The first African-American NFL official Toler died at 81

Burl Toler died at a hospital in Castro Valley, at the age of 81. He will be known both as the first African-American official in NFL history and a star player on the Dons famous “Undefeated, Untied, Uninvited” 1951 football team.

He was a legendary player in a legendary team. The 1951 Dons Football team was denied a bowl bid despite a 9-0 record because it refused get the reward without its two black players - Toler and Ollie Matson. And Toler was one of four members of the team who was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. The other three players were Matson, Gino Marchetti and Bob St. Clair.

Toler ended his career as a football player in 1952, when he injured his knee in a college All-Star game. Then he began officiating job and was hired by the NFL in 1965, becoming the first black official in major American team sports. During his 25 years of career as a field judge and head linesman, he worked the Super Bowl game in which the Steelers won over the Los Angeles Rams by 31-19 in 1980.