Wikipedia:

Ed Hochuli

Ed Hochuli
Hochuli_TD_NFCChamp2005-06.jpg
Born December 25 1950 (1950--) (age 56)
Flag of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Occupation NFL official (1990–Present)
Attorney (Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C.)
Spouse Married
Children Six children
Website http://www.jshfirm.com
http://www.nfl85.com

Edward G. "Ed" Hochuli[1] (pronounced HOCK-u-lee) (born December 25, 1950),[2] is an attorney for the firm of Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. since 1983 and better known as an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1990 NFL season.[3]

Hochuli is one of the most respected officials in the league for working numerous playoff games, two Super Bowls, as well as his athletic physique[4] and explanations on the football field.[3] His officiating crew for the 2007 NFL season consists of Chad Brown, Mark Hittner, Tom Symonette, Tom Sifferman, Don Carlsen, and Scott Helverson.[5]

Personal

Early life

Hochuli was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but was raised in Tucson, Arizona as a child.[6] He graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona in 1969.[6][7] In high school, he had in interest in sports as he participated in football (earning all-state honors twice), basketball, wrestling, and track.[6] Following high school, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 1972.[1] While at UTEP, Hochuli played linebacker on the school's football team from 1969 to 1972.[4] Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, he earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona in 1976.[1] In the same year, he was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, which allowed him to practice law in the state.[1]

Family

Hochuli currently resides in the Phoenix metropolitan area[6] along with his wife, Brenda.[2] The couple have six children, Scott, Heather, Jennie, Shawn, Aaron, Rachel.[2] Shawn Hochuli played college football at Pomona College[8] and is following his father's profession as an official, currently working college football games.[9] Scott Hochuli owns Hochuli Construction Team L.L.C., a company that specializes in residential construction in the Phoenix area.[10]

Attorney

Hochuli is a trial lawyer[11] and a partner in the Arizona law firm of Jones, Skelton and Hochuli, P.L.C. since 1983.[1] He specializes in civil litigation in the areas of Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability, Complex Litigation, Insurance Coverage and Fraud, Legal Malpractice and Professional Liability, Product Liability Defense, Trucking and Transportation Industry Defense, and Wrongful Death and Personal Injury Defense.[1] He is admitted to practice in Arizona state and federal courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[1]

Officiating career

Early years

Hochuli began officiating Pop Warner football games as a law student to earn additional income.[7] Progressing to the high school level in 1973, he began officiating games in the Tucson area.[6]

NFL career

He began to work for the NFL in 1990 as a back judge after many years as a college official in the Big Sky Conference and Pac-10.[7] During his first two years in the league, he was assigned to the officiating crew headed by referee Howard Roe.[12] He was promoted to referee in 1992 and has since been the referee for Super Bowl XXXII[13] and Super Bowl XXXVIII,[14] as well as the alternate referee for Super Bowl XXXI,[15] Super Bowl XXXVII,[13] and Super Bowl XXXIX.[16] In addition to working two Super Bowls, he has officiated five conference championship games up to the start of the 2007 NFL season.[17]

Officials' strike

Hochuli has also served as the head of the NFL Referees Association, the union which represents NFL game officials.[18] The union was responsible for negotating a new contract for the officials prior to the 2001 NFL season.[19] During the negotations, Hochuli believed the issue in finding a resolution was to convince the league that officials are full-time employees.[19] Officials were looking for a 400 percent increase in salary while the league was offering just 40 percent.[20] Hochuli had distributed an e-mail to 1,200 potential replacement officials warning them that "Working as a scab will actually hurt and likely kill any chances you would have of ever getting into the NFL."[21] On September 19, 2001, officials agreed to a six-year deal from the league with an immediate increase in salary of 50 percent with a raise each year.[22] The officials had been locked out since the final week of pre-season games that year.[22]

Memorable games

Hochuli has worked memorable games throughout his career. He was the referee for the game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, played December 17, 2006, that included Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre becoming the all-time leader for completions among quarterbacks in the NFL.[23] Favre was unaware that his 4,968 completions were a record until he was informed during the game by Hochuli.[23] Hochuli was the referee again for another Favre record-breaking moment when Favre threw his 421st touchdown pass on September 30, 2007 to break the record previously held by Dan Marino.[24][25]

One of Hochuli's notable explanations came during a 2007 regular season game between the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots. While nullifying a holding infraction, he announced through his microphone, "There was no foul on the play. It was not a hold. The defender was just overpowered."[26]

Celebrity

Hochuli's presence on the football field has created a cult following on the Internet.[26] Websites that sell Hochuli mechandise as well as blogs have appeared in cyberspace.[26] While he is aware of his celebrity status, Hochuli does not understand it. He said in a USA Today interview, "I get a kick out of the notoriety, because I'm just a referee. I'm not the players. The players are the game. They're what this is all about. I get notoriety because I explain things, and I get notoriety because I have a decent physique, which is funny because I'm a shrimp, a peewee compared to those players. Neither one of those things has anything to do with whether I'm a good referee."[26] His recognition stems to the streets, in airports, and in the courtroom.[7] He has been approached by notable athletes such as former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Charles Barkley at the airport.[27] "It never ceases to amaze me," Hochuli told the Arizona Daily Star. "The number of people that will just come up to me and recognize me."[7]

Hochuli's career as an NFL official has been chronicled on the NFL Network's Six Days to Sunday in 2005.[28] The half-hour show detailed the preperations that Hochuli goes through during the week between games.

Hochuli's celebrity status off the field includes being mentioned on the Top 10 list during the January 29, 2002 edition of the Late Show with David Letterman.[29] His likeness appears in the Madden NFL video game franchise[30] starting with Madden NFL 06.[31]

Physical exercise

During his college football playing career, Hochuli labeled himself as "small" and "slow" and attempted to compensate for his stature with physical strength.[26] After college, he focused his efforts on running and has completed a total of thirteen marathons.[26] As an official in the NFL, he gave up on long-distance running because it became too time consuming,[4] but he considers physical exercise part of the job and spends a "couple hours" a day conditioning his body.[18] His workout routine consists of an hour of cardiovascular training (using a stair-climber or treadmill) each day and performs weight training four days a week.[4]

His muscular upper body appearance has been noticed by NFL players. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said, "You look at [Ed Hochuli] and it looks like he needs to be on our side of the ball, or on defense."[4] Wide receiver Tim Dwight challenged Hochuli to a "measure off," to determine who had the bigger biceps during a 2006 pre-season game.[7] Between plays in a game, Hochuli will joke with the defensive linemen, who in turn, joke with him about his physique.[26] When asked to become a member of a particular team, Hochuli replies with, "I'd get hurt in the huddle."[26]

Further reading

  • Bedard, Greg A. (2005-10-09), "Celebrity status puzzles muscular referee Hochuli", The Palm Beach Post: 7B

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g
  2. ^ a b c NFL Official Ed Hochuli — Part I. Officiating.com (2001-07-02). Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  3. ^ a b Schmidt, Michael S. (2007-04-22). 30 Seconds with Ed Hochuli. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e Cherrin, Amanda (2006-01-10). NFL Referee Workout: Never Flagging. CNN Sports Illustrated. Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  5. ^ National Football League Game Summary: New York Giants At Dallas Cowboys. National Football League (2007-09-09). Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  6. ^ a b c d e 2007 AzFOA Hall of Fame Inductees. Arizona Football Officials Association. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Pascoe, Bruce. "Grad of CDO finds fame as NFL referee", Arizona Daily Star, 2006-08-14. Retrieved on 2006-08-24. 
  8. ^ Grudin, Nick. "Sagehen Offense Storms Past UPS Loggers 57-43", The Student Life (Pomona College), 1999-11-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-18. 
  9. ^ Hansen, Greg. "Football for Aztecs has fallen into ruins", Arizona Daily Star, 2005-09-06. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  10. ^ About Us. Hochuli Construction Team LLC. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
  11. ^ USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) (2005-01-28). One of NFL top ‘zebras’ visits Gold Eagle. Press release.
  12. ^ "Practice, Practice, Practice", NASO LockerRoom 3 (4), 2002-04-15, <http://www.naso.org/lockerroom/LockerRoom0402.html>
  13. ^ a b "Hochuli's top-rated crew gets nod", Associated Press, 2004-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. 
  14. ^ Bell, Jarrett. "Hochuli to head Super Bowl officiating team", USA Today, 2004-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. 
  15. ^ Manoyan, Dan. "Tough test: Belichick calls Favre Elwayesque", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1997-01-23. Retrieved on 2007-10-17. 
  16. ^ Maske, Mark. "E. Smith Retirement May Come as Cowboy", The Washington Post, 2005-02-02. Retrieved on 2007-09-23. 
  17. ^ National Association of Sports Officials (2007-07-27). NASO and NFHS Host the Power of Persuasive Officiating Summit. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  18. ^ a b Clayton, John. "Refereeing can often be full-time job", ESPN.com, 2001-09-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  19. ^ a b "No news good news for NFL", Associated Press, 2001-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  20. ^ Clayton, John. "Clayton Q&A: The NFL vs. the refs", ESPN.com, 2001-08-24. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  21. ^ "NFL hiring replacements as talks with refs stall", Associated Press, 2001-08-22. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  22. ^ a b Miller, Ira. "NFL officials accept league's 'final' offer", San Francisco Chronicle, 2001-09-20. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  23. ^ a b "Favre sets completions record in victory over Lions", Associated Press, 2006-12-17. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  24. ^ Green Bay Packers (2007-09-30). Packers-Vikings Press Box Notes. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
  25. ^ "Favre sets record, leads Packers past Vikings", Associated Press, 2007-10-02. Retrieved on 2007-10-17. 
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h
  27. ^ "The Double Life of Ed Hochuli". National Public Radio. 2004-01-07.
  28. ^ Six Days to Sunday with Ed Hochuli (RealPlayer). NFL Network (2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
  29. ^ Top Ten Signs You've Been Watching Too Much Football. CBS Broadcasting, Inc. (2002-01-29). Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  30. ^ Miller, Jonathan (2006-07-14). The State of NFL Videogames. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  31. ^ Robinson, Jon (2005-10-26). Madden 360: A Closer Look. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.


66 Walt Anderson • 34 Gerald Austin • 23 Jerome Boger • 94 Mike Carey • 63 Bill Carollo • 65 Walt Coleman • 99 Tony Corrente • 19 Scott Green • 85 Ed Hochuli • 127 Bill Leavy • 77 Terry McAulay • 135 Pete Morelli • 20 Larry Nemmers • 132 John Parry • 114 Gene Steratore • 42 Jeff Triplette • 14 Ron Winter


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