Chuck Heberling Charles " Chuck " " Ace " Heberling is a former National Football League official and Western Pennsylvania sports administrator . Perhaps most famously , he was the referee for both the Hail Mary Game ( famed for the game - winning touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson ) and The Drive . In addition , he was an alternate for the officiating crew for Super Bowl XXI . He and his wife Jane have four children . He has been described as " the man who has had the greatest impact on high school athletics in western Pennsylvania in the 100 - year history . " Early life and education . A native of Pittsburgh , Heberling attended Perry High School in North Side neighborhood . He attended Washington & Jefferson College , graduating in 1949 . There , he was a multi - sport athlete , letting three times in football , where he was a played running back alongside Melvin Bassi , Walter Cooper and “ Deacon ” Dan Towler , and three times in baseball , where he was a top starting pitcher . During World War II , he served as a fighter pilot in the United States Navy ; it was there that he earned the nickname " Ace . " Later , he worked as a teacher and coach of the football and basketball at East Washington High School . He also worked as a salesman for General Electric in Pittsburgh . During the 1970s , he was a school board member for the North Allegheny School District . Officiating . He worked as a football official in high school and college football for 15 years and basketball for 25 years . He spent 23 years as an official in the National Football League , 16 years of which he spent as a crew chief . He spent another 14 years as an NFL observer . He was the referee for The Drive , one of the most famous events in professional football . Later , he was an alternate on the officiating crew for last = Tuma | first = Gary | title = Super Bowl Calls Put Heberling and Bergman of the Spot | newspaper = [ [ Pittsburgh Post Gazette | date = February 2 , 1989 | url = http : / / news . google . com / newspapers ? id = Hq5RAAAAIBAJ & sjid = 220DAAAAIBAJ & pg = 3303 % 2C664941 | accessdate = 2010 - 02 - 19 } } < / ref > Leadership of WPIAL . In 1976 , Heberling took over as executive director of the [ [ Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League ( WPIAL ) , which held supervisory control over scholastic sports in Western Pennsylvania . Under his leadership WPIAL grew from an organization being run from a basement into a well - respected and fiscally solvent sports organization , with a permanent headquarters , equality among the male and female sports , and a lucrative contract bringing the WPIAL high school football championship to cable television . He was a capable and headstrong executive , leading the " [ [ Pittsburgh Post - Gazette ] ] " to say that he " . . . took a hard stand on many WPIAL issues and ran the league with a certain boldness that infuriated some school officials , coaches and members of the media . " In 1986 , he successfully secured the use of [ [ Three Rivers Stadium ] ] , and later [ [ Heinz Field ] ] , as the site of the WPIAL championships for all classes of WPIAL football . He retired from the in WPIAL in June 30 , 1998 after 22 years . References . [ [ Category : American football officials ] ] [ [ Category : National Football League officials ] ] [ [ Category : People from Pennsylvania ] ] [ [ Category : Sportspeople from Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ] ] [ [ Category : Living people ] ] [ [ Category : Year of birth missing ( living people ) ] ] [ [ Category : Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players ] ] [ [ Category : Washington & Jefferson Presidents baseball players ] ] [ [ Category : American schoolteachers ] ] [ [ Category : United States Navy pilots of World War II ] ]