Robert W. Boylston, 1939-2021
Former NFL referee Bob Boylston, known for his dry wit delivered in a thick South draw as much as one of the league’s top referees, died Thursday at the age of 81. It’s the second loss for a highly-recognized NFL official to referee this week, following the death of five-time Super Bowl official Ron Botchan.
Boylston worked 21 playoff games in his 21-year NFL career, including 4 Wild Card playoffs, 6 divisional playoffs, 9 conference championships, and Super Bowls XXI and XXVI. Boylston worked both Super Bowls with referee Jerry Markbreit.
In those 21 playoff games, Boylston led some of the most famous games of the 1980s and 90s. He worked the 1980 divisional playoff game where the Browns hosted the Oakland Raiders, the first in a series of results. heartbreaking in Cleveland in three sports. The “Red Right 88” play call was intercepted by the Raiders with the Browns within range at the end of the game. He actually worked that match with Botchan, another referee, as it was the only season Botchan worked as a linesman.
Boylston was at Candlestick Park the following year as the San Francisco 49ers qualified for the first Super Bowl of their dynasty in a legendary touchdown for Dwight Clark. He also had an unusual call in Buffalo during the 1991 playoffs where he was one of three officials to drop a flag for a “assisting the runner” foul. He was turned down, and this was apparently the last time he’d been called, though he’s still in the rulebook. The following year, Boylston returned to Buffalo in the playoffs: a Wild Card game in which the Houston Oilers racked up a 35-3 lead early in the third quarter, losing 41-38 in overtime.
Perhaps his most defining call of his career wasn’t on the pitch, but in the replay booth. The Bills were (again) in Nashville to face the former Oilers team, the Tennessee Titans. It was the first year of the NFL’s second attempt to referee in rehearsal. In the Titans’ return, the “Music City Miracle,” a full-back with seconds to go was deemed a legal back pass; in replay Boylston and referee Phil Luckett determined that there was no evidence to decide on a forward pass. At most, the ball’s flight was parallel to the line from the television angles, making it one pass back per rule.
Born in Atlanta in 1939, Boylston was a multisport athlete in high school. He was a tackle for the University of Alabama, entering the program as a red shirt in 1958. He was captain in 1960, his senior year.
“We didn’t know what the NFL was like in 1960,” Boylston said in a 2016 NFL Films interview. “Southeastern Conference. It is where they really played football, mate.
Boylston played in the first Liberty Bowl in 1959 at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium against Penn State. It was a defensive battle with Penn State winning 7-0 on a converted false basket for a pre-halftime touchdown. Boylston (number 75) had a forced fumble during the match (1:57 in the video clip below).
He started officiating in high school in 1964 in Georgia, then was hired by the SEC at a time when they were favoring former players. He was told his background as a downhill lineman would work well as a referee.
“I bought this right away. I wasn’t one of those fancy prima donna umpires we had back then, and we have it now, ”Boylston told NFL Films as he cracked a wry smile.
He served for 12 years at the SEC. Boylston entered the NFL within a year when the league was in the midst of a hiring frenzy. After adding officials with the expansion of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks two years earlier, Boylston’s first year in the league was when the side judge position was introduced.
In the regular season, he refereed 7 different referees: Ben Dreith, Gene Barth, Tom Dooley, Gary Lane, Markbreit, Tom White and Bill Carollo. He wore number 101 for most of his career, with the exception of a three-year period where officials were numbered by position, he was number 5.
Boylston was instrumental in reforming the Professional Football Referees Association, strengthening his bargaining position in collective bargaining with the NFL. As part of a ten-year reorganization, the entity was certified as a union in 2001 under its current name, the NFL Referees Association.
Former referee Gerry Austin has fond memories of Boylston.
My first five years in the NFL, we were on Gene Barth’s crew. Bob and I were together. He would wake up around 4 am and wake me up saying, “I’m bored, let’s study the rules.” He was strict with the rules but he didn’t want others to know it. If he made a call, you could be sure it was correct. A loving person, a good friend and a hell of a public servant. Nice guy to play golf with.
In a 1998 game in Oakland, Boylston was unable to escape a collision with running back Napoleon McCallum. Boylston collapsed on the grass with his hat and whistle resting in the grass beside him. He broke his hip and was hauled off the field, the last time he would wear the stripes in the NFL.
After struggling with his first replay system, the league revived a new system in 1999, and Boylston went straight to the replay chair. Boylston felt the Music City Miracle helped the NFL overcome problems with its first replay attempt.
He told NFL Films: “I thought it was a great piece for [replay], not because I was involved, but it gave the proofread some credibility.
Boylston has worked in replay for 10 seasons, which is 31 seasons combined with his field experience.
Botchan and Boylston’s devastating double defeat made up half of Super Bowls as umpire between 1985 and 1996. They combined for 46 playoff assignments, more than half of which were high-level assignments in 17 games. conference championship and 7 Super Bowls. .
The deaths of Botchan and Boylston are deeply heartbreaking for the official community.
Robert Wheeler “Bobby” Boylston Sr.
Robert (Bobby) Wheeler Boylston Sr., 81, of Johns Creek, Ga., Passed away peacefully at home on January 28, 2021.
Preceded to death by his daughter, Kimberly Boylston Gelly and his son-in-law, Lewis Rogers, Bobby is survived by his devoted and loving wife of 61 years, Wanda Cline Boylston; daughter, Laurie B. Rogers of Peachtree Corners, GA, son, Robert (Rob) W. Boylston, Jr., (Tonya) of Johns Creek, GA, and son-in-law, Rudolphe (Rudy) Gelly of Peachtree Corners, GEORGIA; five grandchildren, four great grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews.
Bobby Boylston was born in Atlanta, Georgia on June 28, 1939. He graduated from Druid Hills High School and attended the University of Alabama on a football scholarship, earning a business degree. Bobby played for the legendary Bear Bryant and was the team’s co-captain his senior year. After graduating, he served in the United States Army at Fort Benning for two years.
Bobby had a dual career as a stock broker and football referee. Beginning in 1978, he officiated for 21 years for NFL games, including several Super Bowls. During these years, which produced long-standing friendships, Bobby served several terms on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Football Referees. In 2015, he was elected to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Bobby was a member of Briarlake Baptist Church for over 30 years before joining Peachtree Corners Baptist Church twenty years ago after their move to Johns Creek. Bob was a member of the Atlantic Athletic Club where he learned to play golf early on, a game he loved almost as passionately as football, which also produced many cherished friendships.
Bobby met his wife, Wanda Cline, at Druid Hills High School. She joined him at the University of Alabama and they were married very early. Their love and dedication to each other produced three children who adored him. He taught his children and grandchildren invaluable lessons and gave them gifts that money cannot buy. The most important of all lessons is to love the Lord Jesus and to go to church.
Due to covid-19, a memorial service will be scheduled for a day later. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, 4480 Peachtree Corners Circle, Peachtree Corners, GA, 30092, pcbchurch.org or Bible Study Fellowship International atbsfinternational.org
The family expresses their deepest gratitude to Bobby’s longtime caregiver, Jeanetta Horsey, who made Dad laugh during it all.
Online condolences can be expressed at www.crowellbrothers.com.