Johnny Grier, N.F.L.’s First Black Referee, Dies at 74

Johnny Grier was born on April 16, 1947 in Charlotte, N.C. His father, Walter, was a construction worker; his mother, Ruth (Minor) Grier, was a homemaker.

Johnny was 18 when he began officiating basketball games at Dunbar High School in Washington, from which he had graduated. He called football games while serving in the Air Force in Shreveport, La. After his discharge, he officiated at college games, first for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and then for the Atlantic Coast Conference, before the N.F.L. hired him.

Officiating is not a full-time job, so for many years Mr. Grier was an engineer for C P Telephone (which later became part of Bell Atlantic). He earned a bachelor of business administration degree at the University of the District of Columbia in 1987 and a master’s there six years later.

In addition to his granddaughter Bryanna, he is survived by another granddaughter, Brytani Grier; his son, Lowell; and his sister, Donna Grier.

For several years starting in the late 1990s, Mr. Grier was the director of officiating for the Mid-Eastern conference. While there, he hired Annice Canady, who became the first woman to officiate a Division I football game.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/sports/football/johnny-grier-dead.html