CCSF's Burl Toler’s legacy on display on Monday Night Football: 7 Black officials

By Scott Ostler
San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO - Did you ever watch an NFL game to cheer for the zebras?

Not to yell or swear at the officials, but to admire them?

That's what Burl Toler Jr. will be doing Monday night. The Rams and Buccaneers will be playing, but it's the seven officials who will have Toler's attention.

All seven officials assigned to that game are Black. The crew: referee Jerome Boger, umpire Barry Anderson, down judge Julian Mapp, line judge Carl Johnson, side judge Dale Shaw, field judge Anthony Jeffries and back judge Greg Steed.

The all-Black officiating crew is an NFL first.

The first first? That was in 1965, when Burl's dad took the field as the NFL's first African American official. In fact, Burl Toler Sr. was the first minority official in any major North American pro sport.

Toler died in 2009 at age 81, but his legacy is ongoing. Five Black officials worked the 2019 Super Bowl. Now, on Monday night, the magnificent seven. Tolers all over the Bay Area will be watching with pride

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