| Overall UK Wins: 65 | Overall UK Losses: 6 | Win % 91.5 |
Date of Birth: February 24, 1906
Date of Death: July 7, 1984
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
For a generalized listing of officials, please consult this page.
Obituary - Cincinnati Enquirer (July 8, 1984)
Local Hall of Famer Jim Beiersdorfer Dies
Former National Football League referee Louis "Jim" Beiersdorfer, of Western Hills, died Saturday of congestive heart failure in St. Francis-St. George Hospital. He was 78.
A former Hamilton County deputy sheriff, Mr. Beiersdorfer was inducted into the Hamilton County Sports Hall of Fame last May for his distinguished service to officiating games throughout his life.
He was also a former secretary-treasurer and Basketball Association and the former athletic director of Chase Law School.
Born in Harrison, Ohio, Mr. Beiersdorfer was raised in Coreyville and attended local schools. In high school, he began playing basketball at the Walnut Hills YMCA and soon started officiating the games.
That involvement led to officiating positions in local high school and college football and basketball, recalls a lifetime friend, Irvin Leist, of Clifton.
In the middle 1940s, Mr. Beiersdorfer became a referee with the National Football League, a position he held for some 35 years.
"He loved sports and he loved playing by the rules," Leist said. "He was just like any other professional; he went by the rules in everything he did."
Though he often discussed games he worked with his friends, Mr. Beiersdorfer never changed his mind about calls made, Leist said. "He never went back on a call. That's the way he was in life, and the way he was on the field. He was a very very disciplined man, an a hell of a nice [guy]."
Funeral arrangements are pending with Charles A. Miller Sons Funeral Home.
