Ed Hochuli

Edward G. Hochuli is an American retired attorney and former American football official. He served as an attorney at Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C., from 1983 to 2021, and was an official in the National Football League (NFL) from 1990 to 2017; his uniform number was 85. Before becoming a football official, he played college football for four seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).

Hochuli worked numerous playoff games, including two Super Bowls. He is best known for his athletic/muscular physique (height: ; weight: ), and for explaining on-field rulings in a manner that is comprehensive yet also clear and concise. In a poll conducted by ESPN in 2008, Hochuli tied fellow referee Mike Carey for "best referee" votes (eight each) among NFL head coaches. In his 28th season in the league and 26th as a referee (crew chief) with the 2017 NFL season, Hochuli's officiating crew consisted of umpire Shawn Smith, down judge Greg Bradley, line judge Rusty Baynes, field judge Dale Shaw, side judge Alex Kemp, and back judge Scott Helverson.

After the retirements of Gerald Austin and Larry Nemmers following the 2007 season, Hochuli became the NFL's longest-tenured referee for the next decade. He announced his own retirement in March 2018. In 2019, his son Shawn Hochuli—previously a referee in the Arena Football League and a back judge in the NFL—was promoted to referee.

Personal life Early life Hochuli was born on December 25, 1950, in Milwaukee, living there until age eight before his family moved to Tucson, Arizona. He was the second child of six. He went to Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona, graduating in 1969. During his high school years, he participated in football (earning all-state honors twice), basketball, wrestling, and track. While studying at UTEP, Hochuli played linebacker on the school's football team from 1969 to 1972. Shawn joined his father's profession as an official, working as a side judge in his first NFL season in 2014. Shawn Hochuli also worked in Arena Football League and arenafootball2 games. On August 13, 2011, a day after his father refereed a preseason game between the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars, Shawn was the head referee for ArenaBowl XXIV between the Jacksonville Sharks and Arizona Rattlers. Scott Hochuli, another of Ed Hochuli's sons, owns Hochuli Design & Remodeling Team which is a company in the Phoenix area that specializes in residential design and construction. He is married to Lorrie Hochuli and they have two daughters: Devan and Ryann. Ed Hochuli's brother, Daniel Hochuli, is the town attorney for Sahuarita, Arizona, and his brother Peter is a judge at the Pima County Juvenile Court in Tucson.

Attorney

Hochuli was a trial lawyer and a partner in the Arizona law firm of Jones, Skelton and Hochuli, P.L.C., having been a part of the firm since it was founded in 1983 to his retirement.

He is admitted to practice in Arizona state and federal courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Comparing his law and officiating professions, he says "A trial is nothing, pressure-wise, compared to the NFL… I have that long [snaps his fingers] to make a decision with a million people watching and second-guessing (by video) in slow-motion. You've got to be right or wrong. I love the satisfaction when you are right — and the agony when you are wrong." To gain additional experience as a back judge and eventually a referee, Hochuli participated in the NFL's partnership with the World League of American Football (WLAF), a spring developmental league, in 1991 and 1992. and Super Bowl XXXVIII, and he was selected as an alternate for Super Bowl XXXI, Super Bowl XXXVII, In addition to working two Super Bowls, he has officiated five conference championship games as of the start of the 2007 NFL season. Every officiating game performance is graded by the league each week. These grades determine which officials are assigned playoff games, as well as the Super Bowl.

In his second year as referee, he worked the 1993 Thanksgiving Day game between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins in Irving, Texas. as part of the league's "Fútbol Americano" marketing campaign. On the first penalty announcement of the game, Hochuli gave the explanation in Spanish to pay respect to the host city and country.

Jeff Bergman joined Hochuli for the wild card bout between the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets on January 8, 2005.

Hochuli officiated the first regular season game at University of Phoenix Stadium on September 10, 2006, when the Cardinals hosted the 49ers.

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 pass completions among quarterbacks in the NFL. Favre was unaware that his 4,968 pass completions were a record until he was informed during the game by Hochuli.

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." He made an incorrect call with 1:17 left in the game, while Denver was in possession of the ball at the San Diego one-yard line and they were trailing the Chargers by seven points. On a second-down play, Denver quarterback Jay Cutler fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins. Ed Hochuli blew his whistle during the play, signaling that the play was dead and ruling an incomplete pass. Hochuli later wrote, "Affecting the outcome of a game is a devastating feeling. Officials strive for perfection – I failed miserably." The NFL passed a rule the following offseason allowing such plays to be reviewable under the instant replay rule for the 2009 NFL season. Speaking to Referee in November 2009, Hochuli told the magazine, "It was really an easy play. I’ve thought many times why I did what I did. The best explanation is it was almost like dyslexia. I realized it was a fumble and did the wrong thing. I realized I was wrong but there was nothing I could do about it."

2001 officials' strike Hochuli has served as the head of the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA), the union which represents NFL game officials. The union was responsible for negotiating a new contract for the officials prior to the 2001 NFL season. At the time, salaries ranged from a first-year official earning US$1,431 a game to a veteran official with twenty years of experience making $4,330 a game. Officials were looking for a 400 percent increase in salary while the league was offering just 40 percent. During the negotiations Hochuli believed the issue in finding a resolution was to convince the league that officials are full-time employees. For the first time in league history, replacement officials were used during the regular season. He later regretted sending the letter to college football officials across the United States. Officials had been locked out since the final week of pre-season games that year and returned to work on September 23, 2001, when the league resumed games following the September 11, 2001, attacks. His rise in popularity is believed to have been started by Phil Simms, a former NFL quarterback and then color commentator for the NFL on CBS, who made reference to the size of Hochuli's arms during a telecast. There are internet websites that sell Hochuli merchandise as well as blogs with his namesake. "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." The half-hour television program detailed the game preparations that Hochuli went through from Monday to Saturday during the season. The preparation work includes fifteen hours of video tape game review, a "couple hours" completing administrative tasks for the NFL, reading the rulebook, taking a weekly written exam on rules, and communicating with league supervisors. His likeness appears in the Madden NFL video game franchise beginning with Madden NFL 06. He appeared on the cover of the October 8, 2012, issue of Sports Illustrated. In 2015, he became the subject of "Fallacy Ref", a series of Internet memes about logical fallacies.