Nov. 23 was a historic day for the NFL, and Highlands alum Dale Shaw was a part of it.
When the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played on “Monday Night Football,” an all-Black officiating crew took the field for the first time in the history of the league.
Shaw, an eighth-year NFL official, was the field judge for the game alongside crewmates Jerome Boger, Barry Anderson, Anthony Jeffries, Carl Johnson, Julian Mapp and Greg Steed. There were 89 years of NFL officiating experience between the crew, and Shaw was ecstatic to be included.
“This historic moment is a tremendous blessing,” Shaw said. “It’s also an obligation for the crew, for all of us, to recognize the fact that we stand on the shoulders of all who have come before us and created an opportunity such as this.”
Shaw, who also works as a regional business director for Johnson & Johnson, typically is part of Boger’s crew with Anderson, Mapp, Shaw and Jeffries. Johnson and Steed joined the group for the Nov. 23 game.
In 2020, the NFL has assigned crews based on geography so officials can stay closer to home and limit travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This historic Week 11 crew is a testament to the countless and immeasurable contributions of Black officials to the game, their exemplary performance and to the power of inclusion that is the hallmark of this great game,” said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations.
In 1965, Burl Toler became the first Black official in the NFL and in any major professional sports league. Boger, Anderson, Johnson and Steed have been part of history, as well.
Boger was just the third Black referee in NFL history when he was promoted from his position as a line judge in 2006. He also was the referee for Super Bowl XLVII.
Anderson, Johnson and Steed were part of the Super Bowl LIV crew, which was the most minority officials ever on a Super Bowl officiating crew. Given the history of Black officials in the NFL, Shaw saw Nov. 23 was much more than a signature moment in the history of the game.
“It’s also a responsibility,” said Shaw, a former player at Highlands and Allegheny who has worked more than 100 NFL games, including three in the playoffs. “A responsibility to pay it forward so that many more of these opportunities manifest both in the immediate term as well as in the long term.”
