PA’s Chuck Heberling: Teacher, coach, NFL referee, veteran

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Chuck Heberling was a teacher, a coach, an NFL referee, and a veteran of WWII. Photo credit: Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame

Many outstanding educators also serve as excellent sports officials. One of these is Chuck Heberling, a Pennsylvania teacher and coach who was also a distinguished official for the National Football League (NFL).

Chuck was born on April 28, 1925, in Pittsburgh. After his graduation from Perry High School, he served during WWII as a fighter pilot in the United States Navy. At the conclusion of the war, he enrolled at Pennsylvania’s Washington & Jefferson College, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1949. There he was a multi-sport athlete, lettering in both football and baseball.

After earning his college degree, Chuck accepted a position as a teacher and the coach of the football and basketball teams at East Washington High School. During the 1970’s, he served on School Board of the North Allegheny School District.

For 15 years, Chuck worked as a football official at the high school and college level. He also spent 23 years as an official in the NFL. For 16 of those years he was the crew chief. And as if that were not impressive enough, he was the referee for two of the most famous games in professional football: The Hail Mary in 1975 and The Drive-In in 1987. He also served as an alternate on the crew of officials for the Super Bowl XIII and the Super Bowl XXI, and as the replay official for the Super Bowl XXIII.

In 1976, Chuck became the Executive Director of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPISL). At that time, the WPIAL was rapidly growing as one of the top scholastic organizations in the country. In 1992, Chuck inaugurated the WPIAL Scholar-Athlete program. During the next few years, the program awarded scholarships to more than 50 students from more than 40 high schools. Chuck retired from the WPIAL in 1997 after 21 years. Today, the WPIAL serves as a model around the county for high school athletic organizations.

In 2002, Chuck was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted into the Washington & Jefferson College Hall of Fame.

Chuck Heberling died of natural causes on Dec. 9, 2019, at his hime in McCandless, Pennsylvania.