First Dooowwwnnn...and Life to Go!

Book excerpt: Red Cashion is quite possibly the most universally liked referee in NFL history. Fans loved him; coaches respected him; players joked with him; and league executives applauded him for adding flavor with his trademark "first dooowwwnnn" call. Long before he worked three Super Bowls and became the only official ever to be named the All-Madden team, Cashion nearly gave up on his NFL dreams. He began officiating junior high games in 1952 while still a student at Texas A&M, but he was fired by the Southland Conference for being too robotic and dull. Nevertheless, Cashion scheduled a January 1972 trip to New York to meet with Art McNally, the Director of Officiating for the NFL. McNally listened politely and then delicately told Cashion there were no openings. Cashion left that day with a broken heart, believing the dream was officially over. But an NFL official was killed during the summer of '72 and McNally offered Cashion the job because he'd taken such a bold risk by traveling to New York. The rest is NFL history, as Cashion's No. 43 uniform became as familiar to many fans at NFL stadiums as some of the players. Red's feel-good life story packs a powerfully enthusiastic punch.