Frank Birch (referee)

Frank Earl Birch (November 11, 1883) was a college football and basketball referee[1] who first introduced signals.[2][3] In 1920, he passed out cards to coaches and the press with a code of twelve gestures.[4][5] He was a graduate of Earlham College.[6] He married Margaret Johnson.[7] He was also once mayor of Sterling, Illinois.[8]

References
  1. Sperber, Murray A. (21 June 1993). Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253215684 – via Google Books.
  2. "What's That Referee up to? (October 3, 1954)".
  3. "De Palma Again Shatters Los Angeles Track Mark (March 21, 1920)".
  4. "ESPNMAG.com - Why does arms up signal a TD?". www.espn.com.
  5. Seton, Ernest Thompson; Scott, Hugh Lenox; Powers, Lillian Delger (1918). Sign Talk: A Universal Signal Code, Without Apparatus, for Use in the Army, the Navy, Camping, Hunting, and Daily Life. Doubleday, Page & Company. p. 233 – via Internet Archive.
  6. "The Michigan Alumnus". UM Libraries. 21 June 2017 – via Google Books.
  7. "Frank Birch, Grid Official, Marries Minnesota Girl". Chicago Tribune. July 3, 1918.
  8. "The Political Graveyard: Mayors and Postmasters of Sterling, Illinois".
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