Edward P. Marion (1927 – April 28, 2008) was an American

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Marion was in the league from 1960 to 1987 and officiated in Super Bowl V, IX and XI. He wore the number 26 for the majority of his career (during the 1979–81 period, he wore number 6). Marion was born in 1927 in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

and grew up in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, and was in the U.S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1950, where he played American football. He worked in the pension and insurance industry for 46 years. Marion was a key leader of the Professional Football Referees Association (PFRA), forerunner of the National Football League Referees Association (NFLRA), elected as union president to its first board of directors in 1972 and tapped as executive director in 1974.Dale Hamer, Scott Green, and Jeff Triplette (eds.)
''PFRA/NFLRA History: Professional Football Referees Association (1972–2000) and National Football League Referees Association (2000–date),''
National Football League Referees Association, via www.nflra.com/, version of April 2024, p. 2. Marion was instrumental in winning the first pensions for retiring officials after a presentation to the annual meeting of NFL owners in 1974. Marion died on 28 April 2008 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

References

1927 births 2008 deaths NFL officials University of Pennsylvania alumni Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Penn Quakers football players Date of birth missing Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina United States Navy personnel of World War II {{Amfoot-bio-stub