He began refereeing in 1973, starting in the high school leagues. He joined the US Soccer Federation referee programme in 1975, and moved up to the North American Soccer League. He was awarded his FIFA badge on 1 January 1988. He refereed at the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia, refereeing the match between Argentina and Norway. In 1990, he was added to FIFA's list of potential referees for the 1994 World Cup, and was eventually among the final 24 selected. He refereed two matches at the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup, two matches at the 1992 Summer Olympics and one match at the 1993 Copa America.