Harry Rodgers, a pioneering referee and recipient of the 1970 NSCAA Honor Award, passed away on Thursday, July 12, in Boca Raton, Fla. He was just shy of his 105th birthday.

A member of the NISOA and Eastern Pennsylvania Soccer Hall of Fame, Rodgers was a player and coach but gained fame as a referee, with a career that spanned eight decades. He officiated 325 professional matches, seven NCAA national championships and more than 4,500 total games. He helped establish NISOA and, along with his referee partner Jimmy Walder, introduced the dual system of officiating to the United States.

A member of the charter class of the NISOA Hall of Fame in 1964, he served as NISOA president in 1965 and received its Honor Award in 1968.

The following is a tribute to Rodgers written by Len Oliver, a member of the NSCAA's Soccer Journal Editorial Council and Director of Coaching for DC Stoddert Soccer Club.

THE FINAL WHISTLE FOR HARRY RODGERS
Robert Henry “Harry” Rodgers, long-time referee, NSCAA Honor Award Winner (1970) and Hall of Famer passed away on Thursday, July 12, at his home in Boca Raton, Fla. Affectionately known by friends as simply “Harry,” Rodgers was approaching his 105th birthday when he succumbed, having spent a lifetime in our sport.

Rodgers did his early refereeing in the Eastern Pennsylvania area and was well known in the amateur, college and high school ranks. Often paired with Hall of Famer Jimmy Walder, we often heard “Rodgers and Walder” are our referees today, knowing that we would be experiencing strong and sensible officiating  whatever the level of play. 

As a player, I knew Harry Rodgers from the time I was 13 years old through my collegiate playing career. Always consistent and fair in his vertically striped shirt, I never had a complaint about his officiating nor was there ever any controversy.  “Harry called it so it must be the right call.”

Rodgers received many honors during his 80-year career in refereeing, but one of the most significant was being the first inductee into the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NISOA) Hall of Fame in 1964. When he retired, Rodgers and his wife Ruth moved to Boca Raton, Fla., where, amazingly, he continued to referee into his late 90s.

Rodgers appeared at almost every NSCAA Convention, later years in a wheel chair. He was always upbeat, full of soccer stories, and looking forward to the next season. Once, a few years ago, he received a NSCAA Award and literally jumped off the three-foot-tall stage, to the concern of the audience, only to jump up and wave at everyone, “I’m okay.”

A credit to the game, a role model for all aspiring referees, his life in soccer gave Harry Rodgers a lifetime of memories, an incentive to keep going regardless of age, lifelong friendships, and who knows, maybe he’ll continue in the game “up there.”

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