabram District Football League in-game heart attack April 2, 2016
Australia Jesse Baird 26 goal umpire Australian Football League murdered February 19, 2024


Baseball

NL umpire John McSherry (pictured umpiring a 1985 game) died after collapsing during the first inning of the Cincinnati Reds 1996 home opener

The following are baseball umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
United States Jack McQuaid 35–36 National League unknown April 16, 1895
United States Jack Sheridan 52 American League heart attack November 2, 1914
United States Steve Kane 45 Ohio State League heart attack October 30, 1915
United States Silk O'Loughlin 42 American League influenza December 20, 1918
United StatesEngland Pete Harrison 36 National League tuberculosis March 10, 1921
United States Paul Sentell 43 National League collapsed during pre-game warmup from appendicitis April 27, 1923
United States Frank Wilson 38 National League appendicitis June 12, 1928
United States Sherry Magee 44 National League pneumonia March 13, 1929
United States Cy Pfirman 48 National League kidney disease May 16, 1937
United States Lou Kolls 48 American Association car accident February 23, 1941
United States Cal Drummond 52 American Association in-game stroke May 3, 1970
United States Tony Venzon 56 National League complications of open heart surgery September 20, 1971
United States Lou DiMuro 51 American League post-game car accident June 7, 1982
United States Bill Kunkel 48 American League colon cancer May 4, 1985
United States Dick Stello 53 National League car accident November 18, 1987
United States Lee Weyer 51 National League post-game heart attack July 4, 1988
United States Nick Bremigan 43 American League heart attack March 28, 1989
United States John McSherry 51 National League in-game heart attack April 1, 1996
United States Wally Bell 48 Major League Baseball heart attack October 14, 2013
United States Eric Cooper 52 Major League Baseball blood clot following knee surgery October 20, 2019
United States David Simon 51 Frontier League cardiac arrest December 5, 2022
United States Conor McKenzie 29 Northwoods League car accident while travelling to game July 9, 2023
United States Marty Bauer 55 Atlantic League unknown October 4, 2024

Basketball

The following are basketball referees that died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
United States Greg Willard 54 National Basketball Association pancreatic cancer April 1, 2013
United States Tony Brown 55 National Basketball Association pancreatic cancer October 20, 2022
United States Don McGillicuddy 56 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association in-game cardiac arrest March 1, 2024

Boxing

The following are boxing referees who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age Final match Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
United States Richard Green 46 Page def. Snipes (May 20, 1983, USBA) suicide September 15, 1983
United States Mitch Halpern 33 Mendoza def. Álvarez (August 12, 2000, WBA) suicide August 20, 2000

Cricket

The following are cricket umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
Wales Alcwyn Jenkins 72 South Wales Cricket Association in-game brain injury July 4, 2009
IsraelIndia Hillel Awaskar 55 Israel Cricket Association in-game neck injury November 30, 2014
Wales John Williams 80 Pembroke County Cricket League in-game brain injury August 15, 2019
India Sumit Bansal 46 Delhi & District Cricket Association cardiac arrest shortly after recovering from in-game injury October 10, 2021

Gridiron football

The following are gridiron football officials who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age Position League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
United States James Barnhill 45 referee American Football League heart attack March 11, 1966
United States Jack Vest 45 referee National Football League motorcycle crash June 2, 1972
United States Harry Kessel 47 head linesman National Football League unknown October 9, 1972
United States George Ellis 53 field judge National Football League unknown illness July 31, 1974

United States Vince Jacob 51 side judge National Football League heart attack October 26, 1982
United States Dick Jorgensen 56 referee National Football League complications of a blood disorder October 10, 1990
United States Dave Hamilton 61 umpire National Football League unknown January 9, 1995
United States Donnie Hampton 47 field judge National Football League heart attack January 30, 1995
United States Bob Lawing 58 back judge National Football League cancer May 6, 2010
United States Carl Madsen 71 replay official National Football League cardiac arrest while driving home from game October 24, 2021

Ice hockey

The following are ice hockey officials who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age Position League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
Canada Stephane Provost 37 linesman National Hockey League motorcycle crash April 22, 2005

Sweden Roland Hedberg 62 referee Swedish Ice Hockey Association in-game brain injury January 30, 2010
United States Butch Mousseau 48 referee Western Collegiate Hockey Association brain injury during pre-game warmup March 25, 2016
Czech Republic Pavel Lainka 24 referee WSM Liga in-game brain injury September 10, 2016
Russia Rafael Kadyrov 47 referee Kontinental Hockey League brain cancer January 20, 2017

Rugby union

The following are rugby match officials/referees who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
Australia Kerry Fitzgerald 43 unknown, final match was during 1991 Rugby World Cup heart attack December 18, 1991

Softball

The following are softball umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age League Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
United States Ricky Scearce Jr 60 University Interscholastic League in-game heart attack May 4, 2012
United States Jeff Reynolds 65 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association in-game heart attack May 25, 2016
Canada Rick Rogers 61 Softball Ontario collapsed during tournament July 21, 2024


Tennis

The following are tennis umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.

Name Age Position Final tournament Cause of death Date of death Ref(s)
United States Dick Wertheim 60–61 linesman 1983 US Open in-game brain injury September 15, 1983

See also

Notes

  1. Sidebottom was an umpire in the VFL from 1976 to 1987.
  2. Kane previously umpired in the National League and Federal League.
  3. Kolls previously umpired in the AL.
  4. Drummond umpired in the AL from 1960 to 1969, where he suffered a serious head injury that led to his death.
  5. Simon was also umpiring college baseball.
  6. Lainka was refereeing a junior hockey game when he was mortally injured.

References

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