Armen Terzian

Who was Armen Terzian?

Armen Terzian was an American-Armenian American football official in the NFL from 1961 to 1981. He was a field judge and wore uniform number 23, which was later worn by two African-American referees: Johnny Grier and, currently, Jerome Boger. He officiated Super Bowl XI, but Terzian is most remembered from an NFC Divisional Playoff game in 1975 at Metropolitan Stadium between the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys, in which he didn't call an offensive pass interference penalty against Cowboy wide receiver Drew Pearson after there was contact between him and Viking cornerback Nate Wright, who fell. Minutes after Pearson scored the winning touchdown in the final seconds, an angry fan threw a whiskey bottle that hit Terzian in the back of the head, rendering him momentarily unconscious. He did not require stitches, but had to wear a large white bandage around his forehead for the final few seconds remaining in the game. According to Jerry Bergman, one of the officials working the game, said "The substitute official came in after the kickoff and got $5,500 for working 11 seconds."